Picture-and-word cards get dull fast, and you may be wondering what else to try. These english flashcards ideas change what students do with each card: recall, sort, spell, say and space reviews. Start by changing the task, not the picture.
Flashcards are one of many tools covered in the guide to esl teaching resources.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Leitner system first proposed | 1970s |
| Original Leitner box sizes | 1, 2, 5, 8 and 14 cm |
| Retrieval attempts suggested in one 2013 thesis | Five retrieval attempts |
| Benefit of repeated retrieval persisted | 4 weeks after treatment |
| Retrieval formats in that thesis | Four types |
These figures come from the Wikipedia Flashcard page and the abstract of a 2013 Victoria University of Wellington thesis. They can change, so check the sources before you rely on them.
Why the task on the card matters more than the picture
A flashcard is a card bearing information on both sides, usually intended to practise or aid memorization. Typically each card has a question or definition on one side and an answer or target term on the other, according to the Wikipedia Flashcard page.
The same page describes flashcards as an application of the testing effect. That is the finding that long-term memory is increased when part of the learning period is spent retrieving information through testing with proper feedback.
The page also says flashcards exercise active recall: given a question, the learner must produce the correct answer. A picture students only look at asks for less than a card that makes them say or write the word.
Flashcard ideas that make students produce language
Each idea below changes the job the card does, so pick the one that matches the skill your class needs. Several of them use card formats described on the Wikipedia Flashcard page and in the Nakata thesis abstract.
- Definition cards: put a short English definition on the front and the target word on the back. The thesis abstract describes the meaning side as usually a first-language translation, an L2 synonym or an L2 definition, so you have a choice.
- Synonym cards: show a word and ask for another word with a similar meaning. This keeps the whole exchange in English.
- Question-and-answer cards: write a real question on the front, such as a classroom survey question, and a model answer on the back. The Wikipedia page notes that any subject matter that can be learned via a question-and-answer format suits flashcards.
- Reverse decks: run two decks in tandem, one from the learner’s language into English and one back again. The same page gives an English-Japanese deck used alongside a Japanese-English deck as an example.
- Pronunciation cards: add the sound of the word to the answer side, which matters for English because spelling is often non-phonetic. The Wikipedia page describes this as the idea behind three-sided cards for English as a second language.
- Spelling cards: show the meaning and ask students to write the word from memory. The thesis abstract reports that a productive recall format may be particularly effective for knowledge of orthography.
- Sort-and-explain piles: let pairs group a pile of cards in any way they choose, such as people, places and actions, then explain their groups aloud.
Any card can be played as a game too. Students can hold a card to their forehead while a partner gives clues, or race to match definitions with words.
How can you space reviews so words stick?
Spaced repetition is an evidence-based technique, usually performed with flashcards, in which review intervals grow longer for cards students know. Newly introduced and more difficult cards are shown more often, as the Spaced repetition page explains. The same page calls it well suited to vocabulary acquisition in second-language learning.
The classic paper method is the Leitner system, originally proposed by Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s, according to the Wikipedia Flashcard page. A learner sorts cards into boxes by how well each one is known. Success moves a card to the next group, and failure sends it back to the first group.
- Put every new card in the first box.
- Test students on the cards in that box.
- Move each correct card forward and send each missed card back to the start.
- Review the later boxes less often than the early ones.
In Leitner’s original method, the size of the five partitions in the learning box governed the review schedule. The idea of widening gaps is older: C. A. Mace proposed in 1932 that revision should come at roughly intervals of one day, two days, four days, eight days, and so on, as quoted on the Spaced repetition page.
The same page traces the method to the 1880s, when Hermann Ebbinghaus described the forgetting curve. Physical cards and a simple box are enough to use it in class.
What research on second-language flashcards suggests
A 2013 thesis by Tatsuya Nakata at Victoria University of Wellington looked at how to optimise vocabulary learning from flashcards. The findings below come from its abstract only, and the thesis itself is access-restricted.
- Block size: a large block beat a small one only when spacing was confounded. With equivalent spacing there was no difference.
- Retrieval formats: the thesis separates four types: receptive recall, productive recall, receptive recognition and productive recognition. For form-meaning connections, recognition formats were found to be more desirable than recall.
- Spacing: massed learning gave the best performance during learning but turned out to be the least effective on the posttests.
- Repetition: it may be most desirable to practise retrieval five times, and the advantage persisted 4 weeks after the treatment.
- Feedback timing: delaying feedback did not significantly increase learning.
The thesis also suggests that making mistakes during learning is not necessarily a sign that learning is ineffective. If students struggle with a hard card format, that does not by itself mean it has failed.
A simple routine you can try in class
Use a small deck of cards at a time, and mix formats across the week. If your class is made up of new learners, the advice on how to teach english to beginners will help you choose which words to start with.
- Start with a definition or question card round, where students answer aloud in pairs.
- Move to a spelling or pronunciation round for the cards that were missed.
- Give feedback right away, then return the missed cards to the front of the pile.
- Next lesson, review earlier cards before adding new ones.
A flashcard round also fits neatly into a larger session, and the esl lesson plan ideas show where a short warm-up or review slot can go.
Frequently asked questions
Do students need digital flashcards for spaced repetition?
Show answer
No. The Spaced repetition page says it is also possible to perform spaced repetition with physical flashcards using the Leitner system, as well as with software (Wikipedia, Spaced repetition).
Should the answer be a translation or an English definition?
Show answer
The thesis abstract lists a first-language translation, an L2 synonym and an L2 definition as the usual options for the meaning side, and it does not rank them. Choose by your learners’ level and the goal of the activity (Nakata thesis abstract).
How many times should students practise each card?
Show answer
The 2013 thesis abstract suggests it may be most desirable to practise retrieval five times. Treat that as a guide rather than a rule, because the abstract words it cautiously (Nakata thesis abstract).
Who first used flashcards?
Show answer
Todd Pruzan claimed that illustrations in Reading Disentangled (1834) by Favell Lee Mortimer are the earliest known use of flashcards. The book itself does not mention any such use (Wikipedia Flashcard page).
