- Learn a word in Anki -> meet it multiple times again in immersion -> acquire it forever. Anki is the fuel for your immersion not the engine.
- Do less than 1 hour a day of Anki. Always immerse more than you do Anki (the 80/20 rule).
- Start with 10 new cards. Adjust the amount to keep a 80-90% retention rate.
- Spend a maximum of 10 seconds per card. Aim for under 5 seconds.
How to use Anki for immersion
You will never not forget information. To put it more simply one will always forget things. Thats the baseline of how things are. If you learn something then do nothing with it you will eventually forget it. Thats why we need Anki to remember things in the long term.
Anki is there to supplement your immersion by having you learn expressions you mined in an efficient manner that is Anki's spaced repetition system.
The key idea is you learn an expression in Anki and acquire it with Immersion afterwards. We differentiate here between learning and acquiring because you apply what you learn from Anki with immersion. Then through immersing consistently only then will that learned expression be acquired by seeing it be used in many different contexts.
When something is acquired it will stick in your brain and you hardly forget it. It's the same with your native language where you can understand and remember a huge amount of words because you have seen them so many times in so many different contexts. With immersion we are trying to mimic that which can only happen if we learn new words every day in Anki.
Anki is the fuel for your immersion. Anki and Immersion are not two separate processes. What you learn in Anki will only be useful to you when you actually see it be used in immersion. Anki alone won't make you learn a language. Anki doesn't replace your immersion.
How much Anki you should do
Anki should always make up less time than your immersion time. You don't want to spend a lot of time in Anki because there you only need to learn a new word. To make that actually stick you need to do immersion. That's why Anki should be make up 1/5 of your daily study time. 4/5 of the time should be spent immersing.
How to make remembering easier in Anki
Immersion makes Anki easier.
When you encounter words in rich native contexts with emotional weight, audio, visuals, and compelling storylines, Anki stops being abstract memorization. The more you immerse, the more familiar the underlying language patterns become, turning brittle flashcard reviews into intuitive, effortless recall.
Anki provides the initial spark and lexical anchor, but immersion is what breathes life into the words and makes them stick permanently.
Daily Workload and Session Pacing
Prioritize Reviews over New Cards
Try to never miss at least your reviews, make sure to do them every day. Avoid letting your reviews spill into the next day. If you are short on time, reduce or pause your new cards and get your reviews done first.
Avoid Custom Study
Avoid doing custom study sessions in Anki to cram extra reviews. The time you spend doing custom studies is better spent actively immersing in native content and acquiring the language naturally.
Splitting Sessions
You do not have to finish your Anki in a single sitting. Some learners prefer doing reviews first thing in the morning; others split them into short 10-minute pomodoro blocks throughout the day. Find a rhythm that keeps your cognitive fatigue low and prioritizes sustainability.
Time Spent Per Card
Take at absolute maximum 10 seconds per card while reviewing or doing new cards. If you can't remember something in 10 seconds, you won't remember it in 30 seconds. Reveal the answer, fail the card, and let SRS show it to you again. Aim for under 5 seconds per card.