Self-regulated learning in Spanish in higher education: contributions of the Pomodoro technique and Cornell notes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0222e.42057Keywords:
self-regulated learning; Spanish as a foreign language; Pomodoro technique; Cornell note-taking method; higher educationAbstract
Introduction: In higher education, pedagogical innovation has increasingly valued strategies that strengthen self-regulated learning, time management, and study organization. In Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL), these dimensions are especially relevant in reading and listening comprehension tasks.
Objective: To analyse how the Pomodoro Technique and the Cornell Note-Taking Method were perceived by students in terms of study organization, time management, and support for reading and listening comprehension tasks.
Methods: A descriptive case study was conducted at a Portuguese higher education institution with 35 students enrolled in Spanish 2 and Spanish 4. The intervention took place in a 60-minute session and included reading and listening comprehension tasks, timed cycles structured according to the Pomodoro Technique, and note-taking on a worksheet organised according to the Cornell Note-Taking Method. Data were collected through a post-intervention questionnaire with 20 Likert-scale items.
Results: Limited prior knowledge of both strategies was found, but students showed an overall positive evaluation of their pedagogical usefulness, particularly regarding study organization, time management, concentration, content review, and support for reading and listening comprehension.
Conclusion: The articulation between the Pomodoro Technique and the Cornell Note-Taking Method shows pedagogical relevance as support for self-regulated learning in SFL in higher education, from the perspective of students’ perceptions.
Downloads
References
Bedi, A., & Sass, M. D. (2023). But I have no time to read this article! A meta-analytic review of the consequences of employee time management behaviors. The Journal of Social Psychology, 163(5), 676–697. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2022.2159302
Bergdahl, N., Bond, M., Sjöberg, J., Dougherty, M., & Oxley, E. (2024). Unpacking student engagement in higher education learning analytics: A systematic review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, 63. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00493-y
Chen, R., Wang, X., & Zhu, K. (2025). A bibliometric and content analysis of strategy-based instruction and self-regulated learning in second or foreign language teaching from 1994 to 2024. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1474689. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1474689
Costa, A., Rodrigues, F., Pitarma, R., & Ferreira, M. E. (2024). Design and validation of an instrument to evaluate the workgroup methodology in university students. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 7, 100351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2024.100351
Jin, Z., & Webb, S. (2024). The effectiveness of note taking through exposure to L2 input: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 46(2), 404-426. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263123000529
Jin, Z., & Webb, S. (2025). How do different forms of note-taking affect second language vocabulary learning? Language Learning, 75, 1185-1221. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12705
Kreijkes, P., Kewenig, V., Kuvalja, M., Lee, M., Hofman, J. M., Sellen, A., Rintel, S., Goldstein, D. G., Rothschild, D., Tankelevitch, L., & Oates, T. (2025). Effects of LLM use and note-taking on reading comprehension and memory: A randomised experiment in secondary schools. Computers & Education, 204, 104901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105514
Krieglstein, F., Beege, M., Rey, G. D., Sanchez-Stockhammer, C., & Schneider, S. (2023). Development and validation of a theory-based questionnaire to measure different types of cognitive load. Educational Psychology Review, 35, 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09738-0
Mazandarani, O. (2024). Self-regulated learning in ESL/EFL contexts: A methodological exploration. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 1118. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03617-x
McCrudden, M. T., Bowman, M., & Campos Oaxaca, G. S. (2025). Reporting of methodological rigor in empirical mixed methods research in educational psychology. Educational Psychology Review, 37, 111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10090-8
Ogut, E. (2025). Assessing the efficacy of the Pomodoro technique in enhancing anatomy lesson retention during study sessions: A scoping review. BMC Medical Education, 25, 1440. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08001-0
Patzak, A., Zhang, X., & Vytasek, J. (2025). Boosting productivity and wellbeing through time management: Evidence-based strategies for higher education and workforce development. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1623228. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1623228
Peeters, W., & Mynard, J. (2021). Supporting self-regulated language learning skills online: Awareness raising approaches for computer-supported collaboration. Language Awareness, 32, 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.2018447
Saez-Zevallos, N. S. (2025). Strategies for learning English in higher education: A systematic mapping. Frontiers in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1570602
Seo, J. Y. (2025). Cornell note-taking strategy instruction for Gen Z: Enhancing EFL students' reading comprehension. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 10, 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-025-00347-8
Shen, B., & Bai, B. (2024). Enhancing Chinese university students' writing performance and self-regulated learning writing strategy use through a strategy-based intervention. System, 122, 103249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103249
Smits, E. J. C., Wenzel, N., & de Bruin, A. (2025). Investigating the effectiveness of self-regulated, Pomodoro, and Flowtime break-taking techniques among students. Behavioral Sciences, 15(7), 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15070861
Wang, S., Pan, Z., & Wang, Y. (2024). A mixed-methods investigation into complex components of multilingual international students' self-regulated learning in English as a foreign language context: A social cognitive perspective. Learning and Motivation, 88, 102055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102055
Wolters, C. A., & Brady, A. C. (2025). Time management and achievement motivation: A review of what we know and directions for where to go. Educational Psychology Review, 37, 58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10032-4
Yıldırım, M. (2026). The effects of note-taking methods on lasting learning: The role of motivation and cognitive load. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1697151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1697151
Zhou, S., & Thompson, G. (2023). A longitudinal study on students’ self-regulated listening during transition to an English-medium transnational university in China. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 13, 2. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.38281
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Millenium - Journal of Education, Technologies, and Health

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit proposals for this journal agree to the following terms:
a) Articles are published under the Licença Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0), in full open-access, without any cost or fees of any kind to the author or the reader;
b) The authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, allowing the free sharing of work, provided it is correctly attributed the authorship and initial publication in this journal;
c) The authors are permitted to take on additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg, post it to an institutional repository or as a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal;
d) Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as increase the impact and citation of published work
Documents required for submission
Article template (Editable format)

