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SpacedRepetitionisAwesome(chrisstucchio.com)
188pointsbyfrrp702daysago|hide|past|web|78comments|favorite

xiaoma701daysago[]

Iusedtoblogaboutspacedrepetitionsystemsfiveyearsagobackwhenitwasmostlyjustlanguagegeeks
intoit:http://toshuo.com/2009/reviewankispacedrepetitionlearnin...
It'sundeniablethatSRSisgreatforrememberingdiscretechunksofinformation,butmakingitthe
primaryportionoflanguagelearningeffortsisgenerallyamistakesincelearningalanguageisnotsimplya
processofmemorizingadictionary,wordbyword.UnlikeanSRS,ExtensiveReadingwillalsohelpsolidifya
learner'sunderstandingofcollocationsandsemantics.Itteachesmoreofthetargetlanguage'sculture,
too.
TherearetwoplacesinlanguagelearningwhereanSRSisfantastic.It'sagreatwaytospeeduplearning
theverybasicscaffoldnecessaryforengagingwithgradedreadersorchildren'smaterials.Basicphonics
trainingisparticularlylowhangingfruit.Anothergreatuseisformemorizingwordsthatonewillvery
rarelyhearindailylifeandyetarethekindsofwordseveryonewouldbeexpectedtoknow.
IrecentlytriedDuolingo.Ilikesomeaspectsofit,butit'sreallytoobadthatitmixescomprehensionand
productioninalltheactivities.Farmorepracticetimeshouldbespentoncomprehension(bothlistening
andreading)thanonproduction.Thisistrueateverylevelbutevenmorevitalforbeginners.Typingout
wordsinaforeignlanguagejustisn'tthebestuseofabeginner'sstudytime.
freehunter701daysago[]

IreallywishtherewasawayforDuolingototestcomprehensionwithouttranslating.Fartoooften
translationsarenonintuitive,especiallywithidioms.Idon'tknowhowtheycoulddothat,though.
EditanexamplefromDuolingo:IhmgehrenvieleZeitungen.
Ihmmeanshe/him
gehrenmeanstobeapartofortobelongto,fromDuolingo:
(to)bepartof
(we/they)belongto
(we/they)arepartof
vieleZeitungenismanynewspapers.
Butthesentencedoesnottranslateas"hebelongstomanynewspapers".Whatitactuallymeans
is"Heownsmanynewspapers".WhenDuolingoasksyoutotranslate,there'snogoodwayto
translatethatasastudent.Thatisacomplexsentencethat,forallintentsandpurposes,canonly
beunderstoodinGerman.Youcan'ttranslateitwithoutrewordingit.Duolingodoesn'tmention
thatgehrencanmean"toown"incertaincircumstances,becausetheycan'tgiveyouthe
connotationofeverysituationthatarises.Hugeunsolvedprobleminlanguagelearningthatwould
begreatifitwerefixed.
eru701daysago[]

Yes.TheonesavinggraceforDuolingoisthattheproductionisn't`free'production,butmostofthe
timeyoujustrepeatasentenceyoujustheardinthesameexercise.
(ThoughIhavetoadmit,IgotstuckonDuolingolearningSpanishoncetheproductionsgotmore
complicated.)
merraksh702daysago[]

FromhisexamplesIwonderiftheseappsaregoodforgrammartoo,giventhatthetwoPortuguese
sentenceshewriteshavewronggrammarand/ordeclination.
1)Mulheresbonitassaomuitomotivado.Literally"Beautifulwomenareverymotivated",thoughthe
correctone(forgenderandnumber)shouldbe"MulheresbonitassomuitomotivadAS".Notsurewhat
sensethismakesthough,Iguesshewantedtosaybeautifulwomenwereagoodmotivation(forhimto
learnPortuguese),"Mulheresbonitassoboamotivao".
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2)(NSFW)Suarabosebonitashouldbetterbe"seurabobonito",i.e.(literaltranslation)"youra__is
nice".Wronggenderin"your"and"nice"andwrongnumberina.
muxxa701daysago[]

He'sgoingaboutittherightway.Alwayslearnvocabularyfirst,grammarafter.Withoutthewords
youcannotcommunicateatall.Withoutthegrammaryouwillbeabletoengagewithanative
speakerenoughforthemtocorrectyouassoonastheygetyourmeaning.Duolingorightly
postponesthegrammartillaterlessonsandtakestherightapproach.
psychometry701daysago[]

Idon'tthinktherearemanychildrenonHN.Youcansay"ass"andnoonewillbetupset.
jmillikin701daysago[]

IfindSRSusefulforgrammar,usingafillintheblankcard.Theusertypesinatemplatewiththe
blanksmarked:
T:{{c1::Mulheresbonitas::Beautifulwomen}}so{{c2::boamotivao::goodmotivation}}.
Thenitwillgenerateoneflashcardpertemplateblank:
Q:Mulheresbonitasso[goodmotivation].
Q:[Beautifulwomen]soboamotivao.
Thelargertheblank,themoregrammartheuserhastocomeupwithtosynthesizethecorrect
answer.
Ankihasbuiltinsupportforthisthroughsomethingitcallsa"clozecard",thoughI'vefoundits
implementationinsufficientforlanguageswithgrammaticalchangesspreadthroughthesentence.
yummyfajitas702daysago[]

Thanks.Ididthosefrommemory,stilllearning.Neverclaimedankiwillmakeyouperfectinstantly.
merraksh702daysago[]

Makessense,it'sprobablyeasierandmorefuntolearnsomevocabularythancorrect
grammar.ImovedtoanEnglishspeakingcountry(fromItaly)eightyearsagoandstill
confuse"his"and"her"sometimes.
ricardobeat702daysago[]

