Your vocab routine isn’t working if you don’t remember words. But there’s other reasons that may be at play. Here’s how to spot them and how to fix it.

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9 Signs Your Vocab Routine Isn’t Working (& How to Fix It)

1. You don’t remember words

This is the most obvious one, and the most common one, so it’s a good start point. 

If you’re struggling to actually remember the vocab you’re ‘learning’, then something isn’t working. 

How to Fix It

The first thing to know here is that you probably won’t find a way to remember every single word (you think that) you want to remember.

Unless you’re a memory champ, it’s unlikely that you’ll always have every single word you want to hand right when you want it.

So accept that. It’s ok.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t remember more words though, because you absolutely can!

The way to fix this is to adjust the methods you’re using.

Try changing something up – what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, where or when. There are plenty of options and it’s all about experimenting which will be the sweet spot for you. This is what Vibrant Vocab is all about helping you figure out.

Related: How To Learn Vocabulary Better In Any Language (& Remember It)

2. You’re bored

When I say language learning should always be fun, I don’t mean it should always be like the best day of your life chilling on the beach. 

Moreso that it should always be enjoyable, even if sometimes it’s enjoyable to different levels or in different ways. 

When it’s enjoyable, you’re engaged, and when you’re engaged, you learn and remember stuff better. Simple.

So if you’re bored when you’re doing your vocab then you know something needs to shift.

How to Fix It

If this is the problem, then the solution is simple – make it fun!

But…of course, we still want to keep it functional and flexible as well.

In Vibrant Vocab, you’ll learn how to assess if something ticks all three of these boxes before you try it, so you can avoid wasting too much time on methods that don’t work for you.

Related: How to Really Learn Languages with VR

3. You put off vocab review

You’ve seen the number getting bigger. First single digits, then double, then triple, and now that ‘to review’ word number is so high it’s intimidating. 

It feels like you’ll never get it back down to a manageable number so you just put off all your review.

How to Fix It

Personally, when I find myself in this situation, I do two things.

Firstly, I pause learning new vocab until I’ve cleared the review list, That just helps to alleviate pressure to do more.

Secondly, I set myself smaller goals. Rather than looking at the big three or four figure of words for review, I tell myself I’m going to get it down a bit.

For example, if I’ve got 167 words for review, I tell myself I’ll get it down to 150.

That’s much more achievable than zero, and providing I have time, it always makes me feel motivated to set myself another smaller goal. Once I get to 150, 125 feels doable. And so I do that. And so on.

4. You put off learning new vocab

The alternative response to a high ‘to review’ number is to stop learning new vocab altogether and tell yourself that you’ll only add new vocab when you remember all the words already in ‘to review’. 

But if you’re stuck with both this and the last trait then nothing gets done at all.

How to Fix It

There’s two options.

Either you do what I suggested for the last point – pause new words intentionally and make peace with it until you’ve cleared your review words.

Or, you accept that it’ll perhaps take longer for the review words to go down, and continue to mix and match both new vocab and review.

And, yes, I know ‘accepting it’ is the hard bit! In Vibrant Vocab, you’ll learn how to find the balance between wanting more fluency and accepting where you are in the moment.

5. The effort doesn’t feel equal to the reward

When you’re still trying, it can be exhausting and tedious when it feels like the effort doesn’t match the reward you’re getting.

In other words, when it feels like you’re doing too much to remember too little. 

When that happens, again, something with your vocab routine isn’t working and it’s time for a shake up.

How to Fix It

There’s a few possible solutions here, depending on what feels like the root of the issue.

Is it that the techniques you’re using aren’t working?

Or perhaps you always study when it’s late at night and you’re too tired to remember much?

Whatever it is, the solution is to conduct a mini Language Learning Audit on your vocab to figure out the problem so you can pick the right solution. And yes, this is in Vibrant Vocab too!

Related: Rewards Or Threats? How to Find & Maintain Your Unique Motivation

6. It all goes to pot when you take a break

You should be able to take a holiday from your languages. They shouldn’t hold you hostage!

If every time you take a break from your vocab routine, everything goes to pot and it takes ages to get back on that horse, then your vocab routine isn’t flexible enough.

How to Fix It

When your languages get messed up when ‘life’ happens, they’re not flexible enough.

So the fix for this is to ensure that your vocab routine is flexible.

Consider how easily accessible your resources are – are they tucked away on the highest shelf or kept out and readily available?

Think about having alternative options for common stumbling blocks too. For example, is there an option to download content on your language apps for when you’re plagued by dodgy wifi?

Related: How to Organise Language Learning At Festive Times (+ Benefits of a Forced Break If Things Don’t Go to Plan)

7. You tell people you “don’t have the vocab for that”

If you’re constantly holding yourself back from situations, or resorting to English to avoid the (supposed) awkwardness of making mistakes or not speaking perfectly, then your vocab routine isn’t working.

How to Fix It

Some vocab learning is incidental. We pick up new words while watching films, hearing others speak, or general language study.

And then, some vocab learning is intentional. We use the app, we practice the vocab list, we work to intentionally fill in the gaps in our knowledge.

That’s what needs to happen when you’re telling people you “don’t have the vocab for that”.

You need to intentionally work to fill those gaps in your knowledge so you can confidently keep speaking next time.

8. You have nothing to say in a conversation

Responding with an “erm” time and time again gets really frustrating really fast. It can be a big source of language shame when you don’t know what to say, and I’ve heard from people time and time again who have given up because they can’t handle the awkward discomfort that plays such an essential role in language learning.

There’s a few reasons why we might have nothing to say. One is quite simply not having the vocab, which as you might have guessed, means your vocab routine isn’t working.

How to Fix It

One of the easiest ways to always have something to say is to create what I call an ‘Up Your Sleeve’ List – so you always have something Up Your Sleeve to say!

This also helps you to drive conversation towards topics you’re more comfortable talking about.

I share more about the Up Your Sleeve List in Language Life, but I also added in a lesson on it to Vibrant Vocab because it’s a helpful tool to figure out what vocab is worth learning next.

Related: How to Speak Better In Another Language

9. You don’t understand others in a conversation

More times than not you find yourself saying “I don’t understand” or simply staring blankly with big eyes at whoever is talking to you. 

There’s no shame in that. You don’t learn a language overnight.

But when you frequently don’t understand conversations, it’s a sign you can make some adjustments to your vocab routine.

How to Fix It

Vocab learning isn’t just about memorising lists.

Besides, not all vocab you encounter will be written like in your list.

Something that’s often missing from vocab practice is listening and speaking.

So the fix here? Make sure you’ve incorporated listening to your vocab routine.

That will get you more comfortable with the words when they’re spoken as well as written.

Related: Developing Better Listening Skills for Language Learning

The Good News…!

The good news is that a bad vocab routine is fixable. Here’s how.

– Flexible, functional, fun

You language learning should always be flexible, functional, and fun. This applies to every element too, including your vocab routine. 

In Vibrant Vocab, there’s a lesson all about how to make your vocab tick all three of these boxes.

– Ensure both Focused and Rote Attention

A good vocab routine takes advantage of both Focus and Rote attention states.

Most vocab learning ends up being rote.

Think repetitive vocab lists, long audio tracks of just words, tapping and swiping mindlessly on apps.

It’s important to make sure you’ve got some Focused Attention too.

Consider learning in context, including listening that requires more attention, or simply finding ways to pay more attention to your apps.

Join Vibrant Vocab!

If you’ve been struggling to learn vocabulary, it’s time to change your approach.

Vibrant Vocab is the online course that teaches you how to finally learn vocabulary once and for all. We’ll help you understand:

What words are, and how they work. And how to use this to help you learn words.

The biggest thing you can do to instantly help you remember words. And all the different ways that can be applied for your way of learning.

The essential words to learn first that let you say what you want to say. So you can communicate without waiting to learn aaaaalll the words.

And we’re not just talking about memorizing lists of words—we’re talking about understanding how they work so that they stick with you forever!

Sound good? Learn more and join Vibrant Vocab here.

Get the Essential Vocab List.

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