Learning guide - English
A practical guide - what to learn first, how to make it stick, and why spaced repetition beats every other method.
English has one of the largest vocabularies of any language - estimates range from 170,000 to 750,000 words. But fluency doesn't require anything close to that. The top 3,000 most frequent words cover over 95% of everyday written and spoken English. For a second-language learner, this is the essential target: get these 3,000 words into active recall and you can read most newspapers, understand most conversations, and write clearly on almost any topic.
The most common mistake in English vocabulary study is confusing recognition with recall. You can recognise a word when you see it without being able to produce it when you need it. Spaced repetition flashcards train in both directions, but the production direction - seeing a definition or translation and producing the English word - is the one that builds speaking and writing ability.
The SM-2 algorithm in Vocabingo tracks each English word individually. After every answer, it calculates the optimal next review date: a word recalled confidently is scheduled for review in 7 days, then 14, then 30; a word you forget resets to tomorrow. This means your daily review time is always spent at the productive edge of your memory - not on words you already know solidly.
Words like "set", "run", "get", and "take" each have dozens of meanings depending on context. Learning them in isolation produces fragile knowledge. Learning them in sentences - "the project is set to launch next month", "can you take a look at this?" - builds the collocational knowledge that makes English sound natural.
At 10 new words per day with consistent review, you can work through the full 3,000-word English library in under a year. The review burden stays manageable because the SM-2 algorithm ensures mastered words appear less frequently. Trying to learn 50 words per day creates an unsustainable review backlog within weeks.
Focus on words with high collocation frequency - phrasal verbs ("give up", "take on", "look into") are far more common in real speech than formal vocabulary.
Learn word families together: "decide" → "decision" → "decisive" → "undecided".
Use audio for every new word - English spelling and pronunciation are notoriously inconsistent.
Prioritise verbs before nouns. Verbs drive sentences; nouns fill them.
Review daily. The spaced repetition queue is only effective if cleared regularly.
Research suggests 3,000 high-frequency words cover over 95% of everyday English. Native speakers actively use around 20,000–35,000 words, but the gap between 3,000 and functional fluency is much smaller than between 0 and 3,000.
English vocabulary is large and spelling-to-sound correspondence is irregular, making it harder than Spanish or Italian for many learners. The advantage is the massive quantity of content available for exposure - films, podcasts, websites, books - which accelerates acquisition through context.
The core 3,000 high-frequency words are identical in both varieties. Differences are primarily in spelling (colour/color), some nouns (lift/elevator), and informal vocabulary. Vocabingo uses British English as its primary standard.
Spaced repetition flashcards with daily 10-word sessions. Pair with regular reading in English - even 20 minutes per day of English-language content reinforces vocabulary acquired through study.
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