Monday’s post, Language Learning Tip: Using Paper Flashcards Effectivley was well recieved and hopefully a helpful article for all language learners who have used flashcards as part of their personal language learning journey. I lean toward the good old fashioned paper flashcard, but I know from experience that there are some great technological upgrades to this ancient tool. Anki is one of those upgrades and is a great tool. But to do Anki justice, I needed to find an expert. And so I am excited to have Rich Bailey sharing his thoughts in today’s guest post. Enjoy!
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Let’s start out with what I really think.
If you are not studying using Anki on a mobile device, then you are wasting your time. And, that, my friends, is the worst possible thing in the world.
I am going to assume you, the reader, are a serious language learner. You already study a lot, and by that, I mean hours a day. You’re not one of those many people who say they really want to learn a language but don’t actually give it any time.
Why do I keep going on about time? Because it is your most precious resource. You never have enough of it; we’re all super busy. You can’t buy any extra. You get a finite amount and then you’re done. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s true. And, if you are a serious language learner, you know that it is time spent with the target language that gets the job done. So, desire and motivation are great, but without time – You. Will. Not. Learn. Period.
Now, hear me out before you get all bent out of shape about my apparent ultimatum. I’m not saying that you can’t learn a language by other means. In fact, I don’t think you could learn a language just using Anki. You still need conversation, grammar, music, classes, books, listening, and everything else that we are all desperately trying to find time for.
However, to be able to communicate in your target language comfortably and confidently, you need all that raw material cemented in your head. It needs to be automatic. It needs to be instantaneous. And it needs to be there all the time.
How do you burn it into your brain? By repeated exposure – time and time again.
That’s where the beauty of Anki comes into play It shows you the material time and time again, but by using it’s spaced repetition algorithm, you only study what you need to study when you need to study it. Based on cognitive research, there is no more efficient and effective way to learn something. For that alone, you need to start using Anki. Anything else is a waste of your time.
However, to take it one step further, it is the ability to use Anki on the go that makes it the most amazing thing since beer in a can. When I first started using Anki, I spent hours sitting in front of my computer. I was learning, but it was killing me (please read this article about sitting too long). It was also easy to get tired, bored, and distracted.
More Time
Once I discovered the ability to use Anki on my iPod, I was off and running – well, walking actually. I started studying EVERYWHERE: on the walk to work, on the train, on the exercise bike at the gym, while waiting for students, and, in the spirit of full disclosure, on the toilet. My wife and I have become so addicted to moving and studying Anki that we actually bought a folding treadmill so we can study in the apartment during bad weather.
Suddenly, we were finding hours of extra time to study. And that, in a nutshell, is why you should be using mobile Anki.
So, let me tell you what else I think. If you are serious about learning your target language and you have a mobile device, you need to get the Anki app right now. If you don’t have a mobile device, go buy an iPod (new or used) right now. Yes, I know it’s not cheap, but you need to put your money where your mouth is.
It’s time to stop wasting time, and it’s time to start learning.
P.S. I think Anki is so good that I am trying to teach all my Japanese university students how to use it. Follow that journey at Teaching with Anki.
P.P.S. And, no, I don’t work for Anki, nor do I have any commercial connection.
What you need to know to get started
You can find very detailed information and instructions on how to setup and use Anki at its website:
If you have an Android based mobile device, I believe the Anki app is free.
If you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, the Anki app is less than $20. Yes, I know it seems expensive compared to most apps, but in my opinion, it is worth much more.
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Rich Bailey is currently teaching EFL at Asia University in Tokyo, Japan and is recording his use of Anki in the classroom at Teaching with Anki. He has taught in Fiji, Wisconsin, Kazakhstan and Illinois.
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"Aaron consistenly pumps out top quality language learning advice and motivational posts,
and is probably one of the best sources of encouragement you'll come across."
-Donovan Nagel, The Mezzofanti Guild
I think using this kind of program is absolutely essential. Using it on a mobile device is not as crucial as you make it sound, because it depends on how much time you spend using a computer. If your stationary for most of the day, it might work well on a computer as well.Still, I agree that it’s much, much better using a mobile device. This might sound silly, but I bought a smart phone mostly because I wanted to be able to use Anki on the move. I’ve been using the program for studying Chinese now for two years and I don’t have much to complain about. The software is well supported, versatile and does everything I require of it.
Also, check this video comparing SRS and traditional methods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai2K3qHpC7c
I’ve written more about this in case someone is interested in hearing what I think:<a href=”http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=239″>Why I think Anki is better than most other programs</a><a href=”http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=123″>My own introduction to SRS in general </a><a href=”http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=468″> Vocabulary in your pocket</a> (about using mobile devices)
I think using this kind of program is absolutely essential. Using it on a mobile device is not as crucial as you make it sound, because it depends on how much time you spend using a computer. If your stationary for most of the day, it might work well on a computer as well.Still, I agree that it’s much, much better using a mobile device. This might sound silly, but I bought a smart phone mostly because I wanted to be able to use Anki on the move. I’ve been using the program for studying Chinese now for two years and I don’t have much to complain about. The software is well supported, versatile and does everything I require of it.
