How do you memorize new words?

[kongli]

Just curious how different people memorize words, and perhaps looking to steal some study tips hehe.

I have tried using anki but for some reason it never sticks.

Right now I am thinking of just resorting back to good old fashioned paper flashcards.

I am also toying with the idea of separating vocabulary into speech and text. Words I come across while having conversations or watching t.v. go in one notebook and words I have come across while reading go in another.

At least for myself I find it much easier to remember how to say a word and find it much more difficult to learn how to write/read a word.

lately, as a way of learning new vocabulary, I have started reading books on subject that interest me and just hoping the repetition of reading the same word over and over again is dealing with the gaokao and rural social mobility, so words relating to this topic are starting to stick in my head more. kind of slow going though.

anyway please share your advice!

thanks!

[chrix]

anki is more for remembering words than for memorising them.

If I really need to memorise things, like for an exam, I'd write down everything on paper several times, and then go over the words again until I knew all of them. (this last step could be done with anki as well).

[jbradfor]

I use ZDT (similar to Anki). It works very well for me to memorize and remember new words.

There is, at least for me, the issue of transferring words learned in ZDT to words I recognize when I read them. Most words transfer fine, but for some reason other words I can get right 100% of the time in ZDT, but when I see them in text they just don't click. I think reading is the only cure for that.

anki is more for remembering words than for memorising them

I think Anki and ZDT does both. First, you need to memorize them, which I define as "getting it right the first time". Then you need to remember them long term. There are some words that take me a long time before I get it right the first time. But I just have ZDT quiz me on them over and over, and eventually they stick.

[edelweis]

Keep I mind I am still a beginner (I know how to write about 700 words only) so probably others have better methods, anyway I am interested if anyone has comments...

I use jmemorize (SRS software).

1st phase

For each new word (or expression) I create at least 4 cards (some words which have multiple translations require more cards)

1) chinese characters on front, pinyin and translation on back.

I count this as "learnt" if I recall both the pinyin (aloud) and translation.

2) translation on front, pinyin and characters on back.

I count this as "learnt" if I recall the pinyin (aloud) . The chinese characters are just for passive learning at this stage.

3) sample sentence on front, translation on back (no pinyin, except for unknown words in the sample sentence).

I count this as "learnt" if I can read the sentence (aloud) and understand it.

4) card with translated sample sentence on front, sample sentence on back. (pinyin same as 3)

I count this as "learnt" if I can reconstruct the sample sentence (or a sentence which is close enough, as sometimes there are several ways to say the same thing)

Also, for this first phase, I am supposed to use the new words in sentences and post that for correction on Livemocha...

(I also thought about creating a tool that googles up sample sentences for reading practice. However I still know too little vocabulary and grammar for this, google finds sentences that seem extraordinarily long and full of unknown words to my beginner's eyes. I'd need to google only in selected sites that have "easy" material...[edit] now that I think about it, if I could find just "short" sentences, the mouse-over dictionary might be enough to understand the sentences?[/edit])

2nd phase:

I have a separate SRS file in which I create a duplicate of card 2). I use that one to learn how to write the word. There is a delay between the day I learn how to read the word, and the day I enter it in this file. So the word will have come up several times in the other file already, and I know how to read it. Possibly progress is slower in this file as well, I haven't checked.

The first time I learn a card in this file, I use a reference (book or website) to check the stroke order, and I write the word 5-10 times or even more depending on complexity. I don't mark it as learnt. I just keep it in the stack until the next time it comes up (either in the same session or the next day, it doesn't matter).

I count a card as "learnt" if I recall both the pinyin and the strokes and feel reasonably sure of the stroke order. Depending on how confident I feel, I write it only once or several times.

[chrix]

Sorry, jbradfor, I didn't want to imply it wouldn't work for anyone. But if I needed to cram some stuff, I would need to physically write it down.

Anki has worked for stuff I don't need to cram, and it's been fine for me to memorise it over a long period of time....

[Caidanbi]

Flashcards are good, but I always had a notebook, and I'd write the new words in it. Then I'd cover up either the Chinese or English side and see if I could remember it. Once I thought I had it down, my mom would take the list and give me a "quiz". She'd tell me the English word, and I'd have to say and write it in Chinese. That helped me so much! If you have anyone who is willing to help you like that, be sure to take them up on it - they don't have to speak Chinese to be able to help in that case.

Also, I find that using the new words a lot is helpful. So try to make up sentences using any new words you learn, say them out loud, write them a few times. The more you use it, the better you will remember it

I read somewhere a while back that you need to see/hear new words about 50 times before they really stick. I'm not sure how true that is, but I thought it was interesting, and it does seem to fit with the idea that you need to hear the new words used quite a bit before you'll be able to recall them easily.

[PanShiBo]

I use Microsoft Access to go through set of my words. Now I have finished HSK Level 1 (1,034) and starting level 2. For each word I track "survive interval" and I programmed it for progressive spacing, so that if I pass particular word, next time I will see it in a longer time. If I fail, survive interval is reset to 0. I have total indicator of my progress, which is average survive interval, so I can see effect of different approaches. I found one approach which works best for me. One surprise was that if I "scrub" my words too often, progress actually drops ( might be because I push everything in just short memory )

[chrix]

PanShiBo, that's essentially what any SRS will do. Some of them, like Anki, would even allow you to synchronise it on a server, so you could access your deck from any device...

[jbradfor]

@chrix:

Sorry, jbradfor, I didn't want to imply it wouldn't work for anyone. But if I needed to cram some stuff, I would need to physically write it down.

Agreed.

Since I'm just studying Chinese as a hobby, I'm in no time pressure for any particular word. My main metric of interest is number of words learned per unit time spent learning them. For that, I find standard SRS-based software works just fine.

For those learning Chinese for a class, in which you need to learn a certain word by a certain time or face public humiliation, SRS-based SW may not be the best for the initial learning. I've never used it for that, so I can't say.

[abcdefg]

Since I'm a human and not a parrot, I can remember new words better if I thoroughly understand them. So I first break them apart into component parts, by which I mean identifying the radical and other key parts that I might already recognize as portions of other words or characters. So I do that early on, often using Clavis Sinica or the "Etymology Explorer" on Yellowbridge.

What I'm essentially trying to do is link the new material with older material already residing in my brain. If the meaning is unclear, I use several on-line dictionaries for further definitions and example sentences, such as those at www.dict.cn and www.jukuu.com. I may Google the word for illustrations of use or, if suitable, even pull up images of it via an image search.

Then I memorize and review the new words via ZDT flashcards. I use the "self review" mode, which shows me the Hanzi and asks me for the Pinyin and English, and then I use the "Pinyin recall" mode, which forces me to produce the tones. I try to avoid the trap of "leaning *what the word means* now and *how to say it* sometime later."

After I have a pretty good grasp of them in ZDT, I transfer them in batches to Anki and use Anki to help me not forget them over the long haul.

And I agree with another member who said:

Also, I find that using the new words a lot is helpful. So try to make up sentences using any new words you learn, say them out loud, write them a few times.

I take that a step further by trying work them into live conversations and use them in writing e-mails and small compositions. Once I can really use the new words in daily life, they "stick" much better and "become mine."

[trien27]

I would write it down, by taking notice especially on the radical, then use a paper dictionary to find the definition, before adding other definitions from online dictionaries. Then I'd try