Word list or sentence: which one sticks? A word needs 6 to 12 encounters
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- 0:00A list gives you the word and its translation.
- 0:03A sentence gives you the word doing its job.
- 0:07In 1972, Craik and Lockhart showed that how deeply you process a word matters far more than how often you repeat it.
- 0:16A bare pair is shallow processing.
- 0:18A sentence makes you work out the meaning, and that is what sticks.
- 0:23Nation puts it in numbers: a word needs six to twelve meaningful encounters before it is yours.
- 0:30A bare pair review only partly counts.
- 0:34A review with the word in a sentence counts in full.
- 0:37Try it free in the guest study tool, no sign-up: every card there shows the word in a sentence. The link is in the pinned comment.
A list gives you the word and its translation. A sentence gives you the word doing its job. Craik and Lockhart's Levels of Processing (1972): how deeply you process a word matters far more than how often you repeat it. A bare word = translation pair is shallow processing; a sentence makes you work out the meaning. Nation (Learning Vocabulary in Another Language, 2001): a word typically needs 6 to 12 meaningful encounters before it is acquired. A bare-pair review only partly counts; a review where you meet the word in a sentence counts in full.