IsthatreallyonDuolingo?Thewording"seurabobonito"wouldbeconsideredhugelygross
regardlessofcontextorlocation.
yummyfajitas702daysago[]

IthoughtIwasclearaboutthatinthepostIputstufflikethatoneintoAnki
becauseDuoLingowon'tremindmeofitbutreadingitagainitseemsunclear.
Anywayyouarecorrectthat'snotinDuoLingo.Ilearnedthatfromadifferentsource
whodoesnotconsiderit"hugelygross"(atleastwhenIsayit).
JetSpiegel701daysago[]

Ithinkitmakesyoulooklikeaprudeorachildmorethangross.Therearewidely
usedslanginbotheuropeanandbrazilianvariantsifyouwanttomakethosekindsof
remarks.NottomentionalltheafricanvariantsI'mnotreallyfamiliarwith.
ralmeida701daysago[]

AsaBrazilian,Iagreewithricardobeat.Idon'tthinkIeversawasituation
wheresaying'rabo'asaslangforasswouldbeconsideredevenslightlyprudish
orchildish,butalwaysattheveryleastexplicit.Theafricanvariationsfor'ass'
aremuchmoretame(usedonTVbroadcasts,forexample).
JetSpiegel701daysago[]

Asaportuguese,that'showit'susedhere.Asanitizedversionofslang.
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ralmeida701daysago[]

Oh,Ididn'tknowthat.Well,that'sagoodreminderthatptand
ptBRhaveseveralvocabularydifferences.AfewmoreIcan
rememberwouldbethewords"bicha"(pt:queue,ptBR:male
homossexual)and"durex"(pt:condom,ptBR:akindofadhesive
tape).
JetSpiegel701daysago[]

"bicha"hasalreadypickedupyourmeaninghereinthelast
years.
Endlesssourceofcrappyjokesanytimesomeonesaysthey
waitedsomewhere.:|
swah701daysago[]

Ournonoffensivewordsforthatarebundaandbumbum.The
latterismorecommonw/children,butIsupposeforeignerswould
alsolikethesound.
tzs701daysago[]

Therewasadiscussionofspacedrepetitionheretwodaysago.Doesthismeantheoptimumtimeforthe
nextspacedrepetitiondiscussionisnowabout10daysfromnow?
walterbell701daysago[]

Couldbeanalternateviewofthe"savedstories"list.Sinceitwouldberepeatedonlytothosewho
savedthestory,itcouldincreaseincreaseongoingengagementwiththestory.Wouldneedaway
toterminatetherepetition.
hasenj701daysago[]

1.Flashcardsareboringashell
2.Memorizingabunchofvocabularydoesnothelpyoulearnthelanguage.Ifanything,itmightbea
hinderance.
Bearwithmehere.
Themainobstacleinlearningalanguageisnottheacquisitionofvocabularyperse,butgettingfamiliar
andacquaintedwithhowideasareexpressedinthelanguage.
Themostcommonmistakethatbeginnersmakeistheytrytoformthesentenceintheirnativelanguage,
thentranslateittothetargetlanguage.ThisapproachisguaranteedtomakeyouformBADsentences.
Youneedtobeexposedtonotjustvocabulary,butphrases,collocations[0],andidioms.
Youmusttrainyourmindtousetheexpressionsofyourtargetlanguagefromthestart..withoutstarting
fromsomeexpressioninyournativelanguage.
Togetthere,youneedtobeexposedtotonsofnaturalspeech/writings/dialogsinthetargetlanguage.
That'swhyavocabularylistonitsownisprettyuseless.
Ifyou'regoingtouseflashcards,lettheentriesbephrasesandcollocations,insteadofsinglewords.
[0]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collocation
stdbrouw701daysago[]

Myexperiencehasbeenexactlytheopposite.WhenspeakingorreadingSpanish,Germanor
French,Ineverthink"gee,ifonlyIknewmoregrammar"butalmosteverydayIthink"well,it
surewouldbeniceifIknewthewordfor___."
Itseemsyouradviceisdirectedtowardslanguagelearnerswhothinktheymightgetawaywithjust
learningwordsandnotbotheringatallwithgrammar,collocations,expressionsandalloftheother
thingsyouneedtotrulygraspaforeignlanguage,likepracticinglisteningcomprehension.Forthose
people,youradvicemakessense.Butrealistically,evenamongflashcardaficionados,howmany
peopledoyoufigurethinklearningalanguageisaseasyasjustlearningwords?Dothosepeople
evenexist?
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hasenj701daysago[]

Ah,butthewordforXinthiscontextisnotnecessarilythesamewordyoushouldusein
someotherarbitrarycontext.
stdbrouw701daysago[]

Andmanypeopletoaddhintstotheircards(e.g.todistinguishprevoirquelqu'unfrom
prevoirquelquechose)aswellasaddexamplesentencesor,asyousuggested,have
sentencedecksinadditiontoworddecks.Butevenregardlessofthat,notusingflash
cardsbecausesometimescontextlesslearningisnotidealwouldbethrowingawaythe
babywiththebathwatertheincreaseinspeedatwhichyoucanlearnvocabularyis
justimmensewithSRS.
hasenj701daysago[]

>notusingflashcardsbecausesometimescontextlesslearningisnotideal
wouldbethrowingawaythebabywiththebathwater
No,thatwouldonlybethecaseifonedecidedtostoplearningthelanguageall
togetherbecausetheythinkthey'llneverbefluent.
I'mproposingtolearnthelanguageproperly:byexposingyourselftoasmuch
materialasyoucan,forprolongedperiodsoftime.
stdbrouw701daysago[]

