Learn English vocabulary by topic, reviewed just before you forget

Why you forget new words so fast

The brain forgets what it sees only once very quickly: after a day, most new words have faded. This is the forgetting curve, described by the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 19th century.

The fix is not studying more, it is reviewing at the right time. Each time you recall a word just before you forget it, the memory gets stronger and the next review can wait longer.

What is spaced repetition?

Spaced repetition is a way to schedule reviews: words you remember easily come back days or weeks later, words you often forget come back sooner. English Town uses the FSRS algorithm, the same kind used by well-known flash card apps, to schedule each word for you personally.

Three ways to learn a word

Mixed mode keeps switching the question type, so you know each word by its spelling, its meaning and its sound.

• Flash cards: see the word, recall the meaning, flip the card and grade yourself.
• Meaning to word: the meaning appears and you type the English word. Harder, so it sticks better.
• Listen and type: hear the pronunciation and type the word. Trains your ears and spelling together.

Learn by topic, starting with everyday conversation

Words are grouped into sets by topic, with everyday conversation first. Each set shows how many words you know and how many are due for review. Each session adds at most 10 new words and the rest is review, so the workload never piles up.

Review English vocabulary with games

• Arena: word duels against the computer or real players. See a word and pick its meaning, or hear a word and pick it, with a weekly leaderboard.
• Arcade: Street Run (swipe to the gate with the right word) and Zombie Typing (type the right word to stop the zombies). Words you miss go back to the gym for review.

Tips to remember English words longer

• Learn words in sentences, not alone: a sentence shows you how the word is used.
• Group by topic: words on the same topic remind you of each other.
• Little and often: 10 new words a day for a month is 300 words.
• Use them right away: saying a new word in a conversation is the surest way to keep it.