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Using it to learn an alphabet effectively probably requires more upfront work (setting up and improving the cards) than you’d expect. It’s not just 1 letter = 1
by LeonB 7y ago
Using it to learn an alphabet effectively probably requires more upfront work (setting up and improving the cards) than you’d expect. It’s not just 1 letter = 1 card.
You want to memorise the entire alphabet as a sequence not just as individual letters. So you need cards of little overlapping sequences, like ABC, BCD, etc. The supermemo essays cover this scenario. With that work in place you’d learn it quickly.
As just separate letters divorced of any meaning, not hooked up with any other neurons in your brain, you’d struggle to ever recall it quickly.
This is a detail that people overlook and then wonder why it’s not working. (Not picking on you for doing that: I did the same before eventually reading way too much about it)
- LeonB 7y agoThe supermemo article is here: https://www.supermemo.com/en/archives1990-2015/articles/20rules https://www.supermemo.com/en/archives1990-2015/articles/20ru... ...by the creator of supermemo who basically formulated the whole idea. In Point 1 he explains you shouldn’t use spaced repetition to learn. Use it to remember. In Point 10 he covers how to remember “enumerations” (with an alphabet example) You have to go back to the classics when you want to do something properly.
- bigfudge 7y agoSpaced repetition and the learning curve is quite a bit older than supermemo.
- LeonB 7y agoYeh, I hear ya. That’s why I used the word “formulated” rather than “discovered” —- because he really did the work to not just model it, but really implement a system with a very specific formula which he devised and which was the basis of the field we see today.