Four ways to learn the same words
If you already work in English and want a sharper business vocabulary, you have probably tried at least one of these: asking ChatGPT for a word list, working through a business English textbook, building an Anki deck, or using a dedicated app. All four can work. They just do different jobs, and most frustration comes from expecting one of them to do a job it was not built for.
A disclosure before we start: we make BizVoc, one of the four. We have tried to be fair to the other three, and to say plainly where they are the better choice.
The short version
Learning a word has two halves: understanding it and still having it three weeks later. AI chatbots and textbooks are good at the first half. Anki and BizVoc are built for the second. Most people need something from both sides.
What any method has to do
Two findings from memory research decide most of this comparison. The first is retrieval: in Karpicke and Roediger's 2008 experiment, students who kept testing themselves on word pairs recalled about 80% of them a week later, against roughly a third for students who kept rereading. The second is spacing: a meta-analysis of 839 comparisons found that spreading the same study time across separate sessions beats cramming it into one, and that the best gap grows with how long you need to remember.
So for each method, three questions:
- Does it explain the word properly? Meaning, register, how it is actually used in a meeting or an email.
- Does it make you recall the word, rather than just read it again?
- Does it bring the word back at the right time, without you having to keep track?
Asking an AI chatbot
What it does well Nothing explains a word as flexibly. Ask why "headcount" sounds different from "staff", and you get an answer. Ask for five example sentences from your own industry, and you get them. Ask it to play a supplier in a price negotiation, and you can practise using the words in a live exchange. It will also correct the email you just wrote. For understanding and for active practice, a chatbot is excellent.
Where it falls short Ask for "20 terms I need for a budget meeting" and you get a good list. You read it once, and two weeks later most of it is gone. The chatbot does not keep a review schedule for each word, and it will not tell you on Thursday that "accrual" is about to slip. ChatGPT's memory feature is designed for high-level preferences, not for tracking which of 300 terms you got wrong last week. You also have to know what to ask, and the answers sound equally sure whether they are right or not, so a subtle mistake about a false friend can slip through unnoticed.
Best for
- Explaining a term you keep stumbling over
- Role-play and writing practice with words you half-know
- Examples tailored to your own job
Working through a textbook
What it does well A good business English book has a structure someone thought about: topics in a sensible order, vocabulary embedded in reading texts, grammar alongside it, exercises with an answer key. Paired with a teacher or a course, it is a solid foundation, especially if your grammar needs as much work as your vocabulary.
Where it falls short The order is set by the page, not by your memory. Unit 4 does not know you have forgotten unit 2. Any review happens only if you decide to flip back. You can hear a word only if the book comes with audio and you have it to hand. And business vocabulary moves faster than print runs: a book can be well made and still miss terms your colleagues now use every day.
Best for
- A structured course, ideally with a teacher
- Grammar and reading alongside vocabulary
- Learners who are still building the basics
Building an Anki deck
What it does well Anki is the most flexible spaced-repetition tool there is. It is free on desktop, on the web and on Android (the iPhone app is a one-time purchase), it lets you design any card you like, and its scheduler is highly configurable. If you want full control over what you learn and how, nothing else comes close.
Where it falls short You are the content team. Every card needs a term, a translation you have checked, an example sentence and, ideally, audio, and making good cards takes far longer than reviewing them. Shared decks save time, but volunteers write them, so the quality varies and checking them is up to you. If you enjoy building your own system, that is part of the appeal. If you don't, the setup becomes the thing you never finish. Our post on making effective flashcards covers what a good card needs, if you go this route.
Best for
- People who want to choose every word themselves
- Mixing business English with other subjects in one system
- Anyone who likes tuning settings
Using BizVoc
What it does BizVoc is a flashcard app for business English that runs in your browser, on a phone or a computer. The deck is already written: each card pairs an English business term with its equivalent in German, French, Spanish or Italian (you pick one language pair). The back of the card shows pronunciation, the translation, a definition, an example sentence and a short usage note in your language, for instance that Germans almost always say "CEO" and that "Geschäftsführer" is the legal term. Every term has audio.
The review schedule is simple and visible. Each card sits on one of nine steps: 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, 120 and 240 days. Know it and it moves one step up; miss it and it drops two. Besides plain flashcards, you can practise with a quiz, typing the term from its definition, listening, filling the gap in a sentence, and "Say This, Not That", which asks you to pick the most professional phrasing. All of them feed the same schedule. A session is 20 cards by default, about five minutes, and you choose the fields and level you want to study.
Where it falls short BizVoc teaches vocabulary. It is not conversation practice, and it will not correct your emails; a chatbot or a teacher does that better. You cannot add your own cards, so if your job runs on very niche terminology, Anki gives you more room. The review steps are fixed rather than tuned to you personally. And it covers four languages, so it is not for you if your first language is something else.
Best for
- People who already work in English and want the business terms to stick
- Five minutes a day without building anything first
- Speakers of German, French, Spanish or Italian who want notes on how a term is used at home
The app page walks through a full session with screenshots.
Side by side
| AI chatbot | Textbook | Anki | BizVoc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explains nuance on request | Yes | Partly, in the text | Only what you write on the card | Usage note on each card |
| Makes you recall | If you ask it to quiz you | Exercises, once | Yes | Yes |
| Brings words back on a schedule | No | No | Yes, configurable | Yes, fixed steps |
| Business vocabulary ready to use | Generated on request | Yes | Shared decks vary | Yes |
| Audio for each term | Voice mode, on request | Depends on the book | If you add it | Yes |
| Speaking and writing practice | Yes | Some exercises | No | No |
| Setup effort | None | Low | High | Low |
Combining them
The methods are not rivals so much as tools for different stages. A routine that uses each for what it is good at:
- Daily, five minutes: spaced-repetition reviews, in BizVoc or Anki. This is the part that makes words last, and it only works if it happens most days.
- When a word won't stick: ask a chatbot to explain it and give you three examples from your own work. Then go back to the cards.
- Once a week: have a chatbot role-play a meeting or negotiation and use the words you have been reviewing. Recognising a word and producing it under pressure are different skills; our post on active and passive vocabulary explains why.
- If your grammar is the weak point: a textbook or a course, with the cards running alongside.
If you only do one of these, do the daily reviews. Everything else helps you understand words; the reviews are what keep them. Our guide to how spaced repetition works goes into the mechanism.
Try the review half
BizVoc gives you a ready-made business English deck with German, French, Spanish or Italian on the back, and brings each card back right before you would forget it. About five minutes a day, free during the open beta.
Try BizVoc free →Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can ChatGPT replace a vocabulary app?
A: For explaining words and practising them in conversation, it is often better than an app. What it does not do is keep a review schedule for each word and bring the right ones back before you forget them. Use it alongside spaced repetition, not instead of it.
Q: Is Anki better than BizVoc?
A: Anki is more flexible: you can add any card and tune the scheduler. BizVoc gives you a finished business English deck with translations, usage notes and audio, so you can start reviewing straight away. If you want to build your own cards, choose Anki. If you would rather not, choose BizVoc.
Q: Are textbooks still worth using for business English?
A: Yes, especially with a teacher and if your grammar needs work. Their weak point is review: a book does not know which words you have forgotten. Pair one with a spaced-repetition tool for the vocabulary.
Q: Is BizVoc free?
A: Yes, during the open beta. Every feature is unlocked; you only need a free account. It runs in the browser at app.bizvoc.com, so there is nothing to install.
Read next
Related guides from the blog:
