How Does Smart Review Work?
Simply put, Smart Review is a tool that helps you remember what you've learned.
As you use our platform, you can add words and phrases to your Smart Review list that you find most relevant or helpful. You can add them from the end of the Lessons (throughout the Units), and from Learning Notes, Blog posts, and the Vocabulary / Expressions tabs of the Shorties, Podcasts, and Videos. You can also search for and add them from the Translator tool and the Manage Smart Review page.
There are 3 review modes: Quiz Mode (similar to the lessons in the units), Flash Cards (self-guided, English to Portuguese translation), Listen & Speak (generate and download audio reviews)
What makes it "smart"?
Smart Review uses principles of spaced repetition to make the learning process faster and more efficient. Learn more here: Smart Review: Learn European Portuguese with Spaced Repetition
How does it work?
As you do review sessions, our system keeps track of your performance.
✅ When you get one right, it will wait more time before showing you that phrase again. At first, that time interval is very short -- it will show you the phrase again very soon to help store it in your memory. When you get it right a 2nd time, it will wait even longer before adding it to your review again. And so on... The goal is that eventually you can remember each phrase even if months have passed since you last saw it, indicating that it is truly "Mastered".
❌ When you get one wrong, it will wait less time before showing you that phrase again. That way, you get extra practice with the phrases you struggle with most.
Why does the "ready to review" number go up and down?
This is expected because reviewing is an ongoing process. You will see each phrase many times before it becomes Mastered.
After reviewing lots of new phrases, the number due for review will increase again very quickly, because the intervals are still short. After more consistent reviewing, the number will very gradually start to go down. However, it will never stay at 0 (unless you've fully mastered every single phrase), especially since you'll likely be adding more new phrases along the way.
A higher number due for review is an indication that you may want to spend more time reviewing before adding more phrases, or to consider removing less relevant phrases. You can see how many you have due for review on the "bem-vindo" dashboard page (the page that comes up after you log in).
How should I use Smart Review?
It depends on how you learn! Here are a couple common approaches:
Slow and steady:
One approach is to work through the Units slowly, adding to Smart Review as you go along, and taking a little bit of time to review those cards daily as you go along. We recommend adding only the most important/relevant words and phrases. Remember: This is just one tool in your language-learning tool belt — it's not effective to add every phrase, or to spend hours trying to memorize everything you've seen. Instead, think of it as a way to memorize the most useful go-to phrases, pick up vocabulary that you may not hear often in the real world, and review examples that were particularly helpful for you in the learning process.
Check in with yourself every few Units. Do you feel like you have a decent grasp on what you've covered so far? If not, consider redoing some of the Units and/or spending some time with Smart Review before moving forward.
Zoom out and zoom in:
Others learn better by working through the Units more quickly to get a broad overview, and THEN spending time on Smart Review, while filling in the gaps by redoing some of the Units.
Ongoing review:
Whether you review along the way or wait until after you have a foundation, it's a good idea to review more consistently, over time, instead of doing occasional marathon sessions. It's not effective to overload your brain like that! 🤯 This is especially helpful for those who have been learning for a while and need a way to keep Portuguese "fresh" in their minds.
How to deal with a large backlog of phrases
For those of you who have been learning with us for a long time, or maybe took a break for a while, you may end up with a large backlog from time to time.
Don't worry, this is normal, but we understand the panic! It's scary, and sometimes discouraging, to see that many phrases to review. However, the number itself is not that important, as long as you're trying to use Smart Review as regularly as possible.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, take the opportunity to look through the Manage Smart Review section. You can remove phrases (so they won't show up in Smart Review) by checking them off and moving them to Mastered (if they're too easy) or Removed (if they just aren't important to you right now). Or you can change the status of phrases individually at the end of a review session. You can always search for and add phrases back later if you change your mind.
Or, you also have the option to clear your progress and start over. Please note: this also includes the Units, Shorties, Verbs, Smart Review, everything. This is not reversible. It will reset everything from across the whole site, as if you are a brand new member. See the "Reset My Progress" link below for instructions.
Managing Smart Review
The Manage Smart Review page let's you see the words/phrases you've added to Smart Review, categorized by their current level (New, Short Term Memory, Long Term Memory, or Mastered). These levels are a simplified way to think of where they are in the memorization process, but there are actually many more levels behind the scenes.
From this page you can:
- Create custom reviews (check off the phrases you'd like to review, click 'Review')
- Add more phrases (using the "Add Phrase" button at the top and filtering by unit or searching for a specific phrase)
- Adjust the level of phrases (check off the phrase(s), choose the level from the 'Select Action' dropdown, click the Move button)
- Remove phrases (same steps as adjusting the level, but choose 'Removed')
To select all visible phrases, you can use the checkbox at the top of the column to select all.