On Using SRS (Anki)

There is a lot of debate amongst language blogs about what is the best way to utilize flashcards.  Mainly the debate centers around using single words or sentences.

My take is that what works best depends on your skill level.  I found a great post here which is a good illustration of how to use flashcards for beginners.  He suggests using full sentences with recorded audio.  I’m forecasting that in the next year, there will be several of these available, and someone will make a tool which will export a 30 min mp3 of the cards you need to study most (to take on the run when needed).  I think this would be a killer app (in other words, user-created Pimsleur lessons customized to you skill level and memory needs).

For everyone else, just use flashcards as a means of archiving whatever you find interesting and want to memorize.  If you don’t like it, then just delete the card.  It’s not that difficult.  I personally create two categories:

1. Words which are important independent of context (e.g., nouns or common verbs).  For these, I put the English version on the frontside (with a first-letter hint in case their are multiple possibilities) and I try to give an example of how the word is used in context on the backside (I used Frazeit to find examples).
2. For less critical words (admittedly, I draw this distinction rather loosely), I add the word in context (sometimes a full sentence), and I put ~7 of these per card.  Why 7?
• Less cards!  It’s easy and fast to read in the target language and simply nod to yourself “yup, I understand it”
• Upon seeing the flipside of the card with translations, I sometimes quiz myself to see if I can back-translate all 7, starting with the first (i.e., if I only had “1″ per card, I could very easily remember what I had just seen. Having 7 of them makes this slightly more difficult)
• Often, the 7 words/phrases are related (since they often originate from a single source), thus I’m helping my brain make associations.
• If I miss just one of the 7, I force myself to repeat the card.  In this way, I increase my exposure, thus increasing my chances of recalling the phrases, not just being able to recognize them.

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