The short version
learn it inside a clear phrase, try to recall it before seeing the answer, return to it at increasing intervals and use it in your own speech or writing.
Six practical steps
1. Choose something you will use
Vocabulary connected to your work, travel, conversations or favourite content has an obvious purpose. Start with phrases that are likely to appear in your real life, not a random dictionary page.
2. Save a unit of meaning
Do not reduce check out to one translation. Check out of a hotel and check out this video are different uses. A short context makes the intended meaning unambiguous.
3. Recall before revealing the answer
Read the prompt and give yourself a few seconds. Rereading builds familiarity; retrieval practice builds the ability to produce the answer when it is absent.
4. Rate the result honestly
A forgotten answer is “Again”. A correct answer that took real effort is “Hard”. The rating is not a grade — it is information used to schedule the next review.
5. Return at useful intervals
Do not review every card every day. Stable cards should appear less often and forgotten ones sooner. This is the job of FSRS.
6. Use the phrase outside the card
Write a message, make your own sentence or say the phrase aloud. Cards keep an expression accessible; actual use links it to a real communicative task.
A simple weekly routine
| When | What to do | Useful limit |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | Complete the reviews that are due first | A short session without racing |
| 2–3 times a week | Add a small number of new phrases | Only what the future queue can absorb |
| Once a week | Remove low-value cards and clarify context | Quality before quantity |
| In real life | Use two or three phrases | A message, note or conversation |
What usually gets in the way
- Too many new words. A few days later they return as an unmanageable review queue.
- One translation without context. Polysemous words create a false sense of mastery.
- Revealing the answer immediately. This trains recognition rather than retrieval.
- Choosing “Easy” just to dismiss a card. The scheduler receives a misleading signal.
- Practising only EN → RU. Understanding a phrase does not guarantee that you can produce it.
How Easy Peasy English helps
The Russian-language app includes 74 ready-made decks, 2,281 unique cards, separate EN → RU and RU → EN practice, and FSRS scheduling. Start with ready-made material, add your own expressions and see the actual reviews due today.
Start with one small topic
Choose a useful ready-made deck and complete one short session.