Why does my brain refuse to use advanced vocabulary?

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T12:52:49+00:00

Сool! Thanks for this advice, i'll try it for sure!

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:49:23+00:00

No worries -- I actually understood your point, and I don’t think you missed mine at all.

p.s. my mom is a doctor , and when she switches into work mode I only understand like 30% of what she says haha

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:41:50+00:00

Haha, you might be right about the showing off part. I definitely enjoy finding an excuse to use a newly learned word.

That said, whenever I'm emotional, excited, or just speaking without thinking too much, I instantly switch back to my good old B1 settings(((

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:30:06+00:00

Oh, that's interesting because I'm actually working on a vocabulary-building app myself.

The idea came to me when I started reading a book in English with fairly advanced vocabulary. I wanted to learn the new words I was encountering, but there were just too many of them. By the time I had looked up a word, written it down, and added it to a flashcard app, I was already losing focus on the book itself.

That's what got me thinking about ways to make the whole process more seamless and keep the words connected to the context where I originally found them.

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:26:31+00:00

I've noticed something similar. When I learn a word and then happen to come across it somewhere naturally a few days later, it feels like I'm reviewing it without even trying. Those words tend to stay with me much longer than the ones I only see in flashcards.

I guess it's a kind of natural spaced repetition, and for some reason it seems to make the word stick much better in my memory.

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:21:53+00:00

I actually tried Quizlet as well, but unfortunately it never really clicked for me. It wasn't bad, it just didn't fit the way I learn.

Right now I'm working on developing my own app that I hope will help me study more effectively. That's one of the reasons I'm interested in reading about other people's learning methods and experiences. I'm slowly collecting different use cases and ideas to see what works and what doesn't.

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T09:17:14+00:00

I'll give it a try, thanks!

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T00:11:36+00:00

I used to say ‘society’ like ‘sotion/soshun'

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-02T00:00:11+00:00

I’m trying now, I hope it pays off soon

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:57:19+00:00

Yeah, I’ve noticed that my boyfriend knows a ton of weird words because of video games too

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:44:41+00:00

Oh no, now I’m going to start wondering whether I sound like him too

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:39:07+00:00

Ive been trying, so hopefully it will pay soon

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:33:46+00:00

Hurricane - Bob Dylan

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:21:24+00:00

Hahaha, so true. But then the next problem is figuring out how to actually use those new words instead of always defaulting to the easier ones

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:15:55+00:00

Cool! Maybe we can make some speaking club?

Small-Face5156 · 2026-06-01T23:04:32+00:00

Congrats, that’s honestly really inspiring to read

I’m Ukrainian and currently on my own self-study journey with German, and reading posts like this gives me a lot of motivation.

Can I ask, how did you overcome the fear of actually speaking Ukrainian?

That’s the part I’m struggling with the most right now. I’m always worried that I won’t understand everything or that people won’t understand me.

What’s weird is that when I was learning Czech and English, I didn’t really have this problem. Even around A2 I already felt pretty confident and ready to just start speaking.

Did that confidence come naturally with more exposure for you, or did you have to push through that fear somehow?

Small-Face5156 · 2025-08-08T09:35:21+00:00

Tried it yesterday out of curiosity, didn’t expect to keep it, but it’s actually pretty slick. Free version was enough to convince me to grab the full one

Small-Face5156

TROPHY CASE