Say the word wrong, get corrected, say it right. That’s the whole language-learning loop.

Correction is the engine, and it cannot run until you produce something wrong out loud. Saying a word badly makes the gap audible to somebody who can close it, and the fixed version arrives attached to the memory of getting it wrong, which is why it sticks. Silent study skips the step doing most of the work.

Say the words you are unsure of in front of somebody who knows them. Ask to be corrected rather than waiting to see whether you will be. Repeat the corrected version three times straight away so your mouth keeps it.