>I'mproposingtolearnthelanguageproperly:byexposingyourselfto
asmuchmaterialasyoucan,forprolongedperiodsoftime.
...whichiswhatyouneedformastery,Iabsolutelyagree(it'swhatIdo
too!),butit'svery,veryslow.
hasenj701daysago[]

It'snotreallyveryslow.Ittookmeaboutoneyeartolearn
EnglishwhenIarrivedtoCanada(Iwas16).
Evgeny701daysago[]

2.Memorizingabunchofvocabularydoesnothelpyoulearnthelanguage.Ifanything,itmightbe
ahinderance.
Iwouldn'tbesoharshonflashcards.ImovedtoDenmarklastyearandamnowlearningthe
language.Havingbettervocabularytotallyhelpsyoulearnthelanguage,butofcourseshouldnot
betheonlyorprimarymean.Iwouldsaythatflashcardsisapowerfultoolthatassistsmyother
studies.IfIwasabletospendhoursperdayonstudyingthelanguage,maybetheywouldnotbe
necessary.ButmyworkenvironmentisEnglishspeaking,Ihaveafamilyandnonativespeaking
friendsyet,somystudytimeislimited.
ThewayImaintainmydeckisthataftereachlesson,orafterreadinganysortoftext,orwhile
reading,IaddthewordsIdidnotknowintothedeck.AndIalsohaveasmallerdeckforphrases
andexpressions.So,yes,Iamgettingexposedtonaturalwriting,butitisnotatrivialtaskto
memorisewordsthatyouonlysaworusedahandfuloftimes.
Mydeckisnowaround3500wordsandgrowingsteadily,Icanreadandunderstandnewspaper
articlesongeneralsubjectsandexpressmyselfinwriting.Ihavebeencommendedonmy
vocabularybyteachersandIbelievetheusageofAnkiistheadvantagethatgivesme"theedge"
comparedtoothersinsimilarcircumstances.
erikb701daysago[]

AsfarasIunderstandyourmainassumptionisthatvocabularyacquisitionisasmallerproblem
thangrammar(i.e.,howtoexpressyouridea).Ihavetodisagree.
Whilethismightbeaproblemforsomepeople,forothersacquiringthousandsofvocabsisahuge
probleminitself.Besidepersonalproblemsandpreferencestherearealsobigdifferencesdepending
onthelanguageyouarelearningandthelanguagesyoualreadyknow.AnEnglishnativespeaker
learningFrenchhasmuchlessvocabstolearnthananEnglishnativelearningChinese.
AdditionallytomemorizinghugeamountsofvocabsIalsofindthatlearningphrasesisveryhelpful,
butmoreasasecondstep.Atleastformeitworkslikethis."Memorizingabunchofvocabulary"is
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exactlywhatgotmestartedtofinallyimprovemyChinese.
hasenj701daysago[]

No,Ididnotmeanthatthegrammarismoreimportant.
WhatIwasgettingatisthatit'snottheindividualwords,butthecontextinwhichthese
wordsareoftenused.
Ifyoulookupinthedictionary,thereareabout6differentwaystorefertoawoman/girl.
Canyoutellwhichonesareincommonusage?Whichonessoundformalandwhichones
soundcasual?Whichonesmightseemoffensiveincertaincontexts?
erikb700daysago[]

Yes,youareright.That'salsoaproblem.Ididn'tthinkaboutthatone.
freehunter701daysago[]

IrecentlytookaCEFRtestinmysecondlanguage,andtheadministratorofthetestcommented
thatIprobablywouldbeonelevelhigherifIhadastrongervocabulary.Shenoticedthatthere
werequestionsthatIwouldhavegottenrightifIunderstoodthewords,butasitwasIjusthadto
guess.WhenI'mreadingbooksinmysecondlanguage,therearesometimessentencesIneedto
eitherlookuporskipentirelybecauseIdon'tknowoneormoreofthewordsbeingused.
So,whileyou'rerightthatflashcardswon'tteachyougrammar,vocabularyisincrediblyimportant
tomovebeyondanybasiclevel.IcangreetsomeoneorbuyamealatMcDonald'swithaphrase
book.Ican'treadanovelwithoutvocabulary.
claudius701daysago[]

Whatyousayistrueifmasteryoftheforeignlanguageisrequiredortheaimoftheexercise.
However,ifyoujustwanttoorderbreakfastabroadwithoutlookinglikeanunculturedinsensitive
dick,translatingsentencesformedinyournativelanguageworksjustfine.Nobodyexpectspeople
tomasterfiveorsolanguages,butputtingatleastsomeeffortintolearningthelocallanguageis
usuallygreatlyappreciated.Furthermore,dependingonthedegreeofsimilaritybetweenyour
nativelanguageandthetargetlanguage,formingsentencesfirstandthentranslatingthemwill
actuallygetyouprettyfarsurelyitwillbeuselessifyouspeak,say,Finnishnativelyandwantto
learnsomeEastAsianlanguage,butIimagineittoworkdecentlybetween,say,EnglishandDutch
orSpanishandItalian.EvenEnglishandGermanshareenoughhistorythatmostsentencescanbe
translatedonetoone.
hasenj701daysago[]

Ifyouwanttoorderbreakfast,youcanmemorizethingsfromaphrasebook,oryoucanjust
carrythephrasebookwithyou.
Andyes,ofcourse,whatIsaidwaswith"masteryofthelanguage"asthegoalinmind.
Youmighthaveapointfor"similar"languages,buteventhenyouwillbesettingyourselfto
learningbadhabits.
MynativelanguageisArabic.IlearnedEnglishwhenIwasinhighschool,andnowI'm
learningJapanese.Allverydifferentlanguages.
tokenadult701daysago[]

