WordieScience
What memory research and second-language studies say about learning words.
Why Flashcards Alone Fail: The Limits of Word–Definition Learning and How to Fix Them
Flashcards build the word–meaning link fast but miss collocation, register and usage. Why flashcards alone fail, and how context and reading fix the gaps.
The Testing Effect Explained: Why Trying to Remember Beats Studying Again
The testing effect: retrieving information strengthens memory more than restudying it. Key studies, why it works, and how to use it to learn vocabulary.
The Spacing Effect: What 140 Years of Research Says About When to Review
Spacing effect research from Ebbinghaus to Cepeda et al. (2008): what the key studies found about review gaps, and simple rules for spacing vocabulary practice.
Sleep and Vocabulary Memory: What Happens to New Words Overnight
Sleep helps new vocabulary stick and fit into your mental lexicon. What studies like Dumay & Gaskell (2007) show, and how to time study around sleep.
Incidental Vocabulary Learning: How Much Do You Really Pick Up from Reading and Listening?
Incidental vocabulary learning research from Nagy (1985) to Webb: realistic pick-up rates from reading and listening, what boosts them, and the limitations.
How the Brain Learns New Words: From First Encounter to Fluent Use
How the brain learns new words: encoding, the mental lexicon, fast mapping vs slow integration, and how retrieval and sleep turn a new word into a known one.
How Many Words Do You Need to Be Fluent? What the Research Actually Says
Fluency takes roughly 3,000 word families for conversation and 8,000–9,000 for reading anything. Here is what vocabulary research says, with milestones.
How Many Times Do You Need to See a Word to Learn It?
How many encounters does it take to learn a word? Research points to roughly 6 to 20, depending on the word and context. Why it varies and how to use it.
The Forgetting Curve Explained: What Ebbinghaus Found, What It Means, and How to Flatten It
The forgetting curve shows memory dropping fast, then leveling off. See Ebbinghaus's 1885 data, the 2015 replication, common myths, and how reviews flatten it.
Comprehensible Input Explained: Krashen's Theory, Its Critics, and What Actually Helps Learners
Comprehensible input explained: Krashen's input hypothesis, the main criticisms, what research supports, and how to use extensive reading to grow vocabulary.
Why Active Recall is the Secret to Long-term Memory
Stop reading your notes. Start testing yourself. Learn why active recall is the most effective study technique for learning new languages.
The Power of Contextual Highlighting
Discover why seeing words in their natural habitat is the most effective way to build a lasting vocabulary.
Why Contextual Highlighting is the Only Way Your Brain Actually Learns Words
Flashcards are dead. If you want to actually remember a word long term, your brain needs to see it in the wild through contextual highlighting.