Language Learning Glossary: 31 Terms, Explained Simply

Language input you can understand most of, even when a few words are new. The core idea behind immersion: you acquire a language mainly by understanding messages, not by memorising rules.

The term comes from linguist Stephen Krashen. Graded subtitles are a way to manufacture comprehensible input from native TV: the show stays understandable because only a few words at a time are swapped to your target language.

See also: i+1 (input plus one), Input hypothesis, Immersion

Shorthand for input that sits just one step beyond your current level: your level 'i' plus one. It is hard enough to teach you something new but easy enough to follow.

Keeping material at i+1 is the whole game in immersion. Too far below and you learn nothing new; too far above and it stops being comprehensible. Graded subtitles aim to hold a show at i+1 by adjusting how many words are swapped.

See also: Comprehensible input, Graded reader

Learning a language by spending time understanding it in real use (shows, talk, reading) rather than studying it in isolation.

Immersion does not require moving abroad. Comprehensible native media is immersion you can do from your sofa, which is the premise of watch-to-learn tools.

See also: Comprehensible input, Extensive reading

Stephen Krashen's theory that we acquire language in one main way: by understanding input slightly above our level.

It separates 'acquisition' (subconscious, from meaningful input) from 'learning' (conscious rule study) and argues that acquisition is what produces real, fluent use of a language.

See also: Comprehensible input, Silent period

The companion idea to comprehensible input: producing language by speaking or writing helps you notice gaps and move words from passive to active knowledge.

Proposed by Merrill Swain. Input builds understanding; output forces you to retrieve and assemble words, which is how recognition turns into production.

See also: Active vocabulary, Comprehensible input

An early stage where a learner understands far more than they can say and may prefer to listen before speaking.

Common and healthy. Comprehension reliably runs ahead of production, so a quiet phase of heavy input is normal rather than a sign of slow progress.

See also: Passive vocabulary, Comprehensible output

A speaking drill where you repeat audio aloud a beat behind the speaker, copying their rhythm and pronunciation.

A practical way to turn words you understand into words you can say, and to fix accent and intonation that silent study leaves untouched.

See also: Comprehensible output, Active vocabulary

Collecting real sentences you meet in the wild that contain one new word, then reviewing them as flashcards. The sentence gives the word context, which makes it stick.

The opposite of memorising bare word lists. Mining from a show you are watching means every card is tied to a moment you actually saw, which is far more memorable.

See also: Flashcard, Spaced repetition, Anki

The words you can produce yourself when speaking or writing. Almost always a smaller set than your passive vocabulary.

See also: Passive vocabulary, Comprehensible output

The words you recognise and understand when you read or hear them, even if you cannot yet produce them. Immersion grows passive vocabulary quickly.

See also: Active vocabulary, Comprehensible input

The language you are learning, often abbreviated L2 or TL. On LingoBinge it is the language subtitle words are swapped into.

See also: Source language (L1)

The language you already know and think in, your first language or L1. It is the base your subtitles start in before a few words are swapped to the target language.

See also: Target language

A word that looks or sounds similar across two languages and shares a meaning, like English 'family' and Spanish 'familia'. Cognates are close to free vocabulary.

See also: False friend, Loanword

A word that looks like one in your language but means something different, like Spanish 'embarazada' (pregnant, not embarrassed). The trap that cognates set.

See also: Cognate

A word borrowed from another language and used as-is, like 'sushi' in English or 'komputer' in Indonesian. Loanwords give beginners an instant head start.

See also: Cognate

The dictionary base form of a word that groups its inflections: 'run', 'runs', 'ran' and 'running' share the lemma 'run'.

Frequency lists and known-word counts are usually measured in lemmas, so learning one lemma quietly unlocks several surface forms.

See also: Word frequency

How often a word occurs in real use. Frequency lists rank words from most to least common so learners can study the highest-payoff words first.

A small number of words does most of the work in any language, so frequency-ordered study is the fastest route to understanding everyday speech.

See also: Lexical coverage, Lemma

The share of the words on a page or screen that you already know. Research by Paul Nation suggests you need to know about 98% of the words in a text to read it comfortably without help.

Graded subtitles work by keeping your effective coverage high: most words stay in a language you know, so the few new ones are guessable from context.

See also: Word frequency, Comprehensible input

Alternating between two languages within a conversation or even a single sentence, common among bilinguals.

LingoBinge's word-swapping is a deliberate, graded form of the same thing: a sentence in your language with a few target-language words mixed in.

See also: Target language

A review schedule that shows you a word again right before you are likely to forget it, stretching the gap each time you remember. The most efficient known way to memorise vocabulary.

See also: FSRS, Forgetting curve, Flashcard

The Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler, a modern open-source algorithm that predicts when you will forget a card and schedules the next review accordingly.

FSRS improves on older fixed-interval schedulers by fitting the timing to your real performance. LingoBinge uses FSRS for its review queue.

See also: Spaced repetition, Anki

Hermann Ebbinghaus's finding that memory of new information decays quickly at first and then levels off.

Spaced repetition is the practical answer to it: review just in time to reset the curve, so each recall makes the memory last longer.

See also: Spaced repetition

A two-sided prompt (word on one side, meaning on the other) used to test recall. Modern flashcards add the example sentence and audio so the word is learned in context.

See also: Sentence mining, Spaced repetition, Anki

A popular free spaced-repetition flashcard app. Many immersion learners mine sentences into Anki.

LingoBinge keeps review in-app but exports to Anki, so your cards are never locked in and you can take them anywhere.

See also: Flashcard, Sentence mining, FSRS

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a six-level scale (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) used worldwide to describe how well someone can use a language.

A1 to A2 is beginner, B1 to B2 is independent, and C1 to C2 is advanced. LingoBinge rates every show by CEFR difficulty so you can match a show to your level.

See also: Fluency, Proficiency

The ability to use a language smoothly and without much effort for real communication. Distinct from knowing every word.

A fluent speaker handles everyday situations comfortably, gaps and all. You can be fluent long before you are 'finished' with a language.

See also: Proficiency, CEFR

How much of a language you have mastered, often measured against a scale like CEFR. Proficiency is the ceiling; fluency is how smoothly you use what you have.

See also: Fluency, CEFR

A book written or simplified to a specific level so a learner can read it as comprehensible input. Graded subtitles apply the same idea to video.

See also: Comprehensible input, Extensive reading, i+1 (input plus one)

Reading a lot of easy, enjoyable material for overall understanding and flow, rather than studying every word. Builds reading speed and passive vocabulary.

See also: Graded reader, Intensive reading, Immersion

Reading a short, challenging text closely, looking up words and studying structure. The deep-dive counterpart to extensive reading.

See also: Extensive reading, Sentence mining

Showing two subtitle tracks at once, typically the target language and your own, so you can follow the story and check meaning. A staple of watch-to-learn tools.

See also: Target language, Source language (L1), Comprehensible input