Decoding Success: The Power of Understanding Words in Learning

The: used when referring to a specific person, thing, group, time, etc.

Competence: the ability to do something successfully or efficiently.

Institute: refers to an organization that has a particular purpose, especially one that is involved in education, public service, or research.

Access a FREE Troubled Teen Sort-Out Session with the Experts at The Competence Institute

Click here now for instant access.

What if your struggle with a subject or even a passion could be traced back to a few misunderstood words? Join us as we unravel the intriguing, yet often neglected, concept of the misunderstood word with our co-founder and study technology expert, Mike. We're shedding light on how such words are not mere stumbling blocks to a particular topic, but can cause disinterest or confusion around the entire subject.

In this chat, we take a deep dive into the importance of recognizing and clarifying misunderstood words, likening each word to a puzzle piece that completes your knowledge picture. Beyond just avoidance of confusion, we're talking about empowering learners to build robust foundations of knowledge for success in their chosen fields. Mike also shares some exciting insights into how the Competence Institute is using technology, especially AI, to make the process even more effective. Tune in and redefine your learning experience!

Access a FREE Troubled Teen Sort-Out Session with the Experts at The Competence Institute

Click here now for instant access.

With over 50 years of combined experience, Mike Tyler and Ryan Kimball transform lives towards through real education and proven behavior change techniques. 

Lead by Mike, The Competence Institute's mission is clear: to empower people of all ages, from all walks of life, with the tools and guidance needed to fill educational gaps and enhance their capacity to create a prosperous future.

  

 ​

© 2024-2025 The Competence Institute. All Rights Reserved. The Competence Institute is a non-profit educational organization and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, nationality or ethnic origin in administering student admissions or any of its policies, programs or activities. COMPETENCE INSTITUTE is a trademark and service mark owned by The Competence Institute, a division of Team Tyler USA.

Applied Scholastics and the Applied Scholastics Open Book Design are trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to L. Ron Hubbard library for permission to reproduce a selection from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.

Episode Transcript

Ryan (00:04):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of The
Competence Institute podcast.
I'm your host, Ryan, and todayI have with me Mike, co-founder
and our resident expert on studytechnology.

Mike (00:18):
Hi Ryan! It's great to be back here to discuss something
that's a very importantcornerstone of our mission at
The Competence Institute.

Ryan (00:26):
Absolutely, Mike.
Our mission is to help peopleby empowering them with the
tools and guidance they need tofill in the gaps in their
education, cultivate futurestudies, and enhance their
capacity to envision and createtheir own prosperous future.

Mike (00:39):
Right.
And today we're diving deepinto a topic that is crucial to

fulfilling that mission: understanding the role of the (00:44):
undefined
misunderstood word in education.

Ryan (00:50):
That's right.
Now, many of our listenersmight be wondering what exactly
we mean by the misunderstoodword.
Could you start us off byshedding some light on this,
Mike?

Mike (01:01):
Certainly, Ryan.
In the realm of education, themisunderstood word is
essentially a concept where anindividual encounters a word or
phrase that they don't fullyunderstand as it is being used
in the particular text, oralinstruction or whatever, and
this can be a significantbarrier to their learning
process.

(01:22):
It's actually recognized as themost important barrier to study
, as discovered by author andeducator L.
Ron Hubbard.

Ryan (01:32):
And this is something that happens to all of us, isn't it?
I mean, sometimes you read aword you don't understand and
you might skip it, but thenlater you find yourself losing
track of what you were reading.

Mike (01:44):
Exactly, Ryan, and that's where the problem begins.
A misunderstood word can notonly hinder the comprehension of
the topic at hand, but can alsoresult in a lack of interest or
confusion surrounding theentire subject.
And there are many ways a wordcan be not fully understood.
But they basically break downto which of the many separate

(02:07):
definitions a word can have(some words can have as many as
35!) that is being used in thematerial, and the role the word
has in relationship to the otherwords, which we call the part
of speech.
The methods used to instructchildren these days in the parts
of speech are faulty at bestand actually are booby-trapped

(02:30):
to halt further learning.

And remember (02:32):
this applies to reading books, receiving oral
instruction from a teacher or aboss, private music lessons,
on-the-job training or anything.

Ryan (02:45):
That sounds like a chain reaction that we really want to
avoid, especially since our goalat The Competence Institute is
to nurture an environment wherelearning is smooth and enjoyable
.

Mike (02:58):
Absolutely, and that's why we emphasize the importance of
recognizing when you'veencountered a misunderstood word
and taking the time to clarifyits meaning.
It's like putting together apuzzle.
Each word is a piece that helpscreate a complete picture of
the knowledge being conveyed.

Ryan (03:17):
I love that analogy, Mike, and I suppose in this context,
our role is to help learnersfind those missing puzzle pieces
and put them back in the rightplace.

Mike (03:29):
Absolutely.
It's also important tounderstand that it's perfectly
okay to not know the meaning ofa word.
What's crucial is to have thewillingness to pause, look it up
and grasp its essence beforemoving forward.
And one particularly importantpart of the essence of a word is
, of course, how to say itproperly, in other words, the

(03:51):
pronunciation.
Now, some words can have acouple of acceptable versions,
you know, like, you say tomato,I say tomato.
But most words have one veryspecific, exact pronunciation,
and there is no easier way toembarrass yourself than to be
caught pronouncing wordsincorrectly, particularly when

(04:13):
you are addressing a group ofpeople and you're supposed to
know what you're talking about.
Lawyers, doctors, engineers,professional actors and
actresses all need to becomeprofessionals at speaking
correctly.
This literally applies tomoving up to professional
standards in any field.

Ryan (04:33):
Right, because this isn't just about preventing confusion,
it's about empowering learnersto build a strong foundation of
knowledge so they can become acompetent professional in
whatever field they want to gointo.
Now, Mike, could you tell usabout how The Competence
Institute integrates thisunderstanding of the

(04:53):
misunderstood word in itsprograms?

Mike (04:56):
Certainly, Ryan.
In our programs, we incorporatestrategies to help students
identify misunderstood wordspromptly.
We encourage them to activelyengage with the material by
making notes, asking questionsand using resources to explore
the meanings of words they don'tunderstand.

Ryan (05:15):
And I suppose technology plays a huge role in
facilitating this, doesn't it?

Mike (05:20):
Absolutely, Ryan.
With the advent of technology,it has become significantly
easier to find the meanings ofwords instantly.
We are also working onintegrating AI tools that can
proactively identify potentiallymisunderstood words and provide
definitions or explanations inreal time.

Ryan (05:40):
That sounds fantastic! It seems like a step towards
fostering an educationalenvironment where everyone can
thrive, irrespective of theircurrent knowledge base.

Mike (05:52):
Absolutely, and by doing this we aim to foster a culture
of curiosity and a love forlearning which directly aligns
with our mission at TheCompetence Institute.

Ryan (06:04):
And that brings us to the end of this episode.
Thank you, Mike, forenlightening us on the crucial
concept of the misunderstoodword and how addressing it forms
a vital part of improving ourlives through education.

Mike (06:17):
Thanks, Ryan! It's always a pleasure to discuss ways to
enhance the learning experience.

Ryan (06:29):
Absolutely! And thank you, our dear listeners, for joining
us today.
Remember, the path tocompetence begins with
understanding, so never hesitateto seek clarity on those
misunderstood words.
Until next time, this is Ryan(Mike: and Mike) signing off.
Stay competent, everyone.