How spaced repetition works¶
In the 19th century, the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus showed that people forget new material along a predictable curve. Right after learning, memory loses the most. Each successful review makes the curve flatter.
Spaced repetition is based on this. You don't review all the material every day. A word or construction comes back when you start to forget it. Earlier reviews waste time. Later reviews come too late, because you have already forgotten.
How the bot calculates intervals¶
A correct answer doubles the interval until the next review. The maximum interval is 60 days. After a wrong answer, the interval becomes 1 day, and the exercise comes back on the same day.
The first correct answer is a special case. The interval becomes 1 day, but the exercise also stays available on that day. This way, you can practice a new word again in the same session and don't have to wait until tomorrow. The interval starts to grow in days only from the second correct answer.
| Answer | Result | Next review |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (correct) | interval: 1 day | later today |
| 2nd (correct) | interval: 2 days | in 2 days |
| 3rd (correct) | interval: 4 days | in 4 days |
| 4th (correct) | interval: 8 days | in 8 days |
| 5th (correct) | interval: 16 days | in 16 days |
| 6th (correct) | interval: 32 days | in 32 days |
| 7th (correct) | interval: 60 days (cap) | in 60 days |
| any (wrong) | interval: 1 day | later today |
Why this matters especially for grammar¶
Most spaced-repetition apps are made for "word — translation" flashcards. This works well for vocabulary. But grammar doesn't fit well into one flashcard. For example: which preposition a verb takes, which case comes after that preposition, where the conjugated verb goes after weil. And people forget grammar along the same curve as words. So Immer wiederholen applies spaced repetition to grammar: verb government, cases, verb forms and word order.
The right intervals are only half of it. The order of the questions and how deeply they test you are also important. For more, see "How the learning path is structured".
Try it yourself¶
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