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Reading books, anki and huge backlog

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11 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
Kszegosz
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 Message 1 of 11
02 April 2014 at 1:27pm | IP Logged 
Hello. I have a problem with huge English backlog in anki, and usefulness of anki . Trurly, I gave up thought about trying to catch up on that, because by now it's aproximitly 6000 old one, and 1000 new. My approach is, that I read book, and mark every word unknown to me. After that (20-50pages) I translate them, and type into Anki. I use anki in bus etc. (that was my main reason I bought smartphone ;) mainly . That give me 20-30 minutes per day, so not so much. I don't like it too much, so it'll be hard to me to devote more time for anki. Reading books is a lot more pleasurable, and I think that it give me more than anki. With that backlog, is there any sense of doing anki? A breaks between repetition are so long that there's no place for forgetting curve. Maybe it'll be better to give up on Anki and devote time in bus for podcast, or sth, and focus mainly on reading massively and translate words without writing down it, and mark words, even I know that I saw them several times. And additional question, if you compare reading without marking words, and with it, how much more I'll have to read to get similar results? Now I read "The girl who played with fire" by Stieg Larsson, and I don't know 2-3 words on average on page.
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Ari
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 Message 2 of 11
02 April 2014 at 1:59pm | IP Logged 
1: Delete your Anki deck and start a new one. Any word you haven't internalized will be added again when you encounter it next time.

2: And try to prioritize a little. You don't need to add every word right now. Keep your anki settings on adding a limited number of words a day, so if you add 100 new words to the deck, you'll still only get, say, 10 new words a day. If you feel you've got too many words "waiting", stop adding new ones for a while and just read for pleasure.

3: If you plan on keeping your Anki deck for a long time, you should have some plateau periods where you don't add anything new and just focus on getting your daily reps down.

Hope that helps!
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luke
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 Message 3 of 11
02 April 2014 at 2:18pm | IP Logged 
You have your answer right here...

Kszegosz wrote:
I use anki in bus etc. I don't like it too much, so it'll be hard to me to devote more time for anki. Reading books is a lot more pleasurable, and I think that it gives me more than anki.

Maybe it'll be better to give up on Anki and devote time in bus for podcast, or sth, and focus mainly on reading massively and translate words without writing them down.

3 persons have voted this message useful



Kszegosz
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 Message 4 of 11
02 April 2014 at 2:24pm | IP Logged 
Thanks for reply. That sound very reasonable, and might do the trick : )

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Serpent
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serpent-849.livejour
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 Message 5 of 11
03 April 2014 at 3:08am | IP Logged 
Consider reading with a popup dictionary. If you want to improve your writing, lang-8.com is another great tool. Also look for lists of synonyms and compare them, and maybe make your own lists of words you want to use more instead of the familiar words like good/funny/strange.

Edited by Serpent on 03 April 2014 at 3:11am

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Raincrowlee
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 Message 6 of 11
03 April 2014 at 10:27am | IP Logged 
I've done something similar with Korean, but I find that before I start using Anki, it's better to reread the book at least once with the vocab list in hand. The Anki designer has said that SRS is for memorization of material, not learning it, and that you have to have some exposure to the material beforehand. Just writing it down and making a list is not enough exposure. Reading it in context gives you at least a fighting chance of recognizing the word when you use Anki, and as you the SRS program, you should read the book again to reinforce the words you're learning.
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montmorency
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 Message 7 of 11
03 April 2014 at 11:04pm | IP Logged 
Another approach is parallel texts, or if not available, just using straightforward
translations. Don't drill the words into your brain, just read them and use them, and let
them gradually filter into your consciousness. More enjoyable I would have thought and
you should get through the books more quickly & smoothly.
1 person has voted this message useful



luke
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 Message 8 of 11
04 April 2014 at 12:22am | IP Logged 
montmorency wrote:
Another approach is parallel texts, or if not available, just using straightforward translations. Don't drill the words into your brain, just read them and use them, and let them gradually filter into your consciousness. More enjoyable I would have thought and you should get through the books more quickly & smoothly.


I've got the bumper sticker:

More books, Less Anki.

Edited by luke on 04 April 2014 at 12:23am



2 persons have voted this message useful



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