FAQs

It’s optional but strongly recommended. Our decks save hours and dramatically improve retention. Anki is free, ad-free software that is available for all major operating systems and mobile platforms, so you can use it on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Anki’s spaced repetition system helps you internalize key vocabulary from our stories as quickly as possible, without wasting time on words and phrases you already know.

Important: Be sure to download one of the official Anki apps. There are many imitators that charge a fee or inundate you with ads, and they are no better than the real deal.

The pre-built flash card decks that come with each story are designed for use with Anki. Each deck contains the key words and phrases you need to know to understand the story. To download an Anki flash card deck, simply click the button at the bottom of the story you want to practice with. Then click here to learn how to import the flash card deck into Anki.

Blazing Language accelerates language learning with a combination of comprehensible input and spaced repetition.

Comprehensible input means stories and information (input) that you listen to or read and mostly, but don’t completely understand. At Blazing Language, you can read and listen to short stories in your target language, at your level, in genres that you prefer, from fairy tales to spy thrillers.

Spaced repetition is the most efficient method of studying and reinforcing new vocabulary. Our pre-built Anki flash card decks help you learn key vocabulary from each of our stories.

In just a few minutes a day, you can practice key words and phrases, and listen to a story. While you may not understand much on your first listen, with each repetition you will find the story becomes clearer and clearer. Once you understand 80-90% of the story, move on to a new story and a new set of flash cards.

About 5 minutes apiece, on average. Some are a little shorter, especially beginner stories, and some are a bit longer.

Our stories are at levels A1–C2, aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). A1 and A2 are Beginner levels, B1 and B2 are Intermediate, and C1 and C2 are advanced. We recommend starting a little below your current level. For example, if you are currently studying a language at an A2 level, try starting with A1 stories.

We recommend listening to the stories on our website where you can read along with them. However, if you like to listen on the go, you may prefer to listen to them with a podcast app such as Apple Podcasts or YouTube Music. To subscribe to the stories with a podcast app, copy the URL of the feed and paste it into the Search field of your podcast app. For Android users, we recommend the free (and ad-free) AndroidPod app, available in the Google Play Store.

Click here to learn about comprehensible input and why it is key to language acquisition.

Click here to learn about space repetition, how it works, and how it accelerates and strengthens language learning.

We’re getting started with Spanish, French, and Portuguese, with many more coming soon.