How to review language flashcards effectively: 7 tips

Do you want to use flashcards in your language learning, but need some pointers? Then this post is for you! Learn how to review language flashcards as effectively as possible.

Flashcards can be an incredible tool in language learning, but you have to be smart about it. In this post, I’ll explain how you can get the maximum benefit out of your flashcards. Let’s make sure that you are investing your time and efforts wisely!

The following tips apply to both digital and paper flashcards. (Speaking of which – if you are wondering whether you should use electronic or physical flashcards, read my handy post about the pros and cons of each option.)

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How To Review Your Flashcards Effectively: 7 Tips

I consider myself a flashcard addict. Over the last 15 years, I have used flashcards for many different languages. I credit flashcards with my ability to speak Spanish, Russian, and Polish and with my advanced knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek. And over the years, I have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t work.

The principle of the flashcard is pretty simple, but actually making and reviewing your flashcards can be more complicated. My students often ask me how to study flashcards properly, and this post represents a synthesis of everything that I tell them.

So let’s dive in. Here are my top seven tips for how to review language flashcards effectively!

Tip #1: Study your flashcards in both directions.

It is critical to do your flashcards both ways. What do I mean by this? Well, each flashcard will have English (or your native language) on one side and your target language on the other.

When you review, make sure you a) sometimes look at the English word or phrase first and then recall the target language equivalent, and b) other times look at the target language first and then give the English counterpart. In other words, sometimes go front to back and other times back to front.

Why is this so important? In language learning, we often talk about active vs. passive vocabulary. Your active vocabulary refers to words which you can remember and use yourself without a problem. Your passive vocabulary, on the other hand, consists of words that you understand in context when someone else uses them, but can’t produce on your own.

All of us have larger passive vocabularies, even in our native languages. It’s natural and inevitable. But when we are learning a new language, we typically want our new words to be fully activated. And to do that, we need to be able to not only a) give the definition of a foreign word but also b) produce the foreign word when given the equivalent in our own language.

If you use paper flashcards, simply flip over the stack and review your cards in the opposite direction. As far as digital cards go, you can choose which side of the card you wish to see first in Anki, Quizlet, and other flashcard programs. I typically “flip” my decks in my Anki app every few weeks.

Tip #2: Recite your target language vocabulary out loud.

As you review your flashcards, recite your answers out loud. This engages more senses in your studies. You aren’t just seeing the information, but you are speaking it and hearing it, too. The added sensory input helps with memorization, and, as a bonus, you will improve your pronunciation!

Note that I always say my target language words out loud, regardless of which direction I am reviewing my cards in. That’s the language you need to practice, after all.

Even if you are learning a “dead” language, like Latin, you should still say the words out loud. Trust me, it helps with reading comprehension and makes you feel more confident overall in your language skills.

In addition to the practical benefits mentioned above, I find that flashcards are simply more fun when I say their contents out loud. I have definitely received some weird looks in stores and on public transportation when people hear me muttering to myself. But hey, they can deal with it.

(If you do feel uncomfortable talking out loud to yourself in public, even moving your lips can help engage you more deeply in memorization.)

Tip #3: Shuffle your flashcards each time you review.

It is important to mix up the order of your flashcards whenever you sit down to study. Why? Well, you don’t want your brain to start associating the meaning of a word with the meaning of the word on the preceding card or something like that.

Trust me, it happens more often than you would think. Our brains are great at looking for patterns, even irrelevant ones. This, incidentally, is why it’s best not to put more than one word per flashcard.

So make sure that you diversify your flashcard sequence! If you use paper flashcards, just get in the habit of shuffling your deck before you review. If you use a program like Quizlet or StudyBlue, you can select an option to randomize the order of the cards. Note that Anki does this by default as part of its spaced repetition software. (Yay Anki!)

Tip #4: Bring your flashcards with you everywhere.

I strongly recommend that you make your flashcards your constant traveling companions. It is particularly easy to review language flashcards on the fly if you use an app on your smartphone. But I carry paper flashcards with me, too. Just grab a few dozen when you head out the door and stash them in your pocket or purse.

I like these handy flashcard holders for carrying around paper flashcards, especially larger ones.

Once you start carrying your flashcards with you, you realize just how much down time you have. In line at the post office? Coffee not quite ready at Starbucks? Waiting to pick up your child from school? Whip out your cards.

Even just a minute is enough time to study a few words or phrases. It doesn’t have to be a big production and you certainly don’t need to review everything all at once. In fact, doing flashcards on the go helps to break up the material into manageable increments.

And if you don’t think of flashcards as some sort of crazy ordeal, you will do them more frequently!

