Frequently Asked Questions

How should I learn with Lingvist and why does it work?

Where to start

Every time you launch the app, you will see a starting page which we call the hub.

The hub on mobile

The hub shows your weekly learning history, list of and progress of activated decks.

To begin practice, click the “Learn” button in the utility belt at the bottom of the screen.

The hub on desktop

How to find your optimal learning schedule

Since every learner has an individual learning curve, your speed and depth of learning are unique to your learning cycle. Our observations show that learning 50 words a day, 4 times a week delivers better results.

Best learning practices

Focus on working with the Learn module and do at least 50 cards daily, at least every other day. On those days when you can do more, try to outdo yourself and practice more cards.

Some learners find it useful to support their learning when not on Lingvist with outside exposure to the language, such as switching their phone and computer to the language they are learning. We also recommend creatively incorporating your target language into your everyday activities. For example, if you are cooking meals at home, opt to do so with a cooking show in the language you are learning.

Why it works

And finally, just a few words about why Lingvist works for others and why we expect it will work for you:

• We teach you the most commonly spoken words first. Having analyzed millions of bits of data from news articles, film subtitles, and books, we build our courses around the words’ statistical relevance. For example, you’ll learn the word “money” before the word “school” in French, because it’s more likely to come up in contemporary conversation.
• The course smartly adapts to your mistakes. Following the spaced repetition formula, our app will repeat the words where you make more mistakes more frequently and will go through the words which are easier for you faster. With the improving algorithm, we will be able to map out the words you are likely to know based on your answers and remove them from your words to practice, so you will be getting the most value out of your learning.
• The app knows when to show you new words and when to repeat previously learned words. We show you no unnecessary repetitions. Don’t worry if you think you haven’t seen a word you learned some time ago in a while. The algorithm knows when it is the optimal time to show it to you.