Why re-reading a word list works poorly, and what works instead.
Scanning words next to their meanings feels like knowing them, but with the answer beside you, you never practise retrieving anything. In the moment you need the word, the answer will not be there, so the practice does not match the task. Covering the meaning, recalling first, then checking changes the outcome substantially.
Pairing one word with one meaning leaves you unable to recognise it when it appears in a different position in a real sentence. The company a word keeps โ verbs with prepositions, nouns with adjectives โ has to enter memory with it before you can use it. Reading example sentences looks slower but gets there faster.
Twenty passes in one day retains worse than the same passes spread over several. Widening the gaps progressively is more efficient still. Reviewing after you have forgotten completely means starting over, so just before forgetting is the best timing.
Words are not equally valuable. A few thousand that recur constantly in real text and speech cover most sentences. Before spending time on rare words, securing the frequent ones shows up in your reading and listening far sooner.
Input without output leaves you able to recognise words but not produce them. Writing a short sentence of your own with a newly learned word, or describing your day using it, converts it into a word you can actually use.
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