In today's post in the Language Learning in 2025 series I am focusing on vocabulary study, offering tips to help you approach this area that cover many learning styles. As always, I have no paid affiliation with any of the resources mentioned in this post; I am only suggesting them as options that have worked for me. They may not suit everyone's learning style.

Vocabulary

Another thing I recall from my school days is being given vocabulary lists to take home and memorise before the next class. One more tedious exercise I don’t regret leaving behind at the end of high school!

As with grammar, rote memorisation of words isn’t going to inspire anyone with excitement, nor is it the most efficient way to acquire a good range of vocabulary in your target language. For this chapter I will introduce a few approaches you could take, depending on what style of learning works for you.

Vocabulary Study Approaches

1. Flashcards

The basis for this type of vocabulary study is spaced repetition, which was first conceived way back in the 1880s. It utilises the idea of the forgetting curve, which you can fight against by reviewing new information at set intervals. These intervals are initially close together, but gradually move farther apart as the item (in this case the word) becomes more familiar to you.

If you use a programme like Anki or Memrise, it will do all the heavy lifting for you, bringing the words back for review at set intervals without you having to worry about the timing. Or you can make offline flashcards and set up your own system if you prefer to be more hands-on. Writing the word yourself can also aid memory, but it will be a lot more time consuming.

2. Write, Look, Cover, Repeat (WLCR)

This is another standard, but more hands-on, study method undertaken with pen and paper. On a notebook page you start by drawing a vertical line in the middle. On the left you write a word or phrase in your native language, and on the right you pop the same word or phrase in your target language. Give them a quick review, reading them aloud, then set the notebook aside for seven days.

The next week, come back, cover the target language side of the page and tick off any that you remember.

If you couldn’t recall some, review those again and rewrite them, the same way as before, on the next page. Come back a week later and see if you know them now. Repeat week by week, and as the original list shortens you can add new words/phrases alongside the older ones. This method still employs elements of repetition, but without the changes to the intervals in which that repetition takes place.

With both methods 1 and 2 the danger is that you learn a long string of words without any context, making it hard to use the words yourself even though you recognise them when you encounter them. One way to try to prevent this is to create your flashcards or WLCR phrases in such a way that they incorporate a full sentence example to illustrate the word’s usage.

3. Labelling

This is another method I’ve seen mentioned online where you wander around your house with Post-It notes and attach them to various objects. The stickers will have the target language name for those items written on them. So, as you go about your daily life, you will see them constantly as a reminder. The major downsides of this method are: 1) lack of context; 2) limitation of words you can learn in this manner; 3) the amount you’ll have to spend on buying these Post-It notes; and 4) the inconvenience it could cause you and your family to have these notes in the way everywhere. If you are a particularly tactile learner, maybe it’s worth a try, but I personally consider it the last effective of the four methods I am mentioning here.

4. Learning through exposure

This is the way I study vocabulary these days (with the exception of Japanese where I also do a small amount of work with flashcards for kanji). I don’t spend time on vocabulary as a separate area. Instead I pick up words and expressions through extensive listening and reading.

As I am listening to a podcast or reading a text, when I come across an unknown word, I look it up. In the case of reading, I’ll jot the English translation lightly in pencil in the book above the word in question.

You may choose to write new words in a notebook, but if you are doing so, beware of simply creating long lists of words you’ll never look at again. Instead, try to write one or two sentences featuring the word to keep it in context and help cement it in your mind.

What Vocabulary to Study

As a beginner, I recommended starting with the every day words and expressions you would need to undertake common activities in your daily lives (e.g. shopping, ordering at a restaurant etc.).

I see a lot of themed vocabulary lists and videos online. These may be useful in some circumstances, but be wary of memorising fifty animal names when you may only need five of them in your general daily conversation. It’s a waste of time and energy, especially in the early days, to learn too many words you don’t need (or at least don’t need yet).

As you progress, concentrate next on the things that interest you or relate to your hobbies, as these are also areas you are likely going to wish to speak/write about regularly. Learning common conjunctions also becomes useful as you move into high beginner/low intermediate level as they can help you expand your sentences.

After that, continue to build your vocabulary naturally through immersion.