Guides

What actually works, and what only feels like it does.

Writing about learning a language that would be worth reading even if Arbor did not exist. Every claim is either charted, cited, or labelled as an illustration. No listicles, no hacks.

If it has not worked yet

Start hereThe gap between a streak and a sentenceWhy you still can’t speak after 700 daysA long streak and no conversation is not a discipline problem. It is what happens when an app measures recognition and you needed recall.7 min read

For one particular life

A worked example, for one professionSpanish for nurses: the words that actually come upThe vocabulary a nurse needs on a shift, why textbook Spanish misses most of it, and how to learn the two hundred words that matter first.9 min read

How it works

Hours, words, and what the levels meanHow long does it actually take to reach B1?What B1 means, the hours the research actually supports, and why the same number is wildly different for Spanish and for Mandarin.8 min readThe one technique worth understandingSpaced repetition, without the jargonWhy reviewing a word the day before you would have forgotten it works, where flashcards go wrong, and what to do about it.7 min read

Choosing

Including what they do betterArbor vs Duolingo: an honest comparisonWhat Duolingo is genuinely better at, what it is not built to do, and how to tell which of the two is the right tool for you.8 min read