Language Journal: July 23 2018
A few revelations lately. Well, maybe "revelation" sounds too grand. Maybe just, realizations.
I was reading through some people's thoughts on using SUBS2SRS to create Anki decks from anime. Perhaps some of the Miyazaki movies I have in the house, which would probably be some of my favorite materials to learn from.
One of the biggest criticisms was that, while it is fine if there is a single new word or concept you need to learn from a card. If there are multiple, you can fall into a rut of memorizing the sentence rather learning than the new concepts.
To be honest, I had noticed this even before it was mentioned. Somehow, having someone else say it sometimes just cements it. Frankly, it doesn't mean you can't take this approach. Even when your skills are lower. It just means that you need to attack the problem differently. MOST of my Japanese decks have a target word/concept already. And as I've said in the past, I've taken those to heart and focus on the target word until I start getting it. But, a deck I have for a Japanese Drama which had nothing. And neither does my French deck.
What I've started doing with the J-Drama, is, when I hit a card with one or more new words/concepts... I choose the one I feel is most important, then I make use of one of the unused fields to indicate that as my target. I'm not sure it totally solves the problem. But, it is improving my focus. I can usually remember just by looking at the cards which piece I was trying to remember. Then the question simply becomes "can I read it, and do I know the meaning?".
For my French deck, I think I need to start doing the same, or finding a new deck to work with. The way I'm tackling it now, very little is sticking. But, since I'm still much more focused on my Japanese, that hasn't been bothering my much. Now it is getting too easy to slack on that one.
It has also lead me to re-evaluate my feelings on cards with JUST a word or a concept. I had actually started seeing them as a hindrance. But, the truth is, being deprived on context takes away all crutches and forces you to accept if you TRULY know what the card is grilling you on. I think they are always going to feel burdensome because unlike complete sentences it is MUCH more binary. I'd say, 80%+ of the time, it is either automatic or it doesn't come at all. With sentences, I can pull from context and a richer set of memories and save myself from the clutches of defeat.
None of this means that I've started feeling that sentences are LESS valuable. That rich context aids memory a lot. Often, the words which come easiest, come along with that context even when it isn't there. I also need listening practice and words won't just be shouted at me in perfect clarity with huge gaps between them. They'll be used in sentences.
I still haven't fully decided what to do with the French decks. But, I think, if I can commit myself to taking say, 10 cards which don't have goals yet and adding them (until I catch up, since I'm only adding 5 new cards a day), and then grilling myself on those, that I'll hopefully feel like I'm making more progress.
Honestly, all of this makes me feel more and more like I need to create my own SRS application. But, maybe I'll keep those thoughts for a separate entry.
Still waiting on my box of Manga. Boy, does shipping from Japan to Canada really suck. It doesn't help that I'm smack in the middle of the country either. The mail will probably come by boat or plane to BC, then by ground to Ontario.
In the meantime, I've started translating "My Neighbor Totoro". Though, now I'm thinking that I want to start adding those as cards to my JDrama deck and making it, just a general TV/Manga deck. And also, start adding individual word cards. I may need to invest some time in a custom deck which can automatically generate some number of cards.
Anyway, that is how I'm feeling right now about my language studies. It only took a year and a half, but I seem to be genuinely working on making my Anki decks "my own".
I was reading through some people's thoughts on using SUBS2SRS to create Anki decks from anime. Perhaps some of the Miyazaki movies I have in the house, which would probably be some of my favorite materials to learn from.
One of the biggest criticisms was that, while it is fine if there is a single new word or concept you need to learn from a card. If there are multiple, you can fall into a rut of memorizing the sentence rather learning than the new concepts.
To be honest, I had noticed this even before it was mentioned. Somehow, having someone else say it sometimes just cements it. Frankly, it doesn't mean you can't take this approach. Even when your skills are lower. It just means that you need to attack the problem differently. MOST of my Japanese decks have a target word/concept already. And as I've said in the past, I've taken those to heart and focus on the target word until I start getting it. But, a deck I have for a Japanese Drama which had nothing. And neither does my French deck.
What I've started doing with the J-Drama, is, when I hit a card with one or more new words/concepts... I choose the one I feel is most important, then I make use of one of the unused fields to indicate that as my target. I'm not sure it totally solves the problem. But, it is improving my focus. I can usually remember just by looking at the cards which piece I was trying to remember. Then the question simply becomes "can I read it, and do I know the meaning?".
For my French deck, I think I need to start doing the same, or finding a new deck to work with. The way I'm tackling it now, very little is sticking. But, since I'm still much more focused on my Japanese, that hasn't been bothering my much. Now it is getting too easy to slack on that one.
It has also lead me to re-evaluate my feelings on cards with JUST a word or a concept. I had actually started seeing them as a hindrance. But, the truth is, being deprived on context takes away all crutches and forces you to accept if you TRULY know what the card is grilling you on. I think they are always going to feel burdensome because unlike complete sentences it is MUCH more binary. I'd say, 80%+ of the time, it is either automatic or it doesn't come at all. With sentences, I can pull from context and a richer set of memories and save myself from the clutches of defeat.
None of this means that I've started feeling that sentences are LESS valuable. That rich context aids memory a lot. Often, the words which come easiest, come along with that context even when it isn't there. I also need listening practice and words won't just be shouted at me in perfect clarity with huge gaps between them. They'll be used in sentences.
I still haven't fully decided what to do with the French decks. But, I think, if I can commit myself to taking say, 10 cards which don't have goals yet and adding them (until I catch up, since I'm only adding 5 new cards a day), and then grilling myself on those, that I'll hopefully feel like I'm making more progress.
Honestly, all of this makes me feel more and more like I need to create my own SRS application. But, maybe I'll keep those thoughts for a separate entry.
Still waiting on my box of Manga. Boy, does shipping from Japan to Canada really suck. It doesn't help that I'm smack in the middle of the country either. The mail will probably come by boat or plane to BC, then by ground to Ontario.
In the meantime, I've started translating "My Neighbor Totoro". Though, now I'm thinking that I want to start adding those as cards to my JDrama deck and making it, just a general TV/Manga deck. And also, start adding individual word cards. I may need to invest some time in a custom deck which can automatically generate some number of cards.
Anyway, that is how I'm feeling right now about my language studies. It only took a year and a half, but I seem to be genuinely working on making my Anki decks "my own".
Comments
Post a Comment