Also, check this video comparing SRS and traditional methods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai2K3qHpC7c
I’ve written more about this in case someone is interested in hearing what I think:
Why I think Anki is better than most other programs: http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=239
My own introduction to SRS in general: http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=123
Vocabulary in your pocket (about using mobile devices): http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=468
@Olle Linge Excellent! I will definitely check out your writing. It always nice to meet other serious Anki otaku!
I agree that if you are at a computer all day, the mobile Anki might not be as important, but it still would allow you to get extra time at other opportunities.
However, if you are stationary all day, as the article I referenced described, I sure hope you aren’t sitting…
Cheers,
Rich
@Rich Bailey I’m quite stationary at the time, but not that stationary.
I think there are two ways in which Anki is useful (when it comes to mobility). First, you can review anywhere. This is irrelevant if you work or study from home or have a computer nearby most of the day. That was what I meant in my first comment.Second, having Anki in your pocket allows you to review for very short periods of time, seven minutes while in waiting for your friend to arrive, three minutes while waiting in the queue at the super market. Ten minutes before falling asleep at night. This adds up! I’m sure you know this, just defining more clearly what I meant by my first comment. 
@Rich Bailey Thanks for a great guest post Rich. Very well done!
@Olle Linge Thanks for sharing those links Ollie. Good stuff.
I agree with the post above. I think readers should know that the current release for iPad has some issues that the developer says he’s fixing, namely some issues syncing decks and a current inability to add photos via the mobile app. The app itself costs $25. The Anki app alone justified the purchase of a bluetooth keyboard for my iOS devices.
Anki Mobile for iPhone is:
– too expensive,
– still buggy, and crashes quite often,
– does not automatically synchronize if you online (forgetting it after being online may result in data loss) .
I prefer Flashcards Deluxe for iPhone: cheaper, very stable, very feature-rich.
@GrumpyRogue Dear Grumpy, thanks for the info! I had not heard of that app before. Are there other benefits or differences between Anki and Flashcard Deluxe? As I have obviously already bought the app and invested way too much time and effort into Anki, it might not be worth my while to change if they are about the same.
Also, I study Japanese and most of my research into Japanese studying has led to Anki as the primary SRS tool. I wonder if Anki has better support for Japanese/kanji since the designer made it for his Japanese study?
Are you happy with using Quizlet.com to make and manage your decks?
I assume they are using a similar spaced repetition system…
Thanks for any advice!
Rich
@Rich Bailey@GrumpyRogue
I had never seen Quizlet before but am impressed with it. Simply a website that does your flashcards however you want them, including a computer-generated audio in various languages. Choosing the “spelling” option requires you to type in the correct word, and if you don’t it corrects you by spelling it in the language. It’s smart enough to ignore anything you put in parenthesis (like notes on noun declension). Studying Turkish, I’m pretty impressed with what is already available that people have made. I was learning in about two minutes.
@Rich Bailey@GrumpyRogue I also installed the 99 cent mobile app that Quizlet says works the best. Very quickly downloads and gets to work, has an algorithm for how well you know words for “smart study,” but also displays them however you want. It doesn’t allow you to type in your responses, which is what I like, but it’s a very fast way to get up and going on flashcards.
@GrumpyRogue Right.
Flashcardlet works fine for me and it’s free. Anki is overpriced for what it is.
If learning while on the move is important to you, then you’re better off listening to real dialogue and having the transcript handy in your mobile device in my opinion.
@mezzofanti@GrumpyRogue Dear Mezzofanti,
Thanks for the suggestion! I checked it out and at first glance, it looks good. Does it use SRS? I couldn’t find anything that said definitively either way.
Also, it does appear to have ads embedded in it. Probably not that important to most people but might be enough to turn some away. And to be honest, there are very few apps that are truly “free” (and good, for that matter). Whether it is embedded ads or bringing users to quizlet.com which has ads, our eyeballs are being monetized. I’m personally completely fine with that commercial exchange, but it always exists.
One could argue that the developer of Anki, who started making the desk client and website for free, did it as a labor of love and therefore, it has a higher level of quality and other things because he wasn’t trying to monetize it. From my understanding, when many users asked him to create the app, he told them that he would have to quit his regular job to focus on the app and that it would not be cheap to buy. Everyone said, basically, “We don’t care. Just make the app, and we’ll buy it.” To me, that implies a level of loyalty based on successful use and understanding that would be the envy of any busy model.
So, I guess what I am trying to say is that just because it is more expensive than other options does not mean it should be dismissed. I use Rosetta Stone to study Japanese; yes, it is extremely expensive, but for me, it is extremely effective and I actually use it regularly. In that situation, it is priceless….