Afterreadingallthecommentspostedheretillnow,Iseethattheyarealmostallaboutforeignlanguage
learning,withfewmentioningotherapplicationsofspacedrepetitionsystems.Ihadbetterapplymyown
backgroundinforeignlanguagelearning(IlearnedChineseasasecondlanguagebeginningatage
seventeenwellenoughtospendmostofmytwentiesworkingasalanguageteacher,translator,and
interpreter)tolettingmyfriendshereonHNknowwhatelseisusefultodoforlearningahumanlanguage
well.
IhopetheFAQinformationbelowhelpshackersachievetheirdreams.AsIlearnedMandarinChineseup
tothelevelthatIwasabletosupportmyfamilyforseveralyearsasaChineseEnglishtranslatorand
interpreter,Ihadtotackleseveralproblemsforwhichthereisnotyetaonestopshoppingsoftware
solution.ForANYpairoflanguages,evencloselycognatepairsofWestGermaniclanguageslikeEnglish
andDutch,orWuChinesedialectslikethoseofShanghaiandSuzhou,thetwolanguagesdifferinsound
system,sothatwhatisaphonemeinonelanguageisnotaphonemeintheotherlanguage.
http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/Wha...
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Butaspeakerofonelanguagewhoispasttheageofpubertywillsimplynotperceivemanyofthe
phonemicdistinctionsinsoundsinthetargetlanguage(thelanguagetobelearned)withoutverycareful
training,asdisregardofthosedistinctionsbelowthelevelofconsciousattentionispartofhavingthe
soundsystemofthespeaker'snativelanguagefullyinmind.Attentiontotargetlanguagephonemeshas
tobedevelopedthroughpainstakingpractice.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10442032
Itisbrutallyhardformostpeople(aftertheageofpuberty,andperhapsespeciallyformales)tolearnto
attendtosounddistinctionsthatdon'texistinthelearner'snativelanguage.Thatisespeciallyhardwhen
thesounddistinctionsignifiesagrammaticaldistinctionthatalsodoesn'texistinthelearner'snative
language.Forexample,thedistinctionbetween"Ispeak"and"hespeaks"inEnglishinvolvesaconsonant
clusterattheendofasyllable,andnosuchconsonantclustersexistintheMandarinsoundsystematall.
Worsethanthat,nosuchgrammaticaldistinctionas"firstpersonsingular"and"thirdpersonsingular"for
inflectingverbsexistsinMandarin,soitisremarkablydifficultforMandarinspeakinglearnersofEnglishto
learntodistinguish"speaks"from"speak"andtosay"hespeaksChinese"ratherthan*"hespeak
Chinese"(notagrammaticalphraseinspokenEnglish).
Mostsoftwarematerialsforlearningforeignlanguagescouldbemuchimprovedsimplybyincludinga
completechartofthesoundsystemofthetargetlanguage(inthedialectformbeingtaughtinthe
softwarematerials)withexplicitdescriptionofsoundsintheterminologyofarticulatoryphonetics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulatory_phonetics
withfulluseofnotationfromtheInternationalPhoneticAlphabet.
http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/ipachart.html
Goodlanguagelearningmaterialsalwaysincludealotoffocuseddrillsonsounddistinctions(contrasting
minimalpairsinthelanguage)inthetargetlanguage,andnosoftwareprogramforlanguagelearning
shouldbewithoutthose.Itisstillanartofsoftwarewritingtotrytoautomatelisteningtoalearner's
pronunciationforappropriatefeedbackonaccuracyofpronunciation.Thatisnotaneasyproblem.
Afterphonology,anotherhugetaskforanylanguagelearnerisacquiringvocabulary,andthisisthetask
onwhichmostlanguagelearningmaterialsaremostfocused.Butoftenthefocusonvocabularyisnot
verythoughtful.
Theclassicsoftwareapproachtohelpingvocabularyacquisitionisessentiallytoautomateflippingflash
cards.ButflashcardshaveALWAYSbeenoverratedforvocabularyacquisition.Wordsdon'tmatchoneto
onebetweenlanguages,notevenbetweencloselycognatelanguages.Themapisnottheterritory,and
everylanguageonearthdividestheworldoflivedexperienceintoadifferentsetofwords,withdifferent
boundariesbetweenwordsofsimilarmeaning.
Theroyalroadtolearningvocabularyinatargetlanguageismassiveexposuretoactualtexts(dialogs,
stories,songs,personalletters,articles,etc.)writtenorspokenbynativespeakersofthelanguage.I'll
quoteamasterlanguageteacherhere,thelateJohnDeFrancis.Afewyearsago,Irereadthesection
"SuggestionsforStudy"inthefrontmatterofJohnDeFrancis'sbookBeginningChineseReader,PartI,
whichIfirstusedtolearnChinesebackin1975.Inthatsectionofthatbook,Ifoundthispassage,
"Fluencyinreadingcanonlybeachievedbyextensivepracticeonalltheinterrelatedaspectsofthe
readingprocess.ToaccomplishthiswemustREAD,READ,READ"(capitalizationasinoriginal).Inother
words,vocabularycanonlybewellacquiredincontext(anargumenthedevelopsindetailwithregardto
ChineseinthewritingIhavejustcited)andthecontextmustbeagenuinecontextproducedbynative
speakersofthelanguage.
Ihavebeengivingfreeadviceonlanguagelearningsincethe1990sonmypersonalwebsite,
http://learninfreedom.org/languagebooks.html
andtheoneadviceIcangiveeverylanguagelearnerreadingthisthreadistotakeadvantageofradio
broadcastinginyourtargetlanguage.Spokenwordbroadcasting(hereI'mespeciallyfocusingonradio
ratherthanonTV)givesyouanopportunitytolistenandtohearwordsusedincontext.Inthe1970s,I
usedtohavetouseanexpensiveshortwaveradiotopickupChineselanguageradioprogramsinNorth
America.NowwewhohaveInternetaccesscangainendlesslisteningopportunitiesfromInternetradio
stationsindozensofunlikelylanguages.Listenearlyandlistenoftenwhilelearningalanguage.Thatwill
helpwithphonology(asabove)anditwillhelpcruciallywithvocabulary.
Thethirdbigtaskofalanguagelearnerislearninggrammarandsyntax,whichisoftenwoefullyneglected
insoftwarelanguagelearningmaterials.Everylanguagehashundredsoftacitgrammarrules,manyof
whicharenotknownexplicitlyeventonativespeakers,butwhichrevealalanguagelearnerasaforeigner
whentherulesarebroken.Theforeignlanguagelearnerneedstounderstandgrammarnotjustto
producespeechorwritingthatislessjarringandforeigntonativespeakers,butalsotobetterunderstand
whatnativespeakersarespeakingorwriting.Anywidelyspokenmodernlanguagehasthickbooks
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reportingthegrammaticalrulesofthelanguage,
http://www.amazon.com/MandarinChineseFunctionalReference...
http://www.amazon.com/ChineseComprehensiveGrammarGrammars...
http://www.amazon.com/ComprehensiveGrammarEnglishLanguage...
http://www.amazon.com/CambridgeGrammarEnglishLanguage/dp/...
anditiswellworthyourwhiletostudybookslikethatbothaboutyournativelanguage(s)andaboutany
languageyouarestudying.

