Max asks: "What are the benefits of monolingual flashcards?"
Episode Summary:
Today's podcast:
- Monolingual flashcards at the beginner / intermediate level
- Challenge the assumption that you should create monolingual flashcards - how else can you be using the time?
- Do not use monolingual flashcards to learn the meaning of vocabulary:
- Definitions
- Example sentences
- Instead, use flashcards to practise your output - i.e. choosing the appropriate word and recalling it quickly
- Big danger: You quickly "learn" the cards, and the exercise stops being useful. Make sure you're not deceiving yourself about the benefits. For this reason, I would avoid creating cards with e.g.:
- Definitions
- Complete the dialogue
- How I might approach monolingual flashcards myself: Don't see it as a "testing" mechanism, but rather a "retrieval" mechanism - i.e. use the technology to help you see the vocabulary more often.
- Some thoughts:
- Close deletion (but how soon until you "learn the card"?)
- Learning Chinese characters
- A deck of synonyms... perhaps... but how do you scale?
- Mine Google for example sentences with a particular word, and simply build your flashcard decks with that
- Question and answer cards - don't test yourself, but simply use it as a mechanism of "repeating" the vocabulary as much as possible so you get more exposure
- My essential point... if you want to go "monolingual", then just do that... no need to use up your time with flashcards
Resources mentioned in today's episode:
- Make Words Stick - my complete guide to using flashcards to learn and memorise vocabulary in a foreign language
- Skritter - a great app for learning Chinese characters
- Episode 188: What are the benefits of monolingual flashcards?
- Episode 213: Conversation with Gabe Wyner
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