Tip #5: Review your flashcards every day.

Flashcards need to be reviewed often in order to yield benefits. This is fairly obvious, but it is important, so I am stressing it here anyway. Don’t just pull your cards out when you have a test looming. Consistency is key.

If you are consistent with your cards, you won’t need to cram for tests, since you will have a solid knowledge of your target language vocabulary. Not to mention that the long-term memory rate is higher if you learn words over a period of time. Cramming may get you through a test, but it won’t help you to master a language.

Note, however, that I did NOT say to do every card every day. In fact, I highly discourage this; it is not a smart or efficient use of your time and energy, and I’m all about smart language learning. Remember, this post is about how to review language flashcards EFFECTIVELY. Plus, as your number of cards increases, studying them all every day soon becomes impractical or impossible anyway.

So, which flashcards should you review each day? This brings us to the next tip.

Tip #6: Employ some sort of spaced repetition system.

This sounds fancy and scary, but all it means is that you should have a system in place that spaces out your flashcard reviews. Studies have shown that you retain information better if you break it up over intervals of time (that is, spaced repetition).

So how do you apply this in your language learning? Well, the basic goal is to study newer and/or more difficult cards more frequently than older and/or easier cards.

This makes sense, if you think about it. You will memorize some words more quickly than others, and so you shouldn’t spend as much time on them. Remember, you want to do your flashcards as effectively and efficiently as possible – and that means not over-studying.

Spaced Repetition in Paper Flashcards

If you use paper flashcards, here’s what you should do. Have one stack for brand new/difficult cards, one for new-ish/slightly familiar cards, one for cards you feel comfortable with, and one for very easy cards. (You can add as many additional stacks as you want.)

Review the brand new cards every day, the new-ish ones every other day, the comfortable cards around once a week, and the very easy cards every other week or so. (Adjust this as needed.)

Each day, after you review each individual card, decide when you want to see it again and put it in the appropriate stack. If you miss or have trouble with a card, set it on a temporary “trouble” pile. Study all of these “trouble” cards again once you finish your other cards for the day. Then put all the “trouble” cards in your “new” stack to review the next day.

This sounds complicated, but I promise that it is actually quite simple and intuitive once you get the hang of it. Just remember: the ultimate goal is to review HARD cards more often than EASY cards. Aim for that and you’ll be fine!

People have various opinions on how frequently you should review flashcards of differing ease. One popular spaced repetition method is the Leitner system, if you want to do more research.

Spaced Repetition in Digital Flashcards

If you use a digital flashcard program, you may not need to worry about spacing your cards out manually. My favorite flashcard program, Anki, uses spaced repetition software (SRS) to determine which cards you should review every day. So if you use Anki, your learning is already optimized without you having to do anything. You can read a fuller explanation of SRS in my discussion of digital vs. paper flashcards.

Quizlet, unfortunately, does not use SRS anymore. But you can “star” difficult cards and review those more frequently.

Tip #7: Tweak flashcards that you miss too many times.

Often we make flashcards and then consider their content set in stone. Don’t do this! For one thing, it is good to go back and update cards as your knowledge of the language develops. But beyond this, sometimes a specific flashcard, for whatever reason, just doesn’t stick in your brain.

If you notice that a flashcard is haunting your “trouble” pile consistently and more often than other cards, it is time to tweak it. In fact, if you use Anki, the program will pull such cards from the rotation and call them “leeches”. You won’t see these leeches again until you remove the “leech” tag and (ideally) make some changes.

You want to review language flashcards in a smart way, so if you use paper flashcards, simulate this leech-removing process. After all, if you are continually messing things up, something has gone wrong and the card is sucking up your time and energy (just like a leech!).

This means that you should make the information on the card more accessible or simply different. So set aside your “trouble” cards for further attention.

How do you modify “trouble” cards? Often it is as easy as changing the format, rearranging words, or adding some bright colors. (I am a big believer in bright colors on flashcards!)

Sometimes you have crammed too much information onto the card and you need to cut back. If you think it is the word itself that is the problem, try adding mnemonics or other memory aids.

The point is – tweak the card in some way, even if you just go and write all your target language words in bright pink. Give your brain some fresh stimuli.

Go Review Your Language Flashcards!

And that’s it. Those are my seven tips for studying your flashcards effectively (and efficiently). So now that you know how to review language flashcards, it’s time to put all of these tips into action. Get started now! There is a fascinating world of language learning out there to be explored.

Oh, and bonus tip – if you can, review your flashcards with a friend. I say “if you can”, since this only really works if both of you are studying the same language. My husband and I do Sumerian flashcards together sometimes and it’s a lot of fun!

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