neves701daysago[]

Learningincontextisreallyanunderratedaspectoflanguagelearning.Somemoretips:
1)Podcasts:youcanhandpickathemeyoulike,soyoucantransferyourknowledgebetween
languagestogetallsubtleties.
2)GraphicNovels(aka:comics):youseethedialogswithacorrespondingimage.Youmixnarrative
aspectsofabook,whereyoureadwhatsinthemindofthecharactersandseewitha
correspondingimage.
3)Movies:youshouldwatchthemwithsubtitlesinthespokenlanguage.
4)KindleTouch/Paperwhite:youwilleasilyclickinawordtoseeitsdefinition.
ktf701daysago[]

>3)Movies:youshouldwatchthemwithsubtitlesinthespokenlanguage.
Ican'tbelieveIneverthoughttodothis.Greatidea,thanks!
captaindiego701daysago[]

Thankyoufortheexcellentlinks.Alotofyourcommentsreallyringtrue.AnumberoftimesI've
reallywishedthattheinternationalphoneticalphabetwasfarmorewidespreadandincludedin
morelanguagelearningmaterials.
Inadditionassomeonewhohasspentcountlesshoursstudyingvocabflashcardswithverylittle
gainsIcancorroboratethefactthatusingitasaprimarystudymethodisquiteineffective.WhenI
wanttoflashcardstylestudyingnowIfocusonsentences,orgroupsofsentenceswithtranslations.
Theaddedcontexthelpssignificantlybutisstillnosubstituteforfullpassagesoftext.
stupandaus701daysago[]

Abitofftopicfromyourpost,butI'mcurioushowfaryourMandarinstudiestookyou.Didyouever
makeanyheadwayintoBusinessChineseand/ordoyouknowofanygoodresourcesforthat?
I'manativebilingualMandarin/Englishspeaker,andworkedabroadinShanghaiforayearorso,
butamstilllackingalotofprofessionalbusinessvocabulary.
juanre702daysago[]

ForthoseofyouusingEmacsandorgmodeorgdrillisagreatoption,http://orgmode.org/worg/org
contrib/orgdrill.html
watterssn702daysago[]

ForthoselookingforSRSbuiltaroundkeyboardshortcutsandprogrammingeditorsgive
https://www.shortcutfoo.comatry.ThelearnsectionusesanSRSalgorithmandusestimingtodetermine
therating(vsselectinganumber).shamelessplug:Ibuiltit:)
rmc702daysago[]

Oneofthehardestthingsforspacedrrepetitionsoftwareisfinding/creatingdecksofwordstolearn.Does
anyonehaveanyrecommendationsforhowtogoaboutthat?
xiaoma701daysago[]

Itookwordsfrommyreading.WhenIwasatabitlowerlevelIworkedthroughanewspaper,
highlightingwordsIdidn'tknowmakingflashcardsofthemandthenpracticingtheflashcards
duringfreetimeandthenreadingthenewspaperselectionlater.Here'sanentryIwroteaboutthat
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process:http://toshuo.com/2007/learnalanguagebytakingadvantage...
EverysinglewordencounteredthiswayshouldmakeitswayintoyourSRSafterlearningit.
Asfarasdeckstrategies,IwasanAnkiuseranddidn'tlikegettingtoomanydecksgoingatonce.I
trieddoingseparatedecksforeachbook,videogame,etcIwasworkingmywaythroughbutit
turnedouttobehugepain.NowIfavoronlyonedeckperlanguageforrecognition,oneforwriting
andoneforeartraining.

