Spaced Repetition for Vocabulary Retention
The science of when to revise each word
What It Is
Spaced repetition means reviewing vocabulary and grammar at increasing intervals — rather than cramming everything in one session. You revise a word the day after you first learn it, then three days later, then a week, then two weeks, and so on. Each time you successfully recall it, the gap before the next review gets longer.
For GCSE French, this is transformative. You need to know approximately 1,700 words across three themes, plus verb conjugations in multiple tenses. Cramming the night before won’t work — spaced repetition will.
Why It Works
The “forgetting curve” (Ebbinghaus, 1885) shows that we forget roughly 70% of new information within 24 hours — unless we review it. Each review resets the curve and makes the memory last longer. Spaced repetition exploits this by timing your reviews at the exact point where you’re about to forget.
A meta-analysis by Cepeda et al. (2006) found that spaced practice was more effective than massed practice in 259 out of 271 cases. For language learning, where you’re building thousands of word-meaning associations, spacing is especially powerful.
How to Do It: Step-by-Step
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1
Choose your system — Use a digital app (Anki, Quizlet) or a physical card box with dividers labelled Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, Day 30. Digital apps handle the scheduling automatically.
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2
Add 10–15 new words per day — Don’t add everything at once. Group by AQA theme and sub-topic (e.g. Theme 1: Ma famille). Include the French, English, gender (le/la), and an example sentence.
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3
Review due cards daily — Each day, review words that are “due” according to the schedule. If you get a word right, it moves to a longer interval. If you get it wrong, it resets to the shortest interval.
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4
Include verb conjugations as separate cards — Don’t just learn infinitives. Create cards for: parler (present) → je parle, tu parles, il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent. Then separate cards for passé composé, future, and conditional forms.
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Test both directions — You need English → French (for writing and speaking) AND French → English (for reading and listening). Create cards for both.
The Spacing Schedule
| Review | Interval | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1st review | 1 day after learning | Catches words about to be forgotten — expect to struggle |
| 2nd review | 3 days later | Memory starts to consolidate — correct words feel easier |
| 3rd review | 7 days later | Words entering medium-term memory — most should feel familiar |
| 4th review | 14 days later | Long-term storage forming — only forgotten words need extra work |
| 5th review | 30 days later | If you still remember it, it’s locked in for the exam |
When and How Often
20 minutes daily is ideal. The key is consistency — 20 minutes every day beats 2 hours once a week. Start at least 3 months before the exam so words have time to reach long-term memory through multiple review cycles.
Week 1, Day 1 — Relationships vocabulary:
| Front (English) | Back (French) | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| to get on well with | bien s’entendre avec | Je m’entends bien avec ma sœur parce qu’elle est sympa. |
| to argue | se disputer / se quereller | Parfois je me dispute avec mes parents au sujet des tâches ménagères. |
| trust | la confiance | La confiance est la chose la plus importante dans une amitié. |
| friendship | l’amitié (f) | J’ai une amitié très forte avec mon meilleur ami. |
| to support | soutenir | Mes parents me soutiennent toujours dans mes études. |
Day 2: Review these 5 cards + add 5 new ones (daily routine vocab). Day 4: Review Day 1 cards again + Day 2 due cards + add 5 new. The deck grows, but daily review time stays around 15–20 minutes because older cards need reviewing less often.
Common Mistakes
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Adding too many words at once — Adding 50 words on Day 1 creates a review avalanche by Day 3. Stick to 10–15 new words per day maximum.
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Skipping days — Missing a day breaks the spacing schedule and lets words slip back down the forgetting curve. Even 10 minutes on a busy day is better than nothing.
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Learning words in isolation — A word without context is harder to remember and harder to use. Always include an example sentence on the back of each card.
Quick Start: Try It Now
Pick 10 French words from your weakest topic. Write each one on a card (or add to Quizlet/Anki) with the English, the gender, and one example sentence. Review them tomorrow — and set a reminder for Day 3.