2. Memorizing a bunch of vocabulary does not help you learn the language. If anything, it might be a hinderance. I wouldn't be so harsh on flashcards. I moved

2. Memorizing a bunch of vocabulary does not help you learn the language. If anything, it might be a hinderance. I wouldn't be so harsh on flashcards. I moved to Denmark last year and am now learning the language. Having better vocabulary totally helps you learn the language, but of course should not be the only or primary mean. I would say that flashcards is a powerful tool that assists my other studies. If I was able to spend hours per day on studying the language, maybe they would not be necessary. But my work environment is English speaking, I have a family and no native speaking friends yet, so my study time is limited. The way I maintain my deck is that after each lesson, or after reading any sort of text, or while reading, I add the words I did not know into the deck. And I also have a smaller deck for phrases and expressions. So, yes, I am getting exposed to natural writing, but it is not a trivial task to memorise words that you only saw or used a handful of times. My deck is now around 3500 words and growing steadily, I can read and understand newspaper articles on general subjects and express myself in writing. I have been commended on my vocabulary by teachers and I believe the usage of Anki is the advantage that gives me "the edge" compared to others in similar circumstances.