Walkman702daysago[]

Ankihaveshareddecks[1],butthegeneraladviceisthatyoualwayscreateyourowndeck.I
personallyhandcreateeverysinglecardIlearnandcouldn'tbehappierwiththeresultssofar.
[1]:https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/
Larrikin702daysago[]

I'vealwaysfoundthisadvicetobealittleoverrated.CardcreationtakesalotoftimeandI've
founditbeonlyslightlyhelpfulinthememorizationprocessandtrytoavoidcreatingacard
fromscratchwhenIcan.IuseanextremelymodifiedversionoftheJapanesecorePlusdeck
andhavefounditinvaluablethatitalreadycamewith6000+vocabwordswithexample
sentencesallalreadytaggedwiththemostpopulartextbooksandonlinelearningmaterials.
I'vebeenusingitforabout3yearsnowandithasexpandedtoincludepicturesandexample
textformanymorewordsaswell.Howeveritwouldhavebeenahugetimesinktoeven
attemptsuchadeckonmyown.
TheproblemwithshareddecksisthatAnkiisnotaverygoodwayoflearninginformationfor
theveryfirsttime.Seeingthematerialfromanothersource,likeatextbookorencountering
itinthewildandthenstudyingbytagsistheprocessIfindtobethebestflowforme.Ihave
acramdeckforallthevocabularyIhaveeverstudied,oneforthecurrentchapterI'm
studying,andifI'mtakingaclassoneforallthevocabularyI'vestudiedintheclassthat
semesteroryear.Withtextbooks,Ireadoverthevocabularyandtagwordsoraddan
examplesentenceifIneedtobutIoftendon'thaveto.UsingthismethodIcanlearn
somewherebetween50100newwordsinaweekifIneedtowithprettygoodrecall.
HoweverIhaveanothercramdeckthatistaggedwithwordsthatarethetop2000and
6000mostcommon.UnlessIhaveseenthewordpreviouslyIfindevengoingthrough10
wordstobeapainfulprocessandittakesmemuchlongertomemorize.Ihavethatcram
decksetuptoonlyshowme5newwordsadayandmostlyuseitasareviewdeck.
Edit:Grammar
sbmassey702daysago[]

YoucouldtryMemriseorDuolingo,ofwhichthefirsthaslargenumbersofusermadestacks,but
whichIusuallyfindhaveenougherrorsorotherproblemsastobecomeratherirritatingtowork
with.Duolingoisawesome,solongaswhatyouwanttolearnisontheirfairlysmalllistof
languages,asithassomeunderstandingofgrammaticalissues,andfarfeweroutrighterrorsthan
Memrise.MymainissuewithDuolingoisthatitscoursesaresomewhatlimitedevenifyoufinish
one,youwon'thavemuchmorethanverybasicliteracyandvocabularyinthelanguage.
Personally,now,IamconcentratingonAnki,andIbuildmystacksbyaddingwordsandshort
phrasesasIcomeacrossthemduringtheday.Itisanexcellent,ifclunky,tool:itallowsyoutoadd
TeXforlearningequations,etcitsmodelletsyoudefinedifferenttypesofdatastructure('Note'),
fromwhichyoucandefinedifferentquestionresponsestolearn('Cards').Themainproblemisthe
limitationsoftheiOSapp,whichdoesn'tletyouaddnewNotesorprocessyourTeXforyou.
udfalkso701daysago[]

Ilovememrise.I'vefounditmostusefulforlearninggeographysofar,notlanguage.
http://www.memrise.com/course/42769/countrymapping/
633nm702daysago[]

I'vemostlyusedAnkiforlearningJapanese,soI'mbiasedtowardsthatspecificlanguage.Thereare
howeversomeawesomefreetoolsfloatingaroundthattakethepainoutofcreatingflashcards:
[1]EPWING2AnkicreatesflashcardsfromawordlistandadictionaryinEPWINGformat
[2]Sub2srscreatesflashcardsbasedonamovieandsubtitlefiles
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8190217

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It'salsopossibletousee.g.spreadsheetstomasscreatecards.Furthertoolsanalyzee.g.a
selectionofebooksandcreatewordfrequencylistsofunknownwords,Combinedthosetoolshave
greatlyassistedmyprogress.
[1]:http://subs2srs.sourceforge.net/
[2]:http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?pid=181475
boyaka701daysago[]

I'mstillprettynoobatJapanese,butIhavelivedtherefor6monthsandtook3semestersof
introductoryclasses.I'veneverhadthemotivationtostudy,butIthoughtI'dplugareally
coolflashcardtypeappcalledWanikani[1],fromtheguysbehindTofugu.Imaxedoutthe
freelevelbutIdidn'twanttodedicatemytimetolearningyet,soIhaven'tmovedonto
higherlevels.I'mhopingthiscanbeawaytodevelopmyvocab,butIalsoliketheideafrom
elsewhereinthispostoffindingsomesortofradiobroadcastsinJapanese,itwouldbesuper
helpfuliftheyhadatextbasedscriptofthedialoguetoo.
Also,inmycomprehensionofJapaneseontheinternet,afirefoxextensionrikaichanorthe
chromeversionrikaikun(whichIuse)isinvaluable.WithcomputersevenJapanesepeople
don'tneedtoknowhowtowritekanji,theyjusttypethehiraganaandhitspacetiltheysee
it.Thisextensionallowsyoutohighlightthekanji,goingintheotherdirection(kanji>
pronunciation/meaning,useyourjapanesekeyboardtogofrompronunciation/hiragana>
kanjiwithspacebar).
Also,foradictionaryIuseAlc[2]whichIfoundisverycommonlyusedbyJapanesepeople
thatneedtofindEnglishwords.Themainbenefittousingthisisthattherearemany
examplesofthewordsusedincontext,andshowingotherkanjiusedforthosesame
meanings.Thisallowsyoutomakesurethekanjiyoufoundforthemeaningyouwantis
actuallyusedin,orfindthecorrectkanjifor,thecontextyouaretryingtouseitin.Itis
importanttohaveadatabasemaintainedbypeoplethatknowproperJapaneseforsure,it's
mucheasiertounderstandbrokenEnglishthantotrytousebrokenJapanese.
[1]http://www.tofugu.com/resources/wanikani/[2]http://www.alc.co.jp
shawnps701daysago[]

