Why You Keep Forgetting French (and How to Fix It with Science)

Lina
Sep 7, 2025
2 min read

Do you ever feel like you’re putting hours into French but nothing seems to stick?

Maybe you learn vocabulary today… and forget half of it tomorrow.

Maybe you’ve restarted your learning journey multiple times, only to feel like you’re back at zero.

If that’s you — you’re not alone.

Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus and the forgetting curve

Over 100 years ago, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered the forgetting curve — the way our brains naturally lose new information if it’s not reinforced. The decline is steep, but here’s the good news: with the right methods, you can fight back and make your learning last.

Here are 5 practical techniques to strengthen your memory and make your French learning stick for good.

Technique 1 : Use Active Recall (Not Passive Repetition)

Simply rereading your notes doesn’t help much. Instead, close the book and try to recall what you just studied. Say it to yourself while walking, cooking, or even with your eyes closed.

This kind of “brain workout” forces your memory to retrieve knowledge — and every time you do it, you strengthen that memory.

Technique 2 : Talk to Yourself in French

It might feel silly at first, but it works. Start quietly, then build up to speaking out loud. Try using simple sentences or questions you studied recently:

"Qu’est-ce que j’ai fait hier ?" (What did I do yesterday?)

"Qu’est-ce que je vais faire aujourd’hui ?" (What will I do today?)

This turns French into a tool for your daily thoughts and helps move it into your long-term memory.

Technique 3 : Teach What You’ve Learned

Explaining a concept to someone else (or even pretending to teach an imaginary student) is one of the fastest ways to learn. Why? Because teaching forces you to reorganize knowledge, deepen your understanding, and create new neural pathways.

Technique 4 : Surround Yourself with French Daily

Watch French movies with subtitles, read short articles, or listen to podcasts. The more you expose yourself, the more often you’ll bump into the same words and structures.

Research shows that you need to see or hear a word around seven times before it really sticks. Immersion speeds up this natural repetition.

Technique 5 : Review Before Bed

Spend 15–30 minutes reviewing your notes just before sleeping. At night, your brain is in a relaxed, receptive state, which makes it easier to consolidate new information. Repeat this regularly, and you’ll notice your memory strengthening over time.