Language learning: vocabulary, memory and apps

How idioms differ from slang, why '100 Spanish idioms' lists don't work, where to find living expressions and how to use them without sounding ridiculous: register, exact form, context and five simple rules.

Which language should you learn in 2026: three questions that matter more than any ranking, a table of languages by goal (relocation, work, travel, content), why difficulty barely affects the outcome, and how to test your choice in the first week.

What Ebbinghaus's experiment really showed, why most words are lost within the first day, and which review schedule flattens the forgetting curve.

Which Spanish vocabulary app suits a beginner: ready-made sets of frequent words, audio, easy first exercises and a small daily portion. How the start works in VibeLing and a plan for the first week.

Language immersion at home without moving abroad: five layers (screen, audio, video, text, speech), a sample ordinary day, and a plan to replace one layer a week.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.