Learn Vocabulary from Listening with Spaced Repetition

A highlighted dictation mistake is a clue, not an instruction to create a flashcard. Some errors come from typing, unclear subtitles or a familiar word pronounced unexpectedly. Save vocabulary when the meaning or phrase is useful enough to revisit, then review it over time.

A spaced repetition system (SRS) schedules items for later review. Your task is to try recalling the answer before checking it. The schedule creates opportunities to practise; it cannot make a vague card useful or replace listening to real sentences.

Which words deserve a card?

Choose language you expect to encounter again, want to use, or repeatedly fail to understand. Begin with a few items from each lesson. If your due reviews already take longer than you can manage, add fewer new cards.

• Save a useful phrase: meet the deadline preserves a combination that meet alone does not.
• Keep the relevant meaning: record the sense used in the sentence, not a long list of every dictionary definition.
• Keep the context: the original sentence explains what the speaker was doing with the phrase.
• Skip one-off typing slips: they rarely justify extra vocabulary workload.

Build a card around a real use

This example is illustrative. Use the sentence from your own lesson when saving a card. A phrase with a clear meaning is easier to review than a whole paragraph containing several unrelated unknown words.

Save a phrase in Listenise

1. In Full Dictation, select a word or phrase in your typed answer and choose Save selected text. Correct the spelling first if needed.
2. Check the English word or phrase in the save dialog and add the Vietnamese meaning used in this context.
3. Check the sentence context, then choose Save to Vocabulary.
4. Open Vocabulary to find your saved items in the default Saved from Dictation / Shadowing deck.

You can also click a highlighted missed word in the end-of-lesson review to open the save dialog. These options let you select useful items without turning the whole transcript into a deck.

Use the review mode for the right purpose

Choose a deck and use Review due for scheduled items, or Normal Review for a mixed session. The available exercises depend on the card data. The lesson-size settings offer 15, 20 or 25 words; a deck with fewer eligible items may provide fewer.

Multiple choice checks recognition among alternatives. Typing asks you to produce the form. Listening connects sound to the saved word or phrase. A sentence gap gives context. These tasks are related, but success in one does not prove you can do all the others.

Speed Review uses due cards in a timed Vietnamese-to-English multiple-choice exercise. Treat it as a quick recognition check. If you repeatedly guess from the options, slow down and use the mixed review before increasing speed.

Know which audio you are hearing

Word or phrase practice can use imported item audio, with browser text-to-speech as a fallback. Do not assume that every saved phrase has a precisely cut recording of the original speaker. Browser voices and availability can vary.

Return to the original lesson for natural sentence rhythm and connected speech. An isolated pronunciation can clarify the word, but it does not reproduce every reduction you heard inside the sentence.

Why recall and spacing matter

In a foreign-language vocabulary experiment, Karpicke and Roediger found that repeated retrieval supported delayed recall. Research by Karpicke and Bauernschmidt also examined benefits of spacing retrieval attempts. These findings support practising recall across time; they do not establish one ideal interval for every learner or validate a particular app’s algorithm.

Listenise uses a simple spaced-review schedule. Complete the exercise cycle and continue with Next so the app can record the result. If you skip an item, it is deferred for later review. The practical habit is to return consistently and pay attention to failed recall.

Avoid collecting more than you review

If your queue grows, pause new cards for a few sessions, review due items, and remove low-value duplicates. For an item that keeps failing, check whether the prompt is ambiguous or the phrase is too long. Revisit its original sentence before adding more repetitions.

Vocabulary data is stored in this browser. Use Backup and the backup reminder on the Vocabulary page, especially before moving devices or clearing browser data. Keep your source media separately; the learning-data backup is not a replacement for the MP3 or video files.

Reconnect the card to listening and speaking

After a successful review, say a new sentence with the phrase. Then notice it in another recording. The dictation → shadowing → SRS routine shows where this review fits alongside new listening, rather than replacing it.

Research references

• Karpicke & Roediger (2008), The critical importance of retrieval for learning.
• Karpicke & Bauernschmidt (2011), Spaced retrieval: absolute spacing enhances learning regardless of relative spacing.