UserhermanschaafandIliveinJapanandsetouttobuildafastJapanesedictionary:
http://nihongo.io
Sourceishere:http://github.com/gojp
Takealookifyouhavetime,featurerequestsareverywelcome:)
Larrikin701daysago[]

OnceyoustudyJapaneseforanyamountoftimeromajibecomesmoreofaliability
thananythingelse.ThethingIdislikemostaboutmosttheseonesearchbar
dictionariesisthereisnowaytoignoreromajiinput.ItsoneofthemainreasonsIstill
usejisho.orgsooftenandI'mveryunexcitedabouttheirnewbeta.Addingtheability
toturnitoffwouldbeagreatstart
shawnps701daysago[]

IunderstandwhatyoumeanI'vebeenstudyingJapaneseforfiveyearsnow
andlearnedhiraganaandkatakanainthefirsttwoweeksofclass.Ihave
alwaystoldnewlearnerstodothatfirstasyourarelyseeromajiusedinJapan.
DoyoumeanthatonjishoyoualwaysusetheJapanesesearchbox?
Larrikin701daysago[]

WhenI'msearchingJapaneseyes.JishosplitsupEnglishandJapanese
sothatIdon'thavetofilterthroughcompletelyunrelatedresultsifan
Englishwordjusthappenstobemadeuplettersthatcouldberomaji.I
alsousuallytypeintobothboxesifIhaveanideaofthewordorIwanta
sentenceexampleofthewordusedinaspecificway
shawnps701daysago[]

Ah,IthinkIgetit.Whensearchingfortheterm"shin"for
example,itwouldignoreanyEnglishdefinitionmatchessuchas
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8190217

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shinguard,andonlymatchJapanesetermscontainingit,like
.

CraigJPerry702daysago[]

https://github.com/CraigJPerry/shortcuts
Someofthesearecopiesofother'sdecks.Thevimoneisgood,evenassomeonewho'snormally
thevimexpertinagivengroupofUnixbodsIstillfindmyselflearning.
Thegitoneiscrap,IwillredothatmyselfwhenIgetachance.
Theidea/pycharmonesarejustadumpofthekeybindings.SamefortheGitHubone.Itspretty
easytomakesimpledecks.
There'sanexcellentmultimediadeckcalled"knots"whichpredictablyenoughteachesknottying.
Worthalooktoseewhat'spossiblewithAnki.
cbovis701daysago[]

Skritterhasawholebunchofcuratedlistsoutoftheboxincludingthoseforpopulartextbooksand
academiclevels.Youarepayingapremiumforitsusethough(10amonth).
patrickk702daysago[]

SiversonSRS(greatinfo):http://sivers.org/srs
pitt1980701daysago[]

greatlink
I'dlovetoseemorenonforeignlanguageSRSapplications
seemslikeeverycollegetextbook/class(orreallyanytextbook/class)shouldhaveaSRSapplication
togowithit
wouldn'titbeniceifallthosefreshmanlevellessonshadgottenimplantedinyourmemory
erikb702daysago[]

SinceIstartedSRS(firstAnkiandnowevenmoresuccessfulwithmemrise)Ihavetoagreethatit'sthe
mostawesomethingIencounteredsofarlearninglanguages.Tosaythetruthduetolazynessandbeing
tiredafterworkIhaven'tfoundareasonablealternativetolearnthousandsofvocabs.SobeforeSRSI
reallywasscrewed,onlylearningvery,veryslowly.
yummyfajitas702daysago[]

LetmejustsaythispostwasmainlytoinformmyreadersthatSRSexists.AfarbettersubmissionforHN
wouldhavebeengwernsreviewarticle,withscienceandsuch.
brok3nmachine701daysago[]

I'mclosetolaunchingamemorytrainerforrememberingNamesandFaces.Itusesaspacedrepetition
algorithmbasedonSuperMemo2(Ankidoesaswell,butI'mnotsurehowfarithasevolvedfromitsSM2
roots):http://www.supermemo.com/english/ol/sm2.htm
I'vealsofoundSRStobeincrediblyeffectivewhencombinedwithothermnemonictechniques,while
learningFrench.Iwroteaboutthisrecently:http://www.ubermemory.com/blog/understanding
mnemonics
aabajian701daysago[]

IwroteafreespacedrepetitionappforiOSawhileback:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/memorizeme!/id578975798?mt=...
Myplanwastoreleasepacksofthingstomemorize(e.g.FamousQuotes,TenCommandments,etc.),but
with010downloadsaweek,Ijustgaveuponit.Ifthere'ssomeinterest,I'llconsiderreleasingan
update.
rahimnathwani701daysago[]

SodidanotherHNuser:)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8190217

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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8152267
aabajian701daysago[]

Nice,haha,there'sprobablyadozenorsosuchapps.Mymotivationwastomakeanappthat
pingsmewhenit'stimetorememberacertainitem.SoIcouldbeanywhereandallofa
suddenI'dgetamessage,"Propranolol(INN)isasympatholyticnonselectivebetablocker".I
wasinmedschoolatthetime.
gingerlime701daysago[]

AtKenhub[0],webuiltananatomylearningplatformthatusesspacedrepetition.The
algorithmmightnotbeaselaborate,butthebasicconceptisthesame.
Inourcase,it'salittledifferentfromaflashcardsystem,becauseanatomystructures
aretypicallygroupedandaskedtogether(e.g.choosetherighttermfromthe
followingimages,choosethecorrectterminthepicturefromthefollowinglistetc).
There'salsomorecomplextopicssuchasorigin,insertion,innervation,function
whichcoversthewayanatomystructures'interact'(e.g.thismuscleflexesthe
arm...).
[0]https://www.kenhub.com
hngiszmo701daysago[]

