[Note: This is from a post I made two years ago in the Bible Memory Goal community forum in the "Ideas Worth Sharing" section. It is very detailed and primarily for those memorizing long passages. When I searched my blog, I realized I hadn't transferred it over here yet. So, here it is!]
-It was hard to find someone willing to listen to me recite large portions at regular intervals
-If I just recite by myself, I don’t know what kind of mistakes I make
-If I write out the passages, I can see the mistakes clearly, but that process was too time-consuming
-If I don’t practice reciting (and just master and review them on Bible Memory), then I find I can’t recite
-When I looked over what to review, I was overwhelmed by everything instead of having “trouble spots” to focus on.
So, I’ve come up with a review system that has been working well for me that I wanted to share. I have lots of verses that I review regularly in the Bible memory app, but this is just for what I’m currently working on.
Every day, I recite at least one chapter of John on a voice recording app. I started with chapter 1 on Sunday, chapter 2 on Tuesday, etc, but now I’m up to chapters 1 and 2 on Sunday, 3 and 4 on Monday, etc. This way, I’m reviewing what I know from the book every week, but it’s not too overwhelming.
Then, I track my mistakes, similarly to how the Bible Memory app will leave a light red and then dark red space if you keep making the same mistakes.
Here’s the system that has worked for me, but you can totally make it your own!
-I start with a printed version of my verses (I used to hand-write them, but that was too time-consuming this year). I first use this to write out the chords as I make or learn the songs, but then I also use it to track my mistakes.
-I highlight a word that I miss the first time. If I miss it again later, I make a pen line above it. Once I make three lines, I make a slash and then start tallies on top of the lines.
-If I pause, I make a highlighter square. If it’s a long pause, I make it longer, like a rectangle. If I pause again on that another time, I’ll put a line over it like in mistakes.
-If I miss a whole line or section, I’ll highlight the left side (and add a line if I do it again).
-If I struggle back and forth on a word, or if I make a mistake but self-correct, I’ll underline it with a highlighter.
-If I added a word, I’ll add a little highlighted mark in between the words. If I missed just the ending (like, forgot the “s” at the end of a word), I’ll just highlight that part.
Here are some annotated pictures to help explain what I’m talking about:
This method is a bit time-consuming, but it has paid off. When I learned Romans last year chapter by chapter, it took a whole month to relearn everything and put it all together. Now, I’ve memorized about the same number of verses and could recite them all at any time without too much trouble.
I do still make the same errors (usually confusing answered them/said to them), but now I can identify at a glance what I need to work on.
I usually do this in the morning before my boys wake up. I talk quietly right into the mic and then use my earbuds to listen and track mistakes.
I know this won’t work for everyone, but it might help someone, and it might give you a springboard to come up with something else! Let me know if you have any questions!
