​​How to use flashcards effectively (and avoid my mistakes)

What, how and why?

The name kind of explains it already, and I’m pretty sure everyone knows what flashcards are, but just to be sure: flashcards are small cards used to test and improve memory through active recall. They’re usually two-sided, with a question or keyword on one side and the answer on the other. You can use them for vocabulary, definitions, concepts, or even processes.

And the reason they work is simple: you’re forcing your brain to remember, not just reread. That’s active recall, which, in my opinion, is one of the best study methods (and I’ve talked about it in detail in another post).

Now that that’s clear, let’s get into how I’ve actually used them and what went right… and very very wrong.

My experience with it

I’ve mainly used flashcards for two things:

• learning English vocabulary

• studying history (this one didn’t go so well)

Learning English

I’ve tried both handmade and digital flashcards. And honestly — digital wins. By far. With handmade cards, you have to write everything down, cut the paper, organize it… and then deal with the mess afterwards. With digital flashcards, you just type and you’re done. I’ve mostly used Quizlet, and it makes everything faster (plus there are games, which makes it a bit less boring). Overall, flashcards worked really well for vocabulary. It didn’t take much time, and I remembered the words much better compared to just rereading them. Will I keep using them for this? 100%

Learning history (aka my biggest mistake)

Now… this is where things went wrong. Before I knew better study methods, I used flashcards for history, but in the worst possible way. For example, I’d write something like “Byzantine Empire” on one side…and then basically try to remember an entire paragraph from the textbook on the other. So instead of actually understanding the topic, I was just memorizing huge chunks of text.Not very smart. It also took forever. I spent so much time copying information from the book into my phone, and then even more time trying to memorize it. And the worst part? After all that, I still had to go back to the textbook and revise everything again. I somehow survived like five tests doing this before finally giving up and finding a better method.

Here’s an overview of flashcards:

Preparation: Making flashcards can take time, especially if you write too much on them. Digital ones are definitely faster. 

Also hand-written cards usually take more time to do, but I think most people use the ones in our phones.

Time: To learn vocabulary it took me max 15 minutes, but to learn history…emmm hehe we don’t talk about it.

Efficiency: Really effective for definitions, vocabulary, and simple facts. Some apps even make it fun with games.

Annoying: Not really, unless you turn one flashcard into a whole essay (don’t do that). 

Result: Great if you use it correctly.

Will I try it again: Of course, but only for the right kind of topics.

Personal tip: My teacher once recommended this platform Quizlet and since then I’ve mostly only used it. You can also play some games there after you’ve completed writing the cards like matching, blocking or testing yourself . It also tracks your progress and helps you revise flashcards you didn’t get right.

When to use it: For memorizing factual information as well as for quick revision. Usually they’re used to study terminology, vocabulary and definitions.

When NOT to use it: For deep conceptual understanding, like understanding how photosynthesis works and for topics that need practice, such as maths.

Common mistakes:

1. Writing way too much on one card. If your flashcard looks like a paragraph, that’s already a bad sign.

2. Wasting too much time on making the cards rather than studying from them.Yes, you kind of study while making them, but it’s not the same as active recall. A good rule (from Estonian): Nii palju kui vaja, nii vähe kui võimalik. (As much as needed, as little as possible.)

Conclusion

Flashcards are a really useful study tool, but only when you use them the right way. They’re amazing for vocabulary and quick revision, but not so great for deep understanding or complex topics. So yes, I will definitely keep using flashcards… just not the way I used them for history.