Vocabulary That Sticks

The Vocabulary Challenge

🔄 In the previous lesson, we built a learning plan with milestones. The first milestone for any language is building a core vocabulary. But vocabulary is also where most learners waste the most time.

Traditional vocabulary study involves staring at word lists and hoping something sticks. Research shows this approach has a retention rate of about 20% after one week. You study 50 words and remember 10.

The techniques in this lesson push retention rates to 80-90%.

The Frequency Principle

Not all vocabulary is equally useful. The 1,000 most common words in any language cover approximately 80-85% of everyday conversation.

Words Known	Coverage
100 most common	~50% of spoken language
500 most common	~75% of spoken language
1,000 most common	~85% of spoken language
2,000 most common	~90% of spoken language
5,000+	~95% (diminishing returns per word)

Start with high-frequency words. Don’t waste time on rare vocabulary when you haven’t mastered the words you’ll encounter daily.

“Give me the 50 most frequently used words in [language] that a beginner should learn first. Group them by category: greetings, pronouns, common verbs, question words, numbers (1-10), and essential nouns. Include pronunciation guide and example sentences.”

Spaced Repetition System (SRS)

Spaced repetition is the single most effective vocabulary technique. Here’s how it works:

The forgetting curve: Without review, you forget ~80% of new information within a week.

The SRS fix: Review at calculated intervals that catch you just before you’d forget:

Review	Interval	Example
1st review	Same day	Learn “casa” (house) today, review tonight
2nd review	Next day	Review “casa” tomorrow
3rd review	3 days later	Review “casa” on day 4
4th review	7 days later	Review “casa” on day 11
5th review	14 days later	Review “casa” on day 25
6th review	30 days later	Now it’s in long-term memory

Tools: Anki (free, powerful) or any SRS flashcard app.

✅ Quick Check: Can you recall the coverage percentages for the 100, 500, and 1,000 most common words? If you can, that’s active recall working in real time.

AI-Powered Vocabulary Learning

Technique 1: Contextual Word Groups

Instead of random word lists, learn vocabulary in meaningful clusters:

“Teach me 8 words related to [restaurant ordering] in [language]. For each word, provide: the word, pronunciation, English meaning, an example sentence, and one memory tip (mnemonic, similar English word, or visual association).”

Technique 2: Story-Based Learning

Words embedded in stories are remembered 6-10x better than isolated words:

“Write a simple story in [language] at A1 level that naturally uses these 10 vocabulary words: [list words]. Provide the story, then an English translation, then highlight where each target word appears.”

Technique 3: Active Recall Practice

Don’t just read the word. Try to produce it:

“Quiz me on the vocabulary I learned yesterday about [topic] in [language]. Give me the English word and I’ll try to produce the [language] word. After each attempt, tell me if I’m right and remind me of the correct answer with the example sentence.”

Technique 4: Sentence Building

Use new words in your own sentences:

“I just learned these words in [language]: [list]. For each word, give me a sentence starter and I’ll complete it. Then correct my sentences and suggest more natural alternatives.”

Word Learning Depth

Don’t just learn the translation. Learn the word deeply:

Knowledge Level	What You Know	Example (Spanish: “casa”)
Recognition	Know it when you see/hear it	“That’s the word for house”
Meaning	Know the definition	“Casa means house/home”
Usage	Know how to use it in context	“Mi casa es grande”
Collocations	Know what words go with it	“En casa” (at home), “ama de casa”
Nuance	Know connotations and register	“Casa” (house/home) vs. “hogar” (home, warmer)

For high-frequency words, aim for at least the Usage level.

Building a Personal Dictionary

Keep a vocabulary journal organized by theme:

FOOD AND DRINK
==============
pan (pahn) - bread
  "Quiero pan, por favor." (I want bread, please.)
  Memory: PAN like a frying pan for bread

agua (AH-gwah) - water
  "Un vaso de agua." (A glass of water.)
  Memory: "Agua" sounds like "aqua"

“Help me create vocabulary journal entries for these 10 words I learned today in [language]: [list]. For each, include pronunciation, meaning, example sentence, related words, and a memory hook.”

Common Vocabulary Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Learning too many words at once	Limit to 5-10 new words per day
Only learning nouns	Balance nouns, verbs, adjectives, and connecting words
Not reviewing	Use SRS religiously — review is more important than new words
Learning rare words early	Focus on the 1,000 most common words first
Passive recognition only	Practice producing words, not just recognizing them
Ignoring pronunciation	Learn pronunciation from day one with each new word

Exercise

Start building your vocabulary system:

Use AI to generate the 30 most essential words for your target language
Learn the first 10 using the contextual method (not just translations)
Create vocabulary journal entries for each word
Set up a review system (Anki or AI-based quizzing)
Review your 10 words before bed and again tomorrow morning

Key Takeaways

The 1,000 most common words cover 85% of everyday conversation — start there
Spaced repetition is the most effective technique for long-term vocabulary retention
Learn words in context (sentences, stories, themes) not as isolated translations
Limit new words to 5-10 per day; review is more important than new acquisition
Learn words deeply: meaning, usage, collocations, and pronunciation
AI can generate contextual word groups, stories, quizzes, and memory aids on demand

Up next: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into Grammar Without the Pain using AI explanations tailored to your native language.