By Lumen Editorial Team · Published 2026-10-27
Updated 2026-10-27
By the Lumen Editorial Team · Updated 21 October 2026
Read short texts at a level where you understand most of the words, save the words you miss, and review them on a spaced schedule. Move up a level only when reading feels comfortable. Keep a separate record for each language, so Afrikaans and Portuguese progress are never mixed.
Think in three rungs, then move between them based on how reading feels, not on a calendar.
| Rung | What it feels like | What to read | Example task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | You catch the gist but stop often | Short, simple passages on familiar topics | Read a short passage about food or family, then say in one sentence what it was about |
| Intermediate | You follow most sentences, with a few unknown words per paragraph | Longer passages, news-style or story texts | Read a news-style passage, save five unknown words, then answer questions on it |
| Advanced | Unknown words are rare and you read steadily | Articles and chapters written for native readers | Read a long article in one go, then summarise the argument without looking back |
Here is a rule of thumb from us, not a research result: if you meet an unknown word in nearly every line, drop a rung. If you never meet one, climb. The general idea has research behind it: Hu and Nation (2000) studied how the share of unknown words in a text affects comprehension, and found that comprehension fell as the share of unknown words rose. The study looked at English learners, not Afrikaans or Portuguese, so treat it as a general pointer.
Short answer: a text that is much too hard teaches you little, because you cannot work out meaning from context when too much is unknown. Level-matched texts keep the difficulty in a range where you can follow the story and still meet new words.
In Lumen, you pick a training language, a level and a topic, and the app prepares a passage to match and then checks what you understood. Passages are generated for your chosen level and language, so treat them as practice material rather than literature. We have not yet tested the quality of generated Afrikaans or Portuguese passages, so judge them yourself and skip any that read oddly.
Reading gives you new words; spaced review keeps them. A review and quantitative synthesis by Cepeda and colleagues (2006), covering 839 measurements across 317 experiments, found that spacing study episodes over time improves recall compared with cramming, and that the ideal gap depends on how long you need to remember.
In practice:
Lumen has this built in: words you save become spaced-repetition cards, and a review queue brings them back. (Premium features include the review deck.)
You should, because reading speed and level in Afrikaans say nothing about Portuguese. Lumen stores your levels, history, spaced-repetition cards, reminders and analytics separately for each training language. The app interface can stay in English, Afrikaans or Portuguese while you train in another.
Not at first: focus on understanding. Once reading feels easy, you can look at pace, using RSVP with care, because one-word-at-a-time display removes the re-reading that learners rely on. See our science page for how we think about this, or begin from the Lumen home page.
Short answer: three or four reading sessions, a daily word review and one stretch session.
A sample week for an Afrikaans learner at the Intermediate rung: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one 10-minute passage each, saving unknown words. Every day, five minutes on the word cards. Sunday, one Advanced passage on a topic you already know well. If you understood most of it, start next week at that rung for one session; if not, stay put. Do the same with Portuguese as a separate track, with its own level and its own cards, so one language never sets the level for the other.
Keep a short note after each session: the language, the rung, how many words you saved and whether you could say the main point. It takes under a minute and shows you when to climb.
How often should I practise reading in a new language? Short, regular sessions, with spaced review of new words.
What level of text should I choose? One where you understand most of it; step down if you are lost.
Can I use Lumen in English while training in Afrikaans or Portuguese? Yes.
Is my progress kept separate for each language? Yes: levels, history, cards, reminders and analytics.