Language Science
Articles about language science for learning Brazilian Portuguese.
What fluency actually means (and why most people define it wrong)
Why adults actually learn languages faster than kids (the research is pretty clear)
The 'kids are language sponges' myth is mostly wrong. Here's what the research actually shows about age and language learning.
Interleaving beats blocking: the counterintuitive way to study vocabulary
Mixing topics feels harder than studying one at a time. That's exactly why it works better. Here's what the research says about interleaving vocabulary.
The spacing effect: why cramming fails and distributed practice wins
The spacing effect is one of the most replicated findings in cognitive science. Here's what it means for your language learning and how to use it.
The testing effect: why quizzing yourself beats rereading every time
Rereading feels productive but barely moves the needle. Here's why retrieval practice is the single best-studied technique in learning science.
Transfer learning: how knowing one Romance language makes the next one easier
Knowing one Romance language gives you a real head start on the next. Here's what the research says about how transfer learning works.