Thebiggestlistoflearningapps,manyofwhichdosupportSRSishttp://www.flashcardapps.info/
It'siOSonlybutmypointistoshowhowthereisahugevarietyevenforiOSusers.
IdidmyownfreeSRSflashcardsappandfocusmuchoncooperativecontentcreation:
https://fluxcards.de/
Mysuggestionistotryitoutifyouneverdidasitistrulyamazing.Itcan'treplaceateacheroractually
usingwhatyouaretryingtolearnbutitcanmakesure100%thatyoulearnfasterandneverforgetfacts
thatyouwanttomakesureyouknow.TryAnkioranyotherotherSRSappifyoudon'twanttofallfor
myboldselfadvertisementbuttryitout.It'sworthitandshouldbeknownbyall.
jms701daysago[]

I'vealmostfinishedbuildingasystemforlearninglanguagespecificallyusingspacedrepetition.
Insteadofbasicflashcards,readsyoutheword(audio)thenifyoudon'tgetityou'llbeshowntheword
(visual)thenyou'llbereadthewordincontextthenshownthewordincontext.
Thesystemdoesn'tjustdrillyouonsinglewords,ittestscomprehensiononfullsentencesanddocuments
too.
I'mcurrentlyputtingthelastpolishesontomakesurenewuserscaneasilystartlearning.Ifyou're
interested,I'llannouncethebetalaunchonmymailinglistatwww.hotglot.com,orifyou'resuperkeen
emailmeatjames@hotglot.comandI'llgiveaccesstothealphaversion.
cbovis701daysago[]

IcantestifytothebenefitsofSRappstooafterusingSkrittertoimproveChinesereadingandwriting.
Onceyougettheballrollingyouquicklyfindyourselfeasilymemorisingcharactersandinsomecaseseven
predictingtheformationofcharactersyou'venevermetbefore.Foranyonewhowantstolearnwritten
ChineseorJapaneseIwouldhighlyrecommendit!
Thatsaidthough,forlearningthespokenlanguagethere'snosubstituteforcommunicatingwithnative
speakersonaregularbasis.SRtoolssimplyhelpasanadditionaltooltospeedupyourspokenlearningor
helpwithreading/writing.
http://www.skritter.com/
kyro702daysago[]

Spacedrepetitionisindeedawesome.ForamonthnowI'vebeenworkingthroughadeckofhardEnglish
vocabularyusingAnki,andalreadymyspeechandreadingcomprehensioncapabilitieshaveincreased
dramatically.
kremlin701daysago[]

Caretolink?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8190217

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melling702daysago[]

CananyoneexplainhowagoodSRSsystemshouldwork?Arethereanydeficienciesinthecurrentapps?
I'vegotseveraliOSlanguageappsandI'mlookingforfeaturesformynextrelease.Ijustaddedabout
1000picturessoit'seasiertolearnbyassociation,ratherthanwordpairse.g.gato/cat.Here'smySpanish
app.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/h4spanishlite/id388918463?...
muxxa701daysago[]

OnethingthatAnkidoesverywell(andthatneithermemrisenorduolingoattempt)isallowyouto
immediatelyratethedifficultyofanexerciserightafteryoudoit.Thisallowsyougivefeedbackthat
e.g.Yougotsomethingrightbyflukeorconverselythatyougotsomethingwrongbecauseitwasso
easyyouweren'tpayingfullattention.Ifindwithmemrisethatitsometimesrepeatstheeasystuff
toooftenleavinglessroomforhardstuffthatI'fluked'.
AlsoAnkiallowsyoutofillyourbrainwiththesubsetoftheuniverseofvocabularythatmost
interestsyou(knowingthatpingunaisamacchiatomademylifealotbettertoday).I'dadvise
startingoutwiththesetcoursesofmemriseandduolingoandusingthemtofillupanAnkicardset
asyoucomeacrossinterestingvocab.
Larrikin701daysago[]

Ipersonallywouldn'tuseyourappbecauseitdoesn'tlooklikeyoucanaddormodifycardsandlist
anddoesn'tappeartorobustenoughtobethemainwayofstudying.
melling701daysago[]

Yeah,I'vegottofindawaytoallowforwordliststobeimported.iOSdoesn'treallyhavea
goodwaytoimportcsv.iOS8hassomedatasharingthatI'lllookinto.
walterbell701daysago[]

Dropbox?
bayesianhorse701daysago[]

Ithinkspacedrepetitionisoverhypedandunderunderstood.
Inlanguagelearning,itcanhavesomebenefit,butIthinkduolingo'sapproach,whichdoesnotobsess
overcomputingrepetitiontimes,moreeffectivethanflashcardsoftware.
Ifoundthatinordertouseanewword,6repetitionsisn'tenough,youratherneedafewhundredsto
makeitstick.Alsowaitingafewweeksuntilthenextrepetitionisjustawasteoftime...
a3_nm702daysago[]

AverycoolthingwithAnki(withcontrastwithDuolingo)isthatitisfreesoftware(asinfreespeech),and
isdistributedonFDroidhttps://fdroid.orgforAndroiduserswhodonothaveGoogleplay.
jongraehl700daysago[]

Readhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22815528ankiessentials(AnkiEssentials)togetstarted.
donniezazen701daysago[]

IhaveusedAnki.Ireallywishtheyhadpaidhighqualitydeckstostudy.

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