@mezzofanti@GrumpyRogue
…Another thing is that I think one of the appeals of Anki to many people is that it offers the possibility of changing what goes on behind the scenes, in terms of computer code and other things. Maybe that appeals to people the kind of person who likes Android (DIY) vs iPhone (hands off and just wants to use it). While not the most user-friendly system, Anki seems to offer a very bare, bones functional aspect that some people find appealing. Sometimes sites like Quizlet and such seem quite busy and “loud.”
And in terms of learning on the move, I totally agree with listening as much as possible, such as bicycle riding. What I was trying to get at with the Anki article is that by having it in your pocket, you can take advantage of all those little moments to study with just the push of a button, allowing you to find extra time to study throughout the day.
Cheers,
Rich
“How do you burn it into your brain? By repeated exposure – time and time again. That’s where the beauty of Anki comes into play It shows you the material time and time again, but by using it’s spaced repetition algorithm, you only study what you need to study when you need to study it.”
What about working on a series of books like “Star Trek”, “The Ice Company”, “Harry Potter” etc.
You look up a word, you learn it once and leave the repetition job to the books which provide built-in, natural review.
@TheCzechExperiment This will work very well for high-frequency vocabulary, but it will not work beyond an intermediate level. The words I encounter when I read Chinese now usually appears once or perhaps twice in that book. I might not see it again for many months. There is no or very little spaced repetition built-in to books beyond the basic vocabulary of the language. There might be exceptions (such as vocabulary related to that book, so “space ship” for Star Trek and “wand” for Harry Potter), but in general, the more words you know, simply reading becomes less and less efficient for vocabulary acquisition.Don’t get me wrong now, I love reading and think reading (and listening) has to be an integral part of learning. You can’t just do SRS and expect to learn the language. I think the best thing to do here is to combine the two. I read a lot, and when I encounter interesting or useful words, I add them to Anki. That way I can learn them even though I might not seem them again until much later. Without SRS, I would have forgotten these words.
I used to share your opinion but I’ve found out that “high-frequency vocabulary” is a relative term. An infrequent word from a vocabulary corpus can be very frequent in a certain writer’s vocabulary and a very frequent word (for example the 1238th most frequent word) may be missing in all of his books. So if you stick to one series of books you’ll meet a few thousand of words over and over again whether they are among the most frequent 1000-2000 words or beyond the 10.000th most common word. @Olle Linge
@TheCzechExperiment As I said, I think that you are right to a certain extent, but surely you must accept that many words are only used a single time in a given book? What I’m describing is a general principle, it doesn’t apply to all words. Sure, if you read 20 books by the same author, that author might use a specific style that gives you some repetition, but not for all new words.
Since I do keep a record of new words I encounter in books, I think I have a pretty clear idea how often they occur after I enter them (hard not to notice). In my experience, most of these words don’t show up again (perhaps 70%, but that’s a guess). I can only talk from what I’ve experienced, but I’m quite sure there a great number of unique words (i.e. words that only appear once) in books written for an adult audience. Naturally, if we look at all the words in a book, a huge majority will occur more than once, but we’re talking about new words here.
Still, this is only based on my experience. I don’t know if any research has been made in this area.
I use Anki everyday. It seems that sometimes I am not making progress and then after I have put the Anki away I remember everything. It is absolutely great!
Hi,
Just to confirm the Android version is free, as are the Linux/Mac/Windows versions. There is also a (again free) web version, so if you don’t want to pay for the iToy version, or there isn’t a version for your phone, but you can view the web it’s ideal.
The Most important thing for me about Anki is your data is synchronised, so I can do a few cards on my laptop, later pick up where I left off on one of the desktop machines I use, then continue for a few more cards on my phone while waiting for a bus in the evening, all seamlessly. Most of the alternates I’ve seen (flash-card in general, not just SRS) have nowhere near this flexibility.
Hi Aaron,
I’m curious, what are the reasons that make you prefer paper flashcards over using a software? Is there anything in particular that you miss when working with virtual cards?
I’m planning to develop a flashcard study software myself as a hobby (if you’re interested, take a look at my development blog: http://flashadvance.net) and would be very interested to know if there is anything in particular that learners like you and many others would be looking for in a study software!
Why does anki for Android need to be able to make bluetooth connections?
[...] Anki: Bringing Flashcards Out of the Stone Age [...]
I’ve been trying to use Anki with my English students. I’m an ESL teacher. The problem is that it’s costly for Anki for iphones/ipads. I can’t get my students to buy it even though I know it’d be absolutely worth it if they use it properly.
I think Anki and SRS is powerful. But I think a lot more research needs to be done to use these SRS in a deeper way – not just to memorize words but to teach collocations and structures, etc. If we could do that, it would be awesome.
Right now, I’m trying to find ways on how to use Anki for those purposes!