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РусскийLanguage learning: vocabulary, memory and apps
How to learn foreign words and still have them a week later. This is about vocabulary: how many words you actually need, where to find the ones worth learning, how to review them so they stay, and which apps help while others only imitate studying.
In the blog: practice for an ordinary day, honest reviews of Anki, Duolingo, Quizlet and other vocabulary apps, word sets for one specific goal (a trip, an interview, an exam), how to learn words from films and series, and how spaced repetition and the forgetting curve actually work.
How to Learn Two Languages at Once
How to learn two languages at once without one eating the other: why one language grows on its own while the other stalls, how to give each its own place in the day so words don't get mixed up, and how to keep separate reviews in one rhythm.
How to Understand Spoken Spanish: Training Your Ear for Words
Why Spanish words you know go unrecognized by ear — dropped sounds, linking, speed — and how to train recognition: audio on every word, the Listening sprint game, one minute of speech taken apart three times, saying words aloud. A one-month plan.
Vocabulary Exercises That Actually Work
Which vocabulary exercises really work and which only feel like progress: true/false, multiple choice, pairs, missing word, recall without hints and pronunciation. With a free online game for each type.
The First 100 Words to Learn in Any Language
The first 100 words people actually start a language with: nine groups, ready-made phrase templates and your own personal ten. Why a frequency list does not work at the very beginning.
How to Learn Spanish as an Adult Beginner
How an adult can start Spanish from scratch: how much time a day it really takes, which words to learn first, how much grammar is enough at the start, and a plan for the first eight weeks.
How to Review Words: Recall or Reread
Rereading a list feels productive and teaches you almost nothing; covering the translation and trying to recall does the work. How reading fluency fools you, what the testing effect actually is, and how to review so words arrive when you need them.
Vocabulary Trainer App: How to Choose One
Six checks that separate a vocabulary trainer worth keeping from one you drop in a month: where the words come from, who builds the review schedule, whether it makes you recall or only recognise, what happens to a miss, and where the free tier stops.
Learn Spanish Vocabulary by Playing Video Games
Which games actually teach you Spanish, how to switch them to Spanish, which words are worth saving and what to do so they don't stay locked inside the game.
How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language
How many hours it takes to learn a language: FSI and Cambridge estimates by level, the hours converted into a real calendar, and why short daily sessions beat rare marathons.
Mnemonics for Memorizing Words
How to invent handles for words that refuse to stick: the keyword method, what makes an image work, which words need no mnemonic at all and why it never replaces review.
How to Keep a Spanish Vocabulary Notebook
How to write down Spanish words so they stick: what to record besides the translation, what to leave out, how to store your notebook and when to come back to it.
The 1000 Most Common Spanish Words: Do They Really Cover 80%?
Where the 80% figure comes from, why coverage isn't comprehension, and what the first thousand words actually buy you. How many words you need for 95% and 98%, and when a frequency list stops working.