Long story short, the transition from theory to speed building was rough.
I started to see some gaps in my theory competency and knew that was going to hold me back in speed. So I set out to figure out how to push through.
So much of the theory review advice I read and was given said "review one chapter a day" or "drill a chapter until you can write it perfectly." Unfortunately, with my brain and the theory I learned, this just wasn't clicking. After several frustrating months, I learned a review strategy that immediately made sense:
one chapter at a time
start in the back of the book
use real sentences
do it with a friend
I already had a practice group so dragged them in. I picked a chapter from the middle of the book, put together some practice sentences, plugged them in to a text-to-speech (TTS) generator at my target speed, and off we went. It was terrible. It was too much too fast. We adjusted and kept going. Every day was better than the day before.
Over the next several weeks and months, I fine-tuned this theory review.
There are some things that have really worked for me and that's what you'll find in my theory review lessons.
Short sentences with three target words
ChatGPT has been very helpful in creating this practice material. You supply it with a list of words and ask it to create short sentences. However, it will put one word from your list in each sentence with a lot of other junk. Ask ChatGPT to write 15 short sentences with three words from your list in each. If they come back too long, ask to make them shorter without removing your words. You can also give it a few examples to follow.
Sentences that repeat three times
To me, this is what makes it work. Repetition is good for your brain, and allows you to make corrections right away instead of the "in one ear, out the other" that happens in speed takes. It is still important to remember that you will not get every word every time. My goal is always to learn a few new briefs or phrases each day. ChatGPT can help format your sentences: three times each with a line break and no numbering/bullets.
A TTS generator at accuracy speed
Theory review is about accuracy, not speed. We need to be able to write clean. There are several good text-to-speech generators out there, but I like Natural Readers. It has very natural sounding voices and allows you to adjust the speed a lot slower. There is a character limit for the free version, so you may want to subscribe or look into free options. Currently I use Davis (he reads the fingerspelling and numbers clearly) at about 120wpm. With the repetitions, you can write three times OR you can fumble once, write once, and read back once. Make it work for you at whatever speed you're at.
A balance of name/number drills, theory, vocab/briefs, and write-it-out words
After we got the hang of straight theory review, I started adding in other vocabulary topics, finger spelling, number drills, RHPEs, etc. Each lesson plan includes drills, theory sentences, vocab sentences, and one other writing concept.
Repeat the same lesson every day for a week(ish)
I review theory daily with a small group of students. Consistency is key. We always comment that Tuesdays are better than Mondays, and Fridays are better than Tuesdays. You start to hear the things you just practiced in your speed takes! Reviewing the same content daily allows stuff to really stick. It does get kind of boring by Friday, so I will switch the order of the exercises to keep it fresh.
Making it work for you
I hope the lessons I've put together are just as helpful to you as they are to me. I prefer to review with the audio from a TTS generator like Natural Readers, but hard copy may be more your speed. Each week I'll share two posts optimized for hard copy (sentences 1x each) or that you can copy/paste into your favorite TTS (sentences 3x each). Another reason I like the TTS is because I am less likely to get distracted. Just hit play and keep writing. At the same time, it's important to take quick breaks to roll your shoulders, flex your wrists, stare out the window, and take a deep break and a sip of water.
If you want to use this material to host a practice group with a small group of students, I fully support that! Pick a time that works for you, share a Zoom (free for 40min) or Google Meet (free for 60min) link, and use the chat to share briefs and ask questions. Practice groups provide community, accountability, and motivation.
Keep in mind that I'm a student and doing the best I can. There are for sure going to be typos in the sentences. There may be a sneaky sentence or two without the expected target concept. I try to remove really obscure words so we can focus on the target concept, so just drop or write it out depending on your level. These lessons are organized around the theory that I learned, so it sometimes feels very random or hyper-specific. Just go with it!
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!
HAEP PRAG!