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I took a two-week half day Spanish course followed by about a month of Anki cards. I switched to Duolingo because Anki cars just don't cut it for speaking a la

I took a two-week half day Spanish course followed by about a month of Anki cards. I switched to Duolingo because Anki cars just don't cut it for speaking a language. Can I speak Spanish now? No. But I feel that if I were to go back to a Spanish class I would be much better prepared than if I had done nothing...

pessimizer 4y ago
Flashcards don't teach language, they remind you of things you've already learned. Having that first exposure to something be on a flashcard isn't the greatest context for learning, especially since the impulse with flashcards is to move quickly. Don't switch to Duolingo, do them both.
- readthenotes1 4y ago
  I found making them and using them during the class to be invaluable. It was also good for learning some of the conjugations later. Of course, that is only part of a way to learn a language and can get to be a real grind.
- suddenclarity 4y ago
  Flashcards can be customised in any way though. I used to segment movies into sentences. On the front you had the audio and a screenshot. On the back, you had the transcription and a translation. I learned all the words in multiple movies and TV series this way.
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    Making your own flashcards is the definitive way of learning something elsewhere, then putting it into Anki for long-term retention. What I'm saying is that Anki should almost always be supplemental to other stuff. I've got exceptions, though; I do algorithmically generated clozes every day that I got from here: https://sookocheff.com/post/language/cloze-deletions/ https://sookocheff.com/post/language/cloze-deletions/ They're good for me because you have to give yourself a looser standard for grading i.e. "I used a different word but does it make sense? Did I conjugate it correctly? Then Good. You also have to actively suspend bad cards. It can break you of the gamification habit that Anki stats can get you into. For example, no need to cry over leeches that get suspended; you'll get that word again on another card. Weird idiom? Stop doing flashcards and go look it up.
Aardwolf 4y ago
I did the opposite and switched from duolingo to flash cards. However it was for improving a language I already know somewhat, and it seems duolingo is useful mostly when you don't know the language at all, but not once you already know it a bit.
watwut 4y ago
I found flashcards to be just about worst way of learning new words. It made me feel drained and I kept forgetting the words. That being said, I remember our teachers telling is NOT to use flashcards back in school. And that was in a school that actually taught me foreign language, so they probably knew what they talk about.

pessimizer 4y ago

Flashcards don't teach language, they remind you of things you've already learned. Having that first exposure to something be on a flashcard isn't the greatest context for learning, especially since the impulse with flashcards is to move quickly. Don't switch to Duolingo, do them both.

readthenotes1 4y ago
I found making them and using them during the class to be invaluable. It was also good for learning some of the conjugations later. Of course, that is only part of a way to learn a language and can get to be a real grind.
suddenclarity 4y ago
Flashcards can be customised in any way though. I used to segment movies into sentences. On the front you had the audio and a screenshot. On the back, you had the transcription and a translation. I learned all the words in multiple movies and TV series this way.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Making your own flashcards is the definitive way of learning something elsewhere, then putting it into Anki for long-term retention. What I'm saying is that Anki should almost always be supplemental to other stuff. I've got exceptions, though; I do algorithmically generated clozes every day that I got from here: https://sookocheff.com/post/language/cloze-deletions/ https://sookocheff.com/post/language/cloze-deletions/ They're good for me because you have to give yourself a looser standard for grading i.e. "I used a different word but does it make sense? Did I conjugate it correctly? Then Good. You also have to actively suspend bad cards. It can break you of the gamification habit that Anki stats can get you into. For example, no need to cry over leeches that get suspended; you'll get that word again on another card. Weird idiom? Stop doing flashcards and go look it up.

Aardwolf 4y ago

I did the opposite and switched from duolingo to flash cards. However it was for improving a language I already know somewhat, and it seems duolingo is useful mostly when you don't know the language at all, but not once you already know it a bit.

watwut 4y ago

I found flashcards to be just about worst way of learning new words. It made me feel drained and I kept forgetting the words. That being said, I remember our teachers telling is NOT to use flashcards back in school. And that was in a school that actually taught me foreign language, so they probably knew what they talk about.