5 Tips for Better Anki Decks
You can do better with your flashcards
Spaced repetition software (like Anki) is not magic, unfortunately. Randomly sticking pieces of information into the computer and expecting them to subsequently stick in your brain… doesn’t work. I know from experience.
Learn smarter, not random… er.
English FTW.
1. Learn before you memorize
It’s called “spaced repetition”, not “spaced learning”, after all.
For example:
Do you know what that means?
No?
Thought so.
Wait. Now you know what it means, right?
Anki has this concept of learning cards; it understands that you won’t have mastery of material the first time you see it. Thus, don’t feel like you must already know all the information you’re putting into Anki before you put it into Anki.
However…
Don’t put something into Anki if you don’t understand it.
If you have a card in your deck like this:
- f(x) = 4x² + 1/2 x − 3
Find the derivative of f(x). - f’(x) = 8x + 1/2
Does that tell you what a derivative is? No. Does it tell you how to calculate a derivative? No. Those are things that you must know before putting the card in your deck. (Actually, in my opinion, it would be better to memorize what a derivative is and how to calculate one rather than memorize what the derivative of 4x² + 1/2 x − 3 is.)
Likewise, with grammar concepts, sentence structure, medical terminology, etc., understanding the context of the information and how to use it is as important as knowing the information itself.
A relevant webpage about this tip - Is there an assumption you’ve learnt something before putting it on Anki?
2. Use Pictures
Some people are visual learners. Even if you aren’t one of those people, creating the link between an image and the concept as well as the term and the concept will make the concept, term, and image all more memorable.
For language learners, the layer of abstraction images add becomes even more important. Language learners are not trying to “find-and-replace” words between their target and native languages; they’re trying to learn a new way of thinking, a new set of terminology, a new culture, a new self. (Well, that last one might be debatable…)
Since the words of two languages are not going to have a direct correlation, language learners must connect L2 words with concepts or meaning, not L2 words with L1 words. Note, though, that doesn’t mean that learning that りんご means apple is off-limits (especially because concrete concepts are usually easy to correlate). It simply means that language learning is more than:
Hm. I want to say “May I please have an apple?”
May = 5月
I = 私
Please = ください
Have = 持ってる
An = ある
Apple = りんご
“May I please have an apple?” = “5月 私 ください 持ってる ある 林檎 ？”
Wrong. Well, I’m no Japanese expert, but if I wanted an apple, I’d say
りんご、ください。
Apple, please.
The point is, it’s a matter of communicating meaning, ideally in the way that native speakers of the language do. Direct, literal translations usually don’t cut it. Especially because 5月 means May. Like, the month.
Images act as a catalyst to help language learners associate the L2 word with the appropriate concept.
Another relevant link from LanguageLearning.StackExchange.com - How can flashcards be made using only the target language?
3. KISS your flashcards, or don’t…?
Keep it Simple, Silly.
Memorize in bite-sized bits and pieces.
With lots of details.
It’s almost a paradox — you want few enough details that they don’t confuse you or take you forever to comprehend, but as many as possible to give you the proper context, definition, and “feel” for how the word is used — but it’s more of a balance.
Some of the cards in my personal Spanish Anki deck contain (on side one):
- Word/Phrase
- Pronunciation
- Ideally a picture
- An example sentence (or two)
The example sentence is what provides the context for how the word is used, and it also can give me the “feel” for when to properly use the word (that’s where having more than one example sentence would come in handy).
Just don’t fill your cards with grammatical details and complicated rules — ideally, a flashcard should not take you very long to evaluate.
4. DRY out your flashcards
Contrary to popular belief, DRY actually stands for “Do Repeat Yourself”.
Well, it does in this post.
Obviously, spaced repetition involves repeating the flashcards, but if you’re a language learner, words you’re trying to learn should also appear throughout your flashcards — not in only one.
Do Repeat Your Words, Throughout Your Deck. DRYWTYD.
Ways to spread a word throughout your deck:
- Make multiple cards for each note. Anki conveniently provides the “Basic (and reversed card)” type which makes it easy to create term → meaning and meaning → term cards simultaneously.
Even better, you can create your own card types, allowing for much more customization, as well as more than one or two cards per note. - Use example sentences, and make sure to put vocabulary you want to learn in them. Make sure to put useful example sentences in your flashcards — ones that are realistic, colorful, and detailed.
Rather than (for a flashcard detailing the Spanish verb llegar (to arrive)) “Él llega” (He arrives), try “El avión llega al aeropuerto a las tres” (The airplane arrives at the airport at 3 o’clock). Even better: “Después de la minivan llegó, nosotros salimos y estiró nuestras piernas” (After the minivan arrived, we got out and stretched our legs).
These example sentences, while demonstrating the usage of llegar, also utilize other vocabulary and grammatical constructs — in the second example sentence: nouns like el avión and el aeropuerto and language rules like llega a, a el → al, and telling the time as a las tres; in the third example sentence: después de, various verb conjugations, and piernas.
5. Other Features of Anki
Cloze Deletion
Use that cloze functionality. It’s easy, and there for a reason.
Cloze cards are especially useful for language learners. Because they take the place of a word in a sentence, they provide learners with the proper context.
Making a cloze deletion card is easy:
Necesito {{c1::sólo::only}} un más minuto para completar este proyecto.
AwesomeTTS
Making it super easy to add recordings to your cards, “AwesomeTTS brings text-to-speech to Anki” by supporting many TTS services like Naver, Google Translate, SpanishDict, Yandex, NeoSpeech, and more.
For language learners struggling with pronunciation, or for those who want to get better at listening, AwesomeTTS can be an invaluable resource.
6. Take a Break (Bonus)
(I can’t count. Actually, since this isn’t a tip as to how to improve your Anki decks, it’s fine. Right?)
But seriously, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a break. Not just a 2 minute water break in the middle of a power session, but take a day off every 15 or so days of practice. Whatever works for you and feels comfortable. Don’t worry; Anki can adapt. So can your brain, and if it’s telling you it needs a rest, take one.
Did this post help you out? What Anki tips do you have to share?
Let me know in the comments below.
(Hey! That rhymes!)
If you have a question about the language learning process, I’d encourage you to visit Language Learning Stack Exchange. I’m a member of that site, and would love to answer your questions! If you don’t know where to start, check out these links:
