Learn, Forget, Repeat: Why Forgetting Is Actually Part of the Process in Learning English

Why you keep forgetting, and why it's not your fault… or your age

Even if I’m speaking Portuguese all the time at the moment (normal, I’m in Brazil 😀) I find that I still forget vocabulary. Apparently it’s normal, so that’s reassuring …it’s not age or memory loss. So if this happens to me here, imagine how normal this is for you English learners who are not immersed or in an English speaking country.

I find that if I read in Portuguese or use an application to revise vocabulary (I still like Mosalingua 🥰) it helps. It does something to my brain and makes it more efficient, really!

There’s a scientific reason for this.

So if you’re feeling desperate because you have the impression that you are always forgetting your vocabulary, this is for you 👌

🧪 The Science

In 1885, a German psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus did some strange experiments. He spent years memorising lists of completely meaningless syllables (things like "DAX" and "BOK") and then testing himself to measure exactly how fast he forgot them.

What he found was that within 24 hours, we forget about 50% of what we have just learned. Within a week, up to 80% is gone. Without any further review, new information simply dissolves, which means timely reviews give the biggest return on effort.

Two practical implications:

1️⃣ initial learning should be followed by short, frequent reviews;

2️⃣ spacing those reviews out increases long-term retention.

In short: learn, forget a little, review, and the forgetting gets smaller each cycle.

This became known as the Forgetting Curve. And it has nothing to do with age, intelligence, or language ability. It is simply how all human memory works.

So the next time you learn a word on Monday and it vanishes by Friday, that's entirely normal.😊

🫣 The Real Problem Isn't Forgetting. It's How You Feel About It.

Here is where things get interesting and where most learners go wrong.

When adult learners forget vocabulary, they don't just feel frustrated. They feel ashamed.

They tell themselves:

• "I'm too old for this."

• "My memory is terrible."

• "Maybe I'm just not built for languages."

And then they start avoiding the discomfort. They stop testing themselves. They only use words they already know. They reread their notes instead of actively recalling. They do everything except the one thing that actually works. They do this to protect the ego.

It looks like effort. It feels like effort. But it is actually avoidance in disguise, and it doesn’t help at all.

🧠 Why Adult Learners Feel This More Strongly

Adult professionals are usually competent. You are good at your job. People respect your opinions. You express yourself with confidence.

Then you open your English notebook and can't remember the word you studied three times last week. It feels like incompetence. I see it practically every day in classes.

But in fact, adults actually have an advantage over children when it comes to memory, if they use the right approach.

Children retain language through repetition and immersion. Adults retain it through meaning, context, and connection. Your brain is not less powerful than a child's. It simply works differently. It needs a reason to hold onto something.

✅ What Actually Works

1️⃣ Review at the right moment. Not when it's comfortable ⏱️

Timing is really important. Reviewing a word just before you forget it is much more effective than reviewing it immediately after learning it. This is called spaced repetition. Apps like Mosalingua are built on this principle, but even a simple system of revisiting words after 1 day, 3 days, then a week can transform your retention.

2️⃣ Stop learning words in lists. Learn them in moments. 📋❌

Your brain does not remember isolated vocabulary. It remembers experiences. A word you heard in a funny film or in an embarrassing conversation will stay in your head. A word from column B of a vocabulary sheet? Much less so.

✔️ So start noticing words in context. Write the sentence, not just the word. Note where you heard it. Give your brain something to attach it to.🧠

3️⃣ Make yourself retrieve it . Not just recognise it. 🤔

Rereading your notes feels productive. But It isn’t really. Recognition is easy. Retrieval is what builds real memory.

✔️ So, cover the word. Try to remember it. Get it wrong. Try again. This effort is precisely what strengthens the memory. In cognitive science it's called the testing effect, and it is one of the most reliable findings in all of memory research.

Getting it wrong is not failure. It is the process.

4️⃣ Use it before you lose it… emotionally. 🤗

We remember what is important to us. If a new word connects to something you care about, like your work, your family, your interests, it stays. If it's abstract and neutral, it fades.

When you learn a new word, ask yourself: when would I actually use this? That’s what I do 😊 Write your own example sentence. Make it personal. Then use it at the next opportunity.

🔔 A simple weekly routine

• Day 1: Learn 8–12 new items in context.

• Day 2: Active recall + use items in a short speaking or writing task.

• Day 4–5: Quick spaced review (5–10 minutes).

• Day 10–14: Longer review and reuse in a real task.
  
  

This pattern turns forgetting into a predictable step in learning rather than a reason to quit.

✨ A Final Thought

Forgetting is not the opposite of learning. It is part of it.

The learners who make real, lasting progress are not the ones with the best memories. They are the ones who have stopped fighting the forgetting curve. And learned to ride it instead.

👉 If you’re struggling to make vocabulary actually stick, I can help. If you’d like a simple weekly plan tailored to your role, I’ll draft one for you.

I’m Liz Aldam, an English teacher with more than twenty years of experience, having worked with companies like Yamaha, Faurecia, and others. I live in the Val-d’Oise region in France and I teach online.

📲Click the WhatsApp icon below and contact me😊

Liz Aldam – English Language Specialist

Phone: +33 6 16 90 60 38

Whatsapp: +55 (12) 98294-1433

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