How to Learn Languages with Archive Learning

Advice from language teachers on how to read fanfiction in a way that actually moves your language forward.

Everyone wants to score a 9 on IELTS, ace their language exam, or simply improve enough to read a 400k-word slow burn without struggling. But what if, instead of studying, all you want to do is procrastinate and spend hours on AO3?

Good news: reading fanfiction can actually be a great way to learn a language. We asked language teachers and learning experts how to get the most out of our app.

Four key rules

  1. Consistency matters most. Five minutes every day is better than an hour once a week.
  2. Don't learn every unfamiliar word. Save only the words that appear frequently (2–5 times). Leave the rare adjectives alone.
  3. Don't tap every word. Look things up only when you've lost the meaning of the sentence.
  4. If you understand almost nothing, find a translated fanfic. Read it in your native language first, then move on to the original.

I downloaded the app to improve my language skills. What's the most important thing?

Reading in another language is hard. Your goal isn't to learn as many words as possible as quickly as possible. Your goal is to keep wanting to read. Because it will be difficult. And it will take time. Your motivation is the most valuable thing you have. The moment reading starts feeling frustrating, you're much less likely to open the app again.

Consistency is the most important factor. Five minutes a day (that's only 35 minutes a week) is still better than a full hour once a week. Read and save new words whenever you have time. Try to spend at least a few minutes reviewing vocabulary every day. Put those minutes into your schedule. Don't leave it to "I'll surely find five minutes somewhere." If it isn't scheduled, it probably won't happen.

I save and learn every unfamiliar word. That's the best approach, right?

If your language level is already very high and you only encounter a couple of unfamiliar words per fanfic, then yes — that's perfectly fine.

But if you're still learning, don't do that. Texts often contain huge numbers of descriptions and fancy adjectives that you may not encounter again for years. If you're not sure which words are worth saving, make it a rule not to add a word until you've seen it 2–5 times. The lower your level, the higher that number should be. Your goal is to collect words that people actually use frequently. At a beginner level, learning a word like happy will help you much more than learning a word like exuberant.

I read very slowly, but that's normal when you're reading in another language, right?

Of course reading in another language is harder, but if you're tapping every unfamiliar word, you may actually be making things more difficult for yourself. The exact balance depends on your level, but your main goal is to understand. Only stop and look up words when the meaning of the sentence becomes unclear. And remember: only save the most useful and frequently occurring words.

Here's a useful exercise: read an entire page or chapter without looking up a single word. Then go back and check whether there was actually anything important you didn't understand. The idea is that you don't need to know every detail to understand the overall meaning. For example, you probably don't need to know what fabric the curtains are made of. If you don't understand it, that's fine. Just keep reading.

I open fanfics in another language… and immediately close them. I understand nothing and want to cry.

That's completely normal. Most likely, your current level simply isn't high enough yet to read comfortably in that language. Reading is often much harder than watching movies in the original language because movies give us visual context. With text, all we have are words.

Make things easier for yourself so you don't lose motivation altogether. Find a fanfic that has already been translated into your native language. Start by reading it in your native language. Once you're fully immersed in the story and understand what's happening, switch to the original version. You'll find it much easier.

If you're a complete beginner, try this approach: find a translated fanfic, read 2–3 pages (or set a timer for 5 minutes), then switch to the original language and reread a paragraph you've already read in translation. You can revisit random paragraphs or your favorite dialogue scenes. Save both the translation and the original in your library so you can switch between them easily.

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