Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It

by Gabriel Wyner

since we need deep, memorable experiences to get the most out of spaced repetition, we might as well get them in the process of making our flash cards. The card construction process is one of the most fun and satisfying ways to learn a language. Content in the knowledge that every detail will become a permanent memory, you become the architect of your own mind. What breed of dog will you think about when you wish to remember the word dog? Which examples will you choose to form your verb conjugations? What vocabulary is most useful for your own life? Making these decisions forms an exciting part of the learning process and, ultimately, takes very little time. After getting used to your SRS, you can add new cards in a matter of seconds. For most nouns, you can simply type the word once, search for a picture on Google Images, and copy (or draw) it onto your card. This can take less than fifteen seconds. Imagery for more complicated ideas will, of course, take more time to identify—a process that itself gives you the connections you need to make a word your own.