The single biggest thing you can do to speed up your learning, is studying with spaced repetition flashcards*.
You probably know flashcards as little cards with a word in the target language on one side, and the translation on the other, which you can use to quiz yourself.
Spaced repetition is a more advanced, personalized and algorithm-driven version of this system. After every flashcard review, you rate how well you know that particular word. The better you know it, the longer the time interval until the next review. And vice versa, if a word is very difficult for you, you’ll review it again sooner. This allows you to deliberately practice your weak points.
It also makes use of the spacing effect: after every review of a word, you will be able to remember it for longer until your recall drops below a certain level again. So suppose you learn a new word, and review it the next day, and your recall is still good. The interval until the next review will then be increased to 6 days. If your recall is still good after 6 days, the interval until the review after that will be increased to 9 days, and so on.
Spaced repetition allows you to memorize the largest amount of information in the least amount of time. With tools like Traverse.link or Anki there is no need to track yourself - the algorithm creates the optimal review schedule for you.
You can do flashcard reviews at times that would otherwise be ‘dead time’: while waiting in a queue, sitting in transit, or going to the bathroom. This usually adds up to anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes a day, which is more than enough time to do your daily flashcard reviews. You can always do more if you feel like it, but the most important thing is reviewing consistently every day.
The only thing you should be aware of is adding new flashcards. If you add too much in one go, your reviews might become overwhelming. Therefore, it is recommended to add just 10-20 new flashcards every day. That keeps your reviews manageable and makes it easier to stay motivated.
Flashcard reviews will be an ongoing practice during your language learning journey, which you will do in parallel with more ‘focused’ and time-intensive activities.
In the next pages you’re going to create your first flashcards.