Flashcards have been in use for at least 100 years as a way to improve memorization of words, historical facts, and basically anything that can be categorized as a right or wrong answer.

In some cases, it is a good method for memorizing a lot of information quickly. Yet, the question is: how effective are they for language learning? Being able to speak a foreign language involves much more than just recalling words.

When evaluating the effectiveness of flashcards for language learning, we ask ourselves the following questions:

• Will the learners be able to recall the word in a natural conversation?

• Will they be able to pronounce it properly?

• Will they be able to use the word correctly within the sentence? And stress it appropriately?

• Will they be able to detect and understand it in another person’s speech?

From what I have observed among my students, in most cases, the answer to all the above questions would be “no” rather than "yes." Also, on a personal level, I have found flashcards useful when cramming Japanese words for a language exam but not effective when I was trying to recall the words in a real-life situation or, even worse, understand them when I heard them in conversation.

One of the reasons for this might be that using flashcards as the main tool for learning vocabulary will make you good at exactly that — playing the “game of flashcards” and going through decks of cards as fast as possible. Words are best learned when in context, and this context can be verbal, emotional, physical, musical, etc. All the extra information from the context will make it easier to retrieve the word from memory and use it correctly. Flashcards drop this context, or, more precisely, change it. The context becomes the “game of flashcards” itself.

The research done on the effectiveness of flashcards says that they work. There is a 10% improvement in recalling the meaning of the presented card compared to a control group that studied words in some other way. But, the research focuses on the learners being able to recall the cards within the context of the flashcard “game” rather than in real-life situations.

This is not to say that flashcards are useless for language learning. Let’s see some examples.

Cases when flashcards are most effective

Flashcards are most effective when learners already have a connection with the word they want to learn, as in the following examples:

• They have been hearing the same word on many occasions but have repeatedly failed to memorize it.

• They recall a word incorrectly or mix it up with another similar word (for example, ”difficult” vs “different”).

• They vaguely remember the word and find it difficult to recall it when necessary.

• They understand the approximate meaning of the word (the emotional or contextual nuance, positive/negative implication, approximate meaning) but they never took the time to check the precise definition.

• They misused the word and someone corrected them.

• They often mispronounced a word. (In this case, digital flashcards that include pronunciation are more adequate.)

In all these cases, the learner has chosen the words to learn and will be “primed” to remember them. This is because there is an emotional and contextual support structure around them. Later on, this structure will be decisive when recalling the words.

Cases when flashcards are less effective

Flashcards are less effective when using ready-made stacks of cards for the following reasons:

• Words are being learned out of context. Even if there are example sentences these will not be part of a larger context and their role in retaining the vocabulary will be minimal.

• Even if retained for a certain period they will be forgotten quickly if there are no opportunities or active interest on the learner’s side to remember them.

• In the case of multiple-choice questions on digital cards, learners might be able to get the correct answer just by eliminating less probable answers

• One of the problems is that the learner can recall the word while using flashcards but is unable to do so in a real-life situation. Being familiar with a word within the context of the app or a card deck doesn’t mean that the learner will be able to use that word when prompted in a real-life situation.

Should you use analog or digital cards?

Now that we have seen when to use flashcards, the question that remains is — go analog or digital? Analog cards are written on small pieces of paper. Digital ones are usually created in dedicated apps. They can be pre-made or made by users. Although they are quite similar, each has some advantages and disadvantages.

Paper cards

Advantages: They seem to reinforce the retention of vocabulary in comparison to digital cards. The process of writing itself seems important. This is probably because more neural circuits are active when writing in contrast to typing or copying and pasting. Paying closer attention to details will improve memorization of the correct spelling.

Disadvantages: There is no spaced repetition calculated by an algorithm. It will depend on the learner to regularly go back to the cards and review them. Also, there is no audio to check the pronunciation, and the number of example sentences will be limited.

Digital cards

Advantages: Digital cards have the obvious advantage of keeping track of progress. The frequency and time spacing will depend on the learner’s recall of the card, or lack thereof. Being able to hear the correct pronunciation is also a plus.

Disadvantages: Learners’ focus might be weaker due to distractions on their smartphones (notifications, reminders, messages). After all, using flashcards on a smartphone or a computer is just one of the activities the learners do on their devices. Learners do not mentally connect these devices with language learning.

The choice will depend on what the learner needs. Using different kinds of cards for different learning situations is also an option.

Conclusion

Should flashcards be used when learning a language? Yes, but as a complementary tool rather than the main one.

• They work best when memorizing words that learners have encountered beforehand on their learning path.

• Self-made decks of flashcards work better than the decks somebody else made.

• Handwritten cards are slightly more effective, especially when memorizing spelling.

• Digital cards are better if the focus is on pronunciation or if the spacing of repetition is especially important for the learner.