I think very few programmers used memorization techniques to learn a new language. When learning your first language (or one very different from those you know)

I think very few programmers used memorization techniques to learn a new language. When learning your first language (or one very different from those you know), understanding the ideas is much harder than remembering the facts, and when learning similar languages you start by coding something you know using syntax cheat sheets and Google, and by the time it works you remember the basics. If I had to switch between perl, python, ruby, php, lua, javascript all the time, I would consider Anki to keep the rosetta stone data in memory, but not otherwise.