Basic. Two. Many people who want to go an extra mile in learning a language swear by word cards. See here: goo.gl/qS65l.

There are many studies showing the effectiveness of learning vocabulary from cards. The problem for beginning learners is getting to the threshold where they can start to learn from context. We need a vocabulary of about 3000 words before we can efficiently learn from context. The word cards can give a sense of progress, and a sense of achievement. See here: goo.gl/qFEVU.

I believe 7th graders (6th graders in gymnasium schools) and older students should use more complicated cards. They should have a word and an example sentence on the first side of a card, and the word’s definition on the other side. Some students and I used to play with jMemorize. Then I created several word sets for myself in Pauker. Both apps are cross-platform and free. They are written in Java. I like testing different Linux distributions on my computer, and I am now tired of installing the Java Runtime Environment again and again. Both programs use Leitner flashcards. I encourage you to try them out. See also my Tumblr blog.