Easiest Language to Learn: Top Picks for English Speakers
Find the easiest language to learn with FSI-backed picks for English speakers, plus a practical plan to learn faster and retain more.
Articles
Field notes on language learning, memory, and the ideas we build TONGUES around. Long-form thinking from the team at Olympian Hourglass.
Fastest Way to Learn a Language: What Research Says
Fastest way to learn a language: use comprehensible input, spaced repetition, and early speaking to make every study hour count.
Basic Spanish Words to Learn First: The Fast Starter List
Basic Spanish words to learn first: master common Spanish words and phrases for beginners, plus a smarter way to review.
Hardest Language to Learn: Tough Languages Ranked
Hardest language to learn? FSI ranks tough languages to learn for English speakers, plus what makes difficult languages hard and how to study.
Big Words to Sound Smart: Use Them (or Skip Them)
Big words to sound smart can help, but only with precision. Learn impressive words, when to skip them, and how to retain them.
Tips for Learning English Effectively (No More Plateau)
Tips for learning english effectively: build daily habits, immersion, contextual vocab, 4 skills, and smart spaced repetition.
Best Way to Learn Spanish: A Start-to-Finish Plan
Best way to learn Spanish with a start-to-finish plan: hours, phases, speaking, input, and FSRS review to learn Spanish fast.
Apps for Spanish Learners: Best Spanish App Comparison
Apps for Spanish learners compared: see what Spanish learning apps do best, where they cap out, and how to choose your stack.
SAT Words Worth Reviewing: High-Frequency Vocab
SAT words that matter most: learn high-frequency SAT words, build a smart sat vocabulary list, and study them in context.
Learn French Mobile App Guide: What Actually Works
Learn french mobile app options compared: what research says, why you plateau, and a plan to keep growing with smarter review.
The 40,000-word path to fluency
Educated native speakers recognize somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 words. Most language apps top out around 6,000.
Why we start with your interests
The fastest way to abandon a language is to study words you will never use. We flipped the order.
Spaced repetition, explained: from SM-2 to FSRS
Your memory of a word decays on a predictable curve. TONGUES schedules every card with FSRS so you review just before you would have forgotten.
Learning a language hands-free
Some of the best study time is time you were never going to spend at a desk. TONGUES turns your decks into generated audio playlists.
Comprehensible input: learn by understanding
We acquire language most readily when we understand messages that are just slightly beyond our current level.