You can spend an hour “learning” new words and still blank on them when you need them. That is not a character flaw. It is usually a method problem.

If you care about results, vocabulary learning almost always comes down to two things:

1. How often you meet the word again.
2. How actively you try to recall it (not just recognise it).

That’s why spaced repetition vocabulary practice tends to win over time. It combines the two mechanisms that most reliably build long-term memory: repeated contact and active recall. Everything else is either a helpful add-on or a short-term hack.

How we’ll compare vocabulary methods

To keep this honest, we need criteria that match real life, not “I feel productive”.

1. Long-term memory: do you still know the word in weeks and months.
2. Time-to-result: how many minutes it takes to make one word stick.
3. Reliability: does it work for most people, not only on your most motivated day.
4. Transfer to speech: does the word actually show up when you speak or write.

Keep these four in your head as we go. A method that feels great today but fails in two weeks is basically a motivational poster.

Spaced repetition (SRS)

Spaced repetition is simple in spirit: you revisit a word right before you’re about to forget it, with gaps that grow over time.

In practice, SRS is usually done with flashcards, where you try to recall first, then check.

Why it tends to beat the other methods

Two big ideas do most of the heavy lifting:

1. Spacing effect: spreading practice over time generally creates stronger retention than cramming the same total time in one sitting.
2. Testing effect: trying to retrieve an answer from memory improves long-term learning more than re-reading it.

SRS typically forces both. You meet the word again later, and you have to pull it out of your head, even if it is a small struggle.

Where SRS shines

1. Long-term memory: very strong, especially if you keep showing up.
2. Time-to-result: high efficiency because it avoids wasting time on already-stable words.
3. Reliability: good because the system carries you when motivation dips.
4. Transfer to speech: high if your cards include usage, not just translation.

The real drawbacks (and how to avoid them)

SRS fails when people use it like a random word pile.

1. You skip days, the queue grows, and you “fall off the plan”.
2. Your cards are low quality, so you keep repeating confusion.
3. You only train recognition (target language shown first) and never train recall.

Fixes that actually work:

1. Keep sessions short and frequent. Consistency beats heroic weekends.
2. Build better cards: a word, a clear meaning, and at least one natural example.
3. Add reverse practice so you can produce the word, not only understand it.

Cramming (massed practice)

Cramming is repeating the same item many times in a short period. It feels effective because your brain gets warm and fluent quickly.

Then it disappears.

Why it feels good and still fails

Cramming produces familiarity, and familiarity feels like knowledge. You can look at a word and think “yep, I know that”. But recognition is not recall, and short-term comfort is not long-term memory.

When cramming is actually useful

There are situations where cramming is fine, even sensible.

1. A quick warm-up right before a test or a conversation, for words you already half-know.
2. Emergency vocabulary for “today only”.

Just do not confuse that with building a vocabulary you can rely on next month.

The verdict

1. Long-term memory: low to moderate.
2. Time-to-result: looks fast, but the result often evaporates.
3. Reliability: depends heavily on motivation and repetition volume.
4. Transfer to speech: usually low.

Re-reading word lists and “scroll learning”

This is the classic: word, translation, word, translation, repeat. It is tidy, comforting, and easy to do when you’re tired.

It’s also mostly passive.

The core problem

Re-reading trains recognition. You get good at noticing the word when it is right in front of you. But speaking is the opposite task: you need to produce the word when it is not there.

How to upgrade lists into something that works

You can keep the simplicity, but you must add recall.

1. Cover the translation and try to remember it before you peek.
2. Turn the list into quick self-testing.
3. Keep returning later, not only in the same sitting.

At that point, you are basically reinventing flashcards and spaced repetition. Which is a compliment to SRS, not a new method.

The verdict

1. Long-term memory: low to moderate unless you add recall and spacing.
2. Time-to-result: low efficiency if it stays passive.
3. Reliability: high effort for low return.
4. Transfer to speech: low.

Mnemonics and associations

Mnemonics are memory hooks: a vivid image, a silly story, a sound-alike link. They can be brilliant, especially for stubborn words.

What mnemonics are genuinely good at

1. Fast initial “stickiness” for abstract or unusual words.
2. Breaking the ice when a word refuses to enter your brain politely.
3. Making the first encounter memorable enough to start a repetition cycle.

Where mnemonics can backfire

1. You remember the story but not the word.
2. The association is so strong it slows you down when speaking.
3. You rely on the trick and never practise recall later.

Mnemonics are best as a booster, not as the whole plan.

The verdict

1. Long-term memory: moderate, but only if you revisit the word later.
2. Time-to-result: medium, sometimes fast for hard words.
3. Reliability: varies by person and by word type.
4. Transfer to speech: medium if you also practise recall.

Learning words in context (phrases, examples, mini-dialogues)

Context means you learn the word together with its neighbours. Not just “word = translation”, but “word in a typical sentence”.

This is where vocabulary starts to sound natural.

Why context helps so much

Context improves transfer. Your brain stores not only the meaning, but also the pattern of use.

1. You learn collocations: which words commonly go together.
2. You avoid “translated speech” that is technically correct and still sounds odd.
3. You get a ready-made chunk you can reuse.

The trap

If you only read examples but never try to recall them, you get the same problem as word lists: recognition without production.

The fix is simple: use context inside recall practice.

1. Recall the meaning of the phrase from the target language.
2. Recall the target phrase from your native language prompt.
3. Say it out loud once, even quietly.

The verdict

1. Long-term memory: moderate to high, especially when combined with SRS.
2. Time-to-result: medium, because phrases take more attention than single words.
3. Reliability: good.
4. Transfer to speech: high.

Immersion: reading, series, conversation

Immersion is massive exposure. Words appear naturally, again and again, inside real language.

It is excellent, but it is not precise.

What immersion is great for

1. Reinforcing words you already partially know.
2. Building intuition for usage, tone, and rhythm.
3. Making common vocabulary automatic.

Why immersion is slow for brand-new vocabulary

New words can stay in “I recognise it” mode for a long time. You might meet a word ten times and still not be able to produce it on demand.

Immersion does not control two key things:

1. Timing: you cannot guarantee you will meet the word again at the right moment.
2. Recall: you can consume a lot without ever testing yourself.

The verdict

1. Long-term memory: moderate.
2. Time-to-result: medium to low for new words.
3. Reliability: good as a background habit.
4. Transfer to speech: high for words that become frequent enough.

So why spaced repetition usually wins

Spaced repetition vocabulary practice is not magic. It is just a system that reliably makes two things happen:

1. You meet the word again later, with growing intervals.
2. You have to retrieve it, not just look at it.

That combination is why it often beats methods that focus only on input (immersion) or only on intensity (cramming). It also scales. You can maintain hundreds or thousands of words because the system decides what needs attention today.

The part everyone gets wrong: cards that teach nothing

SRS is powerful, but it is not immune to bad inputs. Most “SRS doesn’t work for me” stories are actually “my cards are a mess” stories.

Common flashcard mistakes

1. One card contains three meanings and five translations.
2. The example sentence is long, weird, or irrelevant.
3. You learn rare words you do not meet anywhere else, so nothing reinforces them.
4. You only train one direction, so the word stays passive.

A simple rule for better cards

A card should answer one clear question.

1. What does this mean in this context.
2. How do I say this in the target language.
3. How does this sound.

If a card makes you hesitate because the question is unclear, fix the card, not your willpower.

A practical plan: use SRS as the spine, add the right extras

You do not need to marry one method and banish the others. You need a sensible hierarchy.

Use spaced repetition as your base

1. Keep a daily review habit, even if it is short.
2. Let intervals do the work instead of repeating everything every day.
3. Make recall the default, not a bonus.

Add context to improve transfer

1. Prefer short phrases and natural examples over isolated words.
2. Keep examples simple enough that you can actually recall them.

Use mnemonics only when you need them

1. When a word keeps slipping, add a quick association.
2. Keep it short so it does not become the main thing you remember.

Use immersion as reinforcement, not as your only plan

1. Read, watch, listen, talk.
2. Notice your SRS words in the wild and enjoy the small “oh, there you are” moment.
3. Do not rely on immersion alone for words you want to produce soon.

What to do today (15 minutes, no drama)

If you want immediate momentum, do this once and you’ll feel the difference.

1. Pick 10 words you actually want to use this month.
2. For each word, write one short example phrase you could realistically say.
3. Test yourself both ways: target to native for meaning, native to target for recall.
4. Tomorrow, test again without looking at yesterday’s notes first.

If you only do one thing, do the recall step. That is the part your future self will thank you for.

A calm way to make this automatic with My Lingua Cards

If you want a setup that stays manageable, My Lingua Cards is built around “smart” vocabulary cards with audio and spaced repetition, so you get the right words back at the right time.

Inside a card you can keep more than just a translation: examples, short explanations, mnemonics, and audio for the word and its usage, which makes recall practice feel less like staring at a dead list.

It also supports two directions of practice: first you stabilise recognition, then you train recall in the reverse direction so words move from passive to active.

If you want to try it calmly, start a small set from the words in this article, keep your daily reviews short, and let the spaced repetition cycle do its job.