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Study, memory and flashcards

Is it better to study in one long session or several short ones?

3 min readPublished 9 October 2026

Short answer

For memorising — words, phrases, grammar forms — several shorter sessions spread over different days work better than one long session with the same total time. This is the spacing effect, one of the most consistently replicated findings in learning research. For activities that need time to get into — reading a long text, watching an episode, writing an essay, a conversation class — longer blocks are useful.

A good default for most language learners: 15–30 minutes every day, plus one longer session a week for reading, listening or writing.

A woman in glasses making notes on a printed page at a low table in the evening, with a laptop open beside her.
A long evening block suits reading and writing. For memorising words, several short sessions on different days do more. Photo Ron Lach · Pexels · Pexels License

What the research says

A large review by Cepeda and colleagues (2006) combined hundreds of experiments on verbal learning and found a clear advantage for spacing study over time compared with massing it in one go. In flashcard studies, spreading reviews out beat cramming even when the total study time was the same (Kornell, 2009) — while most learners felt that cramming had worked better. Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated “distributed practice” as one of the two most effective study techniques they reviewed.

Why spacing works

When you review something you have started to forget, recalling it takes effort. That effort is what strengthens the memory. In a long single session, everything is still fresh: you answer easily, it feels productive, and very little of it lasts. The psychologist Robert Bjork called this kind of productive effort a “desirable difficulty” — learning that feels harder in the moment often lasts longer.

Spacing also protects attention. Concentration drops in long sessions, and the last half-hour of a three-hour block often adds little.

When longer sessions help

Not everything should be cut into fifteen-minute pieces:

  • Extensive reading or listening: following a story or a podcast needs time to get into.
  • Writing: planning, drafting and revising a text needs a block.
  • Conversation practice: a lesson or exchange naturally takes 30–60 minutes.
  • Immersion days: a day spent using the language — on a trip, with friends — is valuable precisely because it is long and varied.

The rule of thumb: short and frequent for memory, longer and occasional for use.

Sample weekly schedules

Time availableA schedule that uses spacing
15 min a daydaily: 10 min reviews + new words, 5 min listening or speaking
30 min a daydaily: 15 min reviews/new words, 15 min alternating grammar, listening, speaking
2 sessions a week onlysplit each session into two halves with a break; add 5-minute phone reviews on other days
1 hour a day20 min reviews and new items, 20 min skill practice, 20 min reading/listening for enjoyment

Practical tips

  • Anchor the habit to something you already do every day: after breakfast, on the bus, before bed.
  • Define a minimum day: on busy days, five minutes of reviews keeps the chain going.
  • Don’t cram before an exam: start reviewing a few weeks before and keep sessions short.
  • Mix topics within a session — vocabulary, then listening, then a grammar exercise — instead of one hour of a single activity.

In short

  • Spaced, shorter sessions beat one long session for memorising.
  • Spacing works because effortful recall after some forgetting strengthens memory.
  • Use longer blocks for reading, listening, writing and conversation.
  • Default: 15–30 minutes daily plus one longer weekly session.

Sources

Practise it in Zorg Space

Reading an answer is the first step. In the app, the same grammar becomes exercises with instant correction, new words come back for review just before you would forget them, and you listen and speak as well.

Practise in Zorg Space

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