Pen vs. keyboard: does writing by hand help you learn a language?

I love learning new things. I always look for easy and useful ways to learn. I worked in big companies for 13 years. Now I teach English, and I prepare my lessons every day.

I know one thing about myself. When I need a new idea, I take a pen and paper. I write. I draw. I make small diagrams and messy notes. My thoughts move fast, and they feel fresh.

On a computer it is different. Later I type my ideas, and that is fine. But I do not create new things on my laptop.

Then I thought about my students. This is not science. It is only my experience. Students who take notes by hand remember new words better. Students who type, or write nothing, forget the words faster.

Now let’s look at the research.

What scientists say

Scientists ask the same question: is a pen better than a keyboard?

In 2025, a group of scientists in Italy read 30 studies about the brain. They found an interesting thing. When we write by hand, many parts of the brain work together. We move our hand, we feel the pen, we see the letters, and we think about the words. When we type, the brain does less work. Writing by hand also helps people remember new letters. This is important when you learn a new alphabet.

But the scientists are careful. They say the difference is not always big. Maybe a pen helps because people draw arrows and boxes on paper. So their advice is simple: use both.

The second study is famous. American students listened to talks. Some students used laptops. Other students used a pen and paper. The laptop students wrote a lot, but they copied every word. The students with pens were slower, so they wrote down only the important ideas. Then everybody answered questions about the talks. Both groups remembered the facts well. But the students with pens understood the ideas better.

Learners talk about this on the internet too. Some people write every new word ten times. Other people like apps on the phone. There is no one answer for everybody.

So what can you do? Use both. Type when you are in a hurry. Take a pen when you want to remember. When you write by hand, you slow down and you pay attention to every word. Write new words in your own sentences, and look at your notes again after a few days.

I love learning new things, and I always look for ways to make learning easier and more useful. I worked in big companies for 13 years. Now I teach English, and I spend a lot of time preparing my lessons.

I have noticed one thing about myself. When I really need to think — to find a new idea or to solve a problem — I always take a pen and paper. I write, I draw, I make diagrams and messy notes. My thoughts start to move, and they feel fresh.

I can never do the same on a keyboard. After I think on paper, I can type my ideas, and that works well. But I cannot create something new on my laptop.

Then I started thinking about my students. This is not scientific research, of course. It is only what I see in my lessons. Students who take notes by hand usually make more progress. They remember new words better than students who type, or who do not take notes at all.

So what does science say? Let’s have a look.

What the researchers found

Scientists have studied this question for many years, and the answer is more interesting than a simple “yes” or “no”.

In 2025, a group of Italian scientists read 30 studies about the brain and wrote a review of them. They found that when we write by hand, more parts of the brain work together: the parts for movement, for touch, for seeing and for language. When we type, the brain does less work. Handwriting also helps people remember new letters. That is useful if you are learning a language with a new alphabet.

But the same scientists are careful. They say the difference is not always big. Perhaps handwriting helps because people organise their ideas on paper: they draw arrows, boxes and diagrams. Their advice at the end is simple — use both, a pen and a keyboard.

The second study is very famous. American students listened to talks. Some of them used laptops, and some used a pen and paper. The laptop group wrote much more, but they copied the speaker word for word. The students with pens could not keep up, so they had to choose the important ideas and write them in their own words. After that, everybody answered questions about the talks. Both groups remembered the facts well. But when the questions were about ideas, the students with pens did better.

Of course, not everybody agrees. Language learners often discuss this question online, and their opinions are very different. Some people cannot learn a word until they write it ten times. Other people are happy with an app on their phone.

So what can you do? Use both. Type when you need to work fast. Take a pen when you want to remember something for a long time. Write new words in your own sentences, and look at your notes again a few days later.

I’m a big fan of life-long learning, and of anything that makes it easier, more productive and genuinely useful. I spent 13 years working in big companies; now I teach and spend a lot of time preparing lessons. I’ve noticed that whenever I really need to brainstorm, to create something new or to find the best solution to problem, I reach for pen and paper. I write, I draw, I build structures and make some chaotic notes. My thoughts turn into a real stream of consciousness, and they feel fresh.

I can never do the same on a keyboard. Once I’ve thought something through on paper, I can type it up and that works fine, but I can’t truly create on my laptop.

then I started thinking about my students. It’s not a scientific research, of course, just my own observations: students who take handwritten notes make more progress and remember more than those who type, or who skip notes altogether and rely only on materials I give them in class.

That’s enough from me. Let’s see what the research says.