K S LO ENGLISH

You guys are all familiar with this app, right? SolidMemory—software that assists us in enhancing our capacity to memorize various vocabularies, is one of the valuable online platforms that is considered in our academic performance at school. Sounds great, doesn’t it? However, objections such as ‘useless’, ‘time-wasting’, and ‘futile’ have already arisen among students for some time. Today, as a user of over 150 days who has attempted 2,407 words, I’m here to discuss whether SolidMemory has played an important role in effectively memorizing words and may shed light on potentially addressing a broader question. 

Introduction to SolidMemory

According to the official website of SolidMemory, it claims to use an algorithm to emulate the functioning of your brain. It figures out what you need to revise most at a particular moment in time. The founder has spent as long as 13 years developing this intelligent assisted learning system, based on the investigation of the Forgetting Curve by the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus.

Problems with SolidMemory

Anyone who has actually used the software knows that each time you do the exercises, there are some prompt pictures at the bottom. These are not only photos; some pictures include the word that students have to enter. If they just want to be quick, they can still enter it. So, what is the use of the so-called algorithm that can emulate the functioning of your brain?

Root of the Problem

The founder has used the research of academic experts to develop the software. So why do numerous students claim it is ineffective? Most of it is about the awards. Regarding the Awards column from our school website, K S Lo English: 

1. For the Vocab Challenge Awards, it says, ‘Presented to the top five students in each form who have met our monthly learning targets’. So, how can students get these awards? They must meet the minimum requirements before competing with others. 

This situation produces two outcomes. Initially, the rewards are not of importance; individuals who desire the rewards simply pursue them. Obviously, that is not how it should work. Another result is that most of the students in each form desire the award. This causes students to input a higher number of words than necessary for the assignment. That seems good in the eyes of teachers, right? Since students learn more words because of competition. But in fact, it is not the case. The final outcome may be that students are fundamentally unable to remember so many words; as we all know, memory has its limits, and excessive input does not guarantee absorption.

2.1 Meanwhile, there is another award called the Annual Leaderboard Awards. To get this award, you need to be ranked in the top 20 of the school by September 1 of the following year. Students attempt words like crazy to get into the top 20, but the same thing happens: they can’t remember those words, let alone use them. Look at the top two in our school; the first has more than 8,000 words, and the second has more than 4,000. Not counting simple words like ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’, ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’—but words that are completely incomprehensible. Can students really remember them? I’m not denying there are prodigies at school; maybe they can really manage it. But is it reasonable to learn 4,000 English words in half a year?

Someone might say, ‘Don’t you allow them to type in very simple words? That way, they are sure to remember’. But then, what is the purpose of using this app? Isn’t it to learn new words in an effective way? If you’re doing this just for the sake of winning the prize, it’s like putting the cart before the horse.

2.2 Additionally, this award is based on a daily count. Generally, students who make the list are unlikely to give up, so they continue to do it every day. In the eyes of other students, they have no chance of winning this honor, which is, without a doubt, completely frustrating for them.

Result

These two awards will eventually lead to two outcomes: at the top, students will become utilitarian, and there will be fierce competition. Others may not care if they learn from this app. They end up being puppets, carrying out the task of attempting five words a day and repeating it for 25 days.

It’s understandable that the original intention was to develop and strengthen our incentives and motivation to learn more English vocabulary. However, will anyone enjoy learning English words with SolidMemory, and do these words genuinely stay in our brains? It’s a question worth pondering.

It’s pretty lame in general, but it’s better than nothing.

In a nutshell, using SolidMemory is bound to have a profound impact on students. The policymakers should and must make an educated decision.