Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
How Many Words Do You Need? Vocabulary Size and CEFR
What research says about how many English words you need to read and listen with ease, why word counts differ, and why the CEFR gives no official number.
Learn Vocabulary
Vocabulary guides for learners: CEFR levels, exam preparation, confused words, word parts, idioms, phrasal verbs and study methods.
Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
Active Recall: Why Testing Yourself Beats Rereading
Why recalling a word beats rereading it, what the testing effect research found, where the evidence for vocabulary is mixed, and how to practice retrieval.
Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
What Is Micro Learning? Why Short Sessions Work
What micro learning is, what the spacing research supports and what it does not, and how to build a few-minutes-a-day vocabulary habit that you can keep.
Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
The Real Benefits of Learning Vocabulary Online
What learning vocabulary online can do that a paper list cannot, what a review of 33 studies found, where it falls short, and what to look for in a tool.
Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
How Spaced Repetition Works (and Why Cramming Fails)
What the research on the spacing effect says about when to review new words, what a study of language learners found, and a simple way to space your practice.
Learn Vocabulary · · 7 min read
What Is the CEFR? A Plain Guide to A1 to C2
The CEFR explained in plain English: the six levels from A1 to C2, what each one means you can do, where exams and apps use it, and what it leaves out.