Reverse Cards, synonyms & leeches (Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies) Language Learning Forum

Reverse Cards, synonyms & leeches
Tags: Synonyms \| Spaced Repetition (SRS) \| Vocabulary learning
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Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies

10 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

ScottScheule
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
scheule.blogspot.com
Joined 5163 days ago
645 posts - 1176 votes

Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Latin, Hungarian, Biblical Hebrew, Old English, Russian, Swedish, German, Italian, French

Message 9 of 10

06 June 2011 at 6:17pm | IP Logged

I've tried several things. I reason that I only really need one word for an idea when learning another language, preferably the most common word (if I was training myself to write poetry or fiction in another language, when synonyms would be nice to know, things would be different). But I need to recognize synonyms. So I make a card for each foreign word with the answer in (my native language) English, and one card for the English meaning with the correct answer being either of the synonyms.

Here's what I mean.

Given two words, comenzar and empezar in Spanish, which both mean "to begin," I'd set up three cards.

1. Question: comenzar
Answer: to begin

2. Question: empezar
Answer: to begin

3. Question: to begin
empezar or comenzar

If I say either word for question 3, I count it as correct.
2 persons have voted this message useful

Javi
Senior Member
Spain
Joined 5916 days ago
419 posts - 548 votes

Speaks: Spanish*

Message 10 of 10

19 June 2011 at 11:38pm | IP Logged

zenmonkey wrote:

While using cards I've discovered that I am getting wrong some of
the reverse sides of cards simply because of synonyms.

I've a question on how people deal with synonyms on the reverse of cards as this is
making things frustrating and slow. With a certain vocabulary you begin to get
"duplicates" or synonyms in your target language.

I'll have for example

F:kümmern R:to take care of

and that works fine but the reverse card

F:to take care of R:kümmern

I'll fail because I think of an alternate word first (besorgen, etc...). Eventually it
will be marked as a leech by Anki and removed from my active stack or I'll think I
don't a word for the source language meaning when I really do. I can go through and
manage these cards by editing them and adding the synonym but it is very slow going.

How do manage this? Only do cards in one direction? Delete? Edit?

I never do bilingual cards, so I don't have reverse cards and synonyms are not really a
problem because if one of them makes me fail a card, I add it to the definition of the
word. Actually you could do that as well with your bilingual cards:

A: to take care of (not besorgen)
R: kümmern

Hope that helps.

Edited by Javi on 19 June 2011 at 11:39pm
1 person has voted this message useful

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