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With the Zeigarnik Effect you retain more. Learn how to deliberately interrupt a topic and study more easily for the telc B2 exam.
The Zeigarnik Effect is a simple idea from psychology. It says: our brain remembers things better when they are not finished. A completed task we forget quickly. An unfinished task stays in the mind.
A woman discovered this effect. Her name is Bluma Zeigarnik. She was a psychologist, about 100 years ago. She often sat in a restaurant. There she watched the waiters. The waiters had a good memory. They knew exactly what each guest had not yet paid for. But after payment they immediately forgot the order.
Why? The unpaid order was an unfinished task. The brain kept it. The paid order was finished. The brain deleted it. That is the Zeigarnik Effect.
Imagine your brain like a computer. An unfinished task is like an open window on the screen. The window stays open and keeps reminding you. Only when the task is finished does the window close.
The telc B2 exam has a lot of material. You need to learn many words. You need to understand many grammar rules. You need to practise Lesen, Sprachbausteine, Hören, Schreiben and Sprechen. That is a lot for the brain.
The Zeigarnik Effect helps you to retain more. The trick is simple: do not study a topic all the way to the end. Take a break in the middle of a topic.
What happens then? The topic stays in your mind. Your brain keeps working, even during the break. The topic simmers a little, like soup on the stove. So it stays better in the memory. The next day studying is easier because the brain already knows the topic.
A finished topic the brain forgets quickly. An open topic stays active. That is why a break in the middle of studying helps more than a break at the end.
The most important technique is very simple. You stop in the middle of a topic, not at the end. This way the topic stays open and your brain keeps working. Here are three simple rules.
You are studying Konjunktiv II for telc B2. This is important for Schreiben.
Wrong: You study Konjunktiv II for four hours in one go. At the end you are tired. ✗ After two days you have forgotten a lot.
Better: You study Konjunktiv II in small pieces. Half today, the rest tomorrow. You take breaks in the middle of the topic. ✓ This way you retain more.
Many people put off studying. They think: I will start tomorrow. That is normal. But the Zeigarnik Effect helps here too.
The reason: an unfinished task does not let us go. Once you have started a task, the brain wants to finish it too. Starting is therefore the most important thing.
The Zeigarnik Effect is good. But be careful: too many open topics are not good. If you leave twenty topics open at the same time, your head gets full. That creates stress and anxiety.
That is why you also need closing points. A closing point means: a topic is finished. You make a tick and close the window in your head. This keeps the head free for the next topic.
A good closing point is, for example, a practice Sprechen session with the online examiner or a model test. Once you have practised a topic, bring it to the passing score with the online examiner. After that, this topic is finished. That gives a good feeling and takes away the stress.
The last few days before the telc B2 exam are closing points. Do not study any new topics here. Only revise. This way your brain says: all windows are closed, I am ready.
The telc B2 exam has five sections. Here is how you use the Zeigarnik Effect for each section:
Read a long text only halfway today. Take a break. Continue reading tomorrow. This way the text stays in your mind.
Complete a task only halfway. Leave a few gaps open. Fill them in later. This way you practise the grammar twice.
Listen to one section. Stop in the middle of a topic. Listen to the rest tomorrow. Your brain remembers the words better.
Start the Schreiben task today, for example a letter. Write only the beginning. Write the rest tomorrow. This way you also think of good sentences during the break.
👉 Schreiben tasks for telc B2First listen to the topics in the Sprechen section. Stop at an open point. Your brain then keeps searching for good words and ideas. Later you speak the same topic yourself with the online examiner.
👉 Listen to topics in the telc B2 Sprechen sectionA good closing point is a practice Sprechen session with the online examiner. First listen to the topic in the Sprechen section. Then speak the same topic yourself with the online examiner. Practise until you reach the passing score. After that the topic is finished – that is your closing point.
Practise for telc B2 on our website: https://deutsch-vorbereitung.com/ – many tasks, model tests and tips for your exam.
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