English is my first language. I didn't use Anki to learn English vocabulary. I learned by reading books and talking about them to people.
For language learning, I'm skeptical of any method that doesn't resemble real-world use.
For language learning, I'm skeptical of any method that doesn't resemble real-world use.
How many languages that are not English have you learned?
Don't be afraid to keep a hard-copy dictionary of the language you're studying handy.