Techniques
Language learning techniques are the specific methods you use to acquire a language — comprehensible input, spaced repetition, deliberate output. The research is consistent: how you practice matters as much as how long. This section covers evidence-based approaches that work across languages and learning styles.
The way you study a language matters at least as much as the number of hours you put in. Research consistently shows that learners who use evidence-based methods — comprehensible input at the right level, spaced repetition, deliberate output practice — progress significantly faster than those who rely on passive exposure or rote memorization alone.
This section covers the practical side of language learning science: what the research says about how acquisition actually works, the common obstacles that stall intermediate learners, and the specific strategies that move the needle. Whether you're trying to understand why you feel stuck at B1, or looking for a more principled approach to your study sessions, the articles here are grounded in linguistics research rather than marketing copy.
A few ideas recur throughout: input should be slightly above your current level, vocabulary retention improves dramatically with spacing and retrieval practice, and the intermediate plateau is less a single wall than a cluster of specific, diagnosable problems. The articles below go deeper on each of these.
Start Here
Escaping the Intermediate Plateau
Stuck at B1 and not sure why? Here's what's actually blocking intermediate learners, and how to address each obstacle with the right practice and tools.
How Polyglots Learn Differently
Polyglots aren't wired differently — the science is clear. Here's what actually separates people who master many languages from those who quit at B1.
Language Learning Podcasts: The Complete Guide (2026)
Podcasts can help you learn a language, but only when the audio matches your level. Here's how to use them at A1, B1, and beyond.
All Techniques
What Counts as Semi-Fluent? Plus Tips to Become Fluent
Here's why it's so easy to fall into the semi-fluent trap, and tips to actually become fluent when learning any language.
TPRS: How Story-Based Language Teaching and Learning Works
TPRS is about creating fun foreign-language stories with huge repetition to deliver comprehensible input. We cover the science and how to use it.
The Silent Period: Should adults avoid speaking a new language?
The silent period explains why children spend so long just absorbing language before speaking — but should adult language learners do the same?
Second Lanuage Vocabulary Acquisition: How Words Actually Stick
Vocabulary acquisition research explains why words you've studied three times still vanish on demand — and how to get better at retaining vocab.
Spaced Repetition for a New Language: Why Timing Beats Cramming
The real science of Spaced Repetition for learning a language, and how to make it go ever further. Learn far more words in 3 months.
Skill Acquisition Theory: How Second Language Grammar Works
Skill Acquisition Theory explains why it's so easy to know the rule but freeze when you speak. Learn how to practice to turn rules into reflexes.
Input Processing: Why Foreign Language Grammar Is Hard
Why you can understand a sentence but can't use the grammar yourself. Input processing research explains why, and how to make grammar stick.
Interlanguage: Why Language Errors Follow Rules (And The Fix)
Interlanguage is the strange system your brain creates when learning a new language, and how understanding interlanguage helps you study better.