One thing I haven’t done in a gazillion years is reviewing sentences. I think perhaps reviewing sentences has its merits but it has never worked for me. I am too focused on trying to remember unfamiliar vocabulary than the really pay attention to how the sentence is put together. In other words, I may remember the vocab and know how to read the sentence, but it doesn’t help me much with remembering/noticing what particle was used, for instance, or how to put the sentence together as a whole.

What it does do is take a lot of time.

OK, so it has never been promised that reviewing sentences in Anki passively would help with actively producing sentences (where I would need to know what particle goes there etc). However, reading and understanding sentences – I can do that by reading books. I can do that by reading manga. I can do that by reading websites, etc. I can even do that by reading textbooks. In other words, where was the source of the sentence? That’s where I can read it…

What is stopping me from reading it there? For me it is a lack of vocabulary. So, I need to work on vocab. Therefore, I review single words.

What are the advantages from reviewing sentences? Is it to check that you can understand a whole sentence, with each individual word in context? Sure. But… you can check that while you are reading the original source. If you don’t understand a sentence… why? Is it vocab? Is it grammar? Is it something else? That something is what you need to study, not all the extra information as well.

Simple Is Easy

Supermemo’s guide to formulating knowledge in learning is a great resource to look over when you are building your SRS deck. One point is that simple is easy. You learn faster with simple things because you only have to focus on one thing.

Another thing to think about is why Remembering the Kanji is such a popular method. It’s because it breaks learning the kanji down into baby steps. You learn how to write the kanji (with a simple idea of meaning) and nothing else. You then learn how to read and pronounce the kanji using other methods. By breaking down the process into small steps it is easier to climb the big mountain that is Japanese.

This is why I review vocab in my SRS.

Please share your thoughts in the comments!

I am quite confused about the method by which I should structure my Anki Deck. By method I mean, how does one create the cards in Anki?

Now, the short answer is, of course: Any way you want.

But that doesn’t help those who may be a little lost in how to structure flash cards in their deck. The best way to structure your deck is a individual thing, and with trial and error you will find the best way that works for you. In this post I’ll show you the best way that works for me.

My program of choice is Anki, and so many examples are taken from Anki, however, I’m sure most, if not all, can be structured into any flash card system.

What Is The Purpose Of Your Deck?

To start, I think this is the most important question to ask when structuring your deck. In other words, what are your aims, what do you want to achieve by using a flash card program (or, *gasp* a paper based system). Here are some ideas:

To learn vocabulary
To help produce Japanese sentences
To practise translation
As a main study aid in learning Japanese (i.e. primary method of learning the language, for instance AJATT method)

My Purpose #1 – To Help Learn Grammar Structures

My original purpose in using a flash card program was to internalise grammar structures that I was learning. My primary focus was on grammar recognition.

Production and Recognition

Production (in the flash card-based system) took too much of my time that I could use on other activities for learning Japanese. I also actively used Japanese in ways that felt more normal and natural to me – I had a workbook where I responded to questions in my own words, and I kept a diary. Both these made more sense to me than trying to replicate someone else’s words. That’s like trying to do a speech with someone else’s script.

I use Recognition cards only in Anki.

In Anki you can change what kinds of cards are produced (Recognition/Production) in the model properties from the edit menu. What kind of cards you want produced is dependant on your purpose and what other activities you are doing in your study.

Japanese Ability

At the beginning, at least it is for me, impossible to eliminate English.. In fact, it makes more sense for me to use what I already know. Sure, something may not have a direct equivalent in English, but at least English will give you a starting point so that as you become more familiar with the language and see the word used in a different contexts, you will learn the nuances of the word and wont even think about the English equivalent.

Here is an example of how my cards were structured at the very beginning of my Japanese studies:

Front Side: うちにかえって、電話をします。
Flip Side: うちにかえって、でんわをします。
I’m going to go home and make a telephone call.

(from Japanese for Everyone, lesson 7)

I would use kanji that I knew or was learning.
Anki automatically puts in the readings/kana section, which is nice.
I would type out the translation directly from my text book.
This uses the default “Japanese” structure within Anki.

I would put in sentences after learning the grammar point. Anki helped reinforce these grammar points while practising new kanji and vocabulary. My method of reviewing was dependant on time as well as my motivation levels for the session.

If I was short on time, or wanted to get through the deck as quickly as possible, I would only read the sentence in my head, and if I knew all readings and understood everything I would pass the card.
If I had a bit more time, I would read out the sentence aloud.
For an ultimate study session, I would read aloud and write down the sentence. This way I also practised writing the kanji instead of just recognising it.

Progressing in Ability

As I progressed it became apparent that English translation wasn’t necessary. For simpler sentences, or ones I was very familiar with, I knew what they meant in Japanese. For more difficult sentences or ones I was not 100% familiar with, I often would have to break them down into smaller chunks and translated them in my head into English in order to understand, however, at the end I either understood in Japanese or I didn’t. The translation, written down as an answer in Anki, again wasn’t necessary.

However, I wasn’t ready to go all Japanese – Japanese, as I didn’t know enough vocabulary and I was still learning the most basic words. So some English was still necessary, but not a translation. My cards were structured like this:

Front Side: このごろは遊ぶためにアルバイトをする学生も多いそうだ。

Flip Side: このごろはあそぶためにアルバイトをするがくせいもおおいそうだ。

V(plain, non past)ために = “in order to”

遊ぶ　- to play, make a visit

(From An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese, chapter 4)

Again, anki automatically makes the kana version.
I put the grammar point I am studying as a reference in case I have forgotten and can’t quite work out what is going on.
At the end I put definitions of unknown words or words I have trouble with.
To review, I use the same method as previously.
I don’t try and memorise anything, I am only trying to understand. So I am not memorising grammar points at all, the information is just there for if I don’t understand a sentence. If I don’t understand something, it helps me to break it down into grammar terms/points, but when actively using the language I don’t think “grammar” at all.

My Purpose #2 – To Learn The Kanji Via Heisig’s Method

Another goal of mine is to learn all the kanji via the Heisig method. Many use the Reviewing the Kanji website, and I recommend it very much. I still use it for sentence creation and visit the wonderful community there. However, I have decided to use Anki for reviewing the kanji as I like the option of more than just “yes” or “no” when advancing cards, and I like reviewing everything all at once.

For learning the kanji, I just use the Heisig model deck that is automatically in Anki.

In Heisig, I use the “production” method – that is, I am producing the Kanji from the Heisig keyword given. I have also slightly modified some entries – if i know the word the Kanji is in, then I often have both Heisig’s keyword and the kana in the front side. For example:

Front Side: およ（ぐ）・Swim
Flip Side: 泳ぐ
*Story*
*amount of strokes, and what chapter the kanji is from*

There is also a link to the Reviewing the Kanji webpage for that kanji.

My Purpose #3 – To Learn Vocab

Recently, I decided to learn vocabulary out of context. I decided that I needed to learn a lot of words quickly so that when reading and hearing authentic Japanese sources I would be reinforcing my learnings instead of hearing/seeing words I don’t know. Again the focus here was on recognition – this would be a simple exercise of learning new vocabulary for me to use elsewhere.

I used Anki’s “Japanese” model and modified it slightly – I added an extra, non essential field for sentences – so that if I had time I would also be able to review a sentence containing the word, but if I did not have time it did not matter.

In this case, the card is structured like:

Front Side: 思考する
Flip Side: しこうする
to think, consider
*sample sentence*

Where To Get Sentences/Material To Review From

Another thing to consider is where you will get your sample sentences and material from. Again, to answer this you will have to consider your purpose.

When reviewing grammar, I used sentences from my text book. I prefer to read sentences from books actually in books – I see no reason to add these into anki as I can just enjoy them straight from the source. Same with quotes from movies and websites – I would rather enjoy these in their original form, reinforcing grammar of course but not actively or consciously so. This is why I used textbook sources only.

For Heisig, obviously I used Heisig’s order of kanji as a source.

For vocab, I am pulling these from everywhere, including books I am reading and shows I am watching. If I want to get the word deeper into my head I will add it to anki, and later test my “knowledge” by reading or watching the source text again.

Why I Decided Not To Share My Anki File

Before I end this post, I just want to write a short note about why I have decided not to share my Anki file. The biggest reason is I don’t see how anyone will benifit from it. It is helpful to see how other people structure their decks, which is why I wrote this post. However, for the actual content, I see it being little use to people unless they have the same level of knowledge that I have.

I also think there is value in creating your own deck from your own sources. The material you put into your flash card file should be relevant to you. Adding it in yourself will aid you with learning it.

Your Turn

Share your own thoughts on structuring your flash card deck. What is your purpose for using a flash card program? Do you use production methods, fill in the blank methods, or other? Where do you get your material from to review (textbooks, manga, other?) I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas, as mine are always evolving.

I use an electronic system, which is the same but the cards in a particular box expire after a set time frame. There are many programs about but the one I use is a java-based application called jMemorize.

On the front side of the card I put a word in Japanese, and on the reverse I put its English equivalent. One day I would like to make the whole thing Japanese only, but I’m not up to that stage yet. I usually test from the Japanese to English, but jMemorize has the abiltiy to flip the sides to learn from English to Japanese. The thing is, of course, there are many Japanese words I can read but are not able to recall to speak. I believe this is all about Active and Passive memory, which I am currently reading up about.

Anyway, I want to periodically update my progress in this blog with screenshots so you can all see how I am doing, and in the comments feel free to share your own techniques and progress in vocab learning.

I think I will celebrate when I know 1000 words.

So far I have 422 words learnt with 111 words unlearned. I am also in the process of cleaning out a lot of words because I do have some duplicates (such as some added with kanji, some without) and I also have some sentences in there (I am going to make a new database full of sentences, learning in context as suggested by the All Japanese All The Time blog). So, I don’t have quite as many words as I’d like to think (plus I do know words that I haven’t added, obviously).

A screen shot of my history in using the program. This is a new feature, so it’s only been around since I upgraded to the latest version (around three-four weeks ago obviously). It shows how many cards I learnt and how many I got wrong, as well as the time it took to do them. Learning 300 words seems to be fairly consistent and a nice number to aim for each week. (Obviously this isn’t 300 new words each week, rather reviewing 300 cards.) I’m trying to keep the number of cards I get wrong down, but if I don’t know the word, I don’t know the word.

I am finding that this method is working for me. My unlearned pile is quite large, but a lot of the words are on the tip of my mind. I am often kicking myself when I flip a card – I should have known the word! I have words now in my third and forth deck that took me forever to learn. Or so it seemed. I’ve got cards in my unlearned pile that I’ve reviewed ten or more times (without success). But I know I’ll get them eventually.

Anyway, can’t wait for my vocabulary to grow