Pedagogy
Memory
Vocabulary

Vocabulary Science: The Power of Expanding Rehearsal

How to ensure students achieve the necessary 5 to 16 'meetings' with new words required for long-term memory.

SecondaryMFL Team
2025-11-15

The Forgetting Curve

We all know Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve. Without review, students forget 80% of what they learn within 24 hours.

What is Expanding Rehearsal?

Expanding rehearsal (or spaced repetition) involves reviewing new vocabulary at increasing intervals:

  • Meeting 1: Introduction
  • Meeting 2: 10 minutes later
  • Meeting 3: 24 hours later
  • Meeting 4: 1 week later
  • Meeting 5: 1 month later

Implementing this in the Classroom

Our Intervention Packs and Vocabulary Booklets are designed with this principle in mind. They don't just list words; they recycle them in different contexts (reading, listening, translation) throughout the term.

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