How to Learn English Fast: 3 Problems I Solved and How You Can Too

The fastest way to learn English is to beat the three problems that slow most learners down: remember new words with flashcards and spaced repetition, starting with the most common ones; turn spare minutes into study time with audio; and start speaking with native speakers early. Here's how I solved each of them.

I asked myself how to learn English fast when I was 32 and started learning it almost from scratch. Very quickly, I ran into three problems:

1. Building vocabulary and remembering hard words
2. Finding time to study
3. Finding native speakers to practice with

Like almost everyone who learns a foreign language, I had to solve all three to make real progress. The tools I built along the way became Lingocard.

1. Build your vocabulary and remember hard words

Best for: beginners, and anyone who keeps forgetting new words.

The quickest way to grow your English vocabulary is to learn the most useful words first and review them right before you would forget them.

I started the classic way, with paper flashcards: an English word on one side, its translation on the other. After a couple of months, I had several hundred cards, and carrying them around became a real hassle. I looked for a simple, convenient app, couldn't find one, and since I had experience developing software, I built my own. (I tell the full story in my guide on how to improve your vocabulary.)

The first version of Lingocard was an Android app with one deck of cards. Soon I wanted every card to have audio and ready-made decks of the most frequently used words. Developer friends liked the idea, more enthusiasts joined, and today the app is free on Google Play and the App Store.

Two things make vocabulary stick much faster:

• Start with the most common words. Research on word frequency suggests that the 1,000 most common words make up about 85% of everyday speech; our frequency dictionary guide explains why. A good first deck: The 100 Most Common English Words with Pronunciation.
• Review at the right moment. A spaced repetition system shows each hard word right before you're likely to forget it, so you spend time only on the words that need it.

Words also stick better in context. Once I started speaking, I realized how important it is to build sentences quickly, so we added cards with whole phrases, sentences and idioms. Today the app has hundreds of thousands of them, and you can memorize new words with flashcards that include audio and spaced repetition.

2. Find time to study, even on busy days

Best for: people with a job, a family or a long commute.

You don't need long study sessions to learn English fast; you need to use the minutes you already have.

Lack of time was my second big problem. So we built an audio player that reads any text or deck of cards in the order you choose, alternating each English word with its translation. That way you can learn English the way you listen to music: on the way to work, at the gym or while cooking. The player currently supports about 40 to 50 languages, depending on your device and platform.

Short, regular sessions work better than rare long ones. If you want to make the most of small pockets of time, read our guide to microlearning in language learning. And because everything lives in one mobile app to learn English, your words, audio and review schedule are always in your pocket.

3. Practice speaking with native speakers

Best for: anyone who understands English but hesitates to speak.

To speak English fluently, you need real conversations, and the sooner you start, the faster you improve.

Finding native speakers to practice with was the hardest of my three problems. Back then, I wrote a whole guide on how to find native speakers for language practice. Since then, we've solved it inside Lingocard: today you can get English speaking practice with native speakers and other learners right away.

Start with short conversations about everyday topics. When you hear a new word or phrase, add it to your flashcards, and it becomes part of your next review.

Put it all together

Within a few months of our first release, tens of thousands of people around the world were using the app. They sent us thank-you letters, reported mistakes and shared ideas, and many of those ideas became the features described above.

If you want to learn English fast, combine all three steps:

1. Learn the most common words first, with flashcards and spaced repetition.
2. Turn spare minutes into study time with audio.
3. Speak with native speakers as early as you can.

You'll find everything you need to learn English online in one place.

When I started, Lingocard was a small app for my own flashcards. Today it has grown into a global, all-in-one language learning platform: flashcards with audio, frequency dictionaries, spaced repetition, speaking practice with learners and native speakers around the world, and tools for teachers who run their own online schools. I hope it helps you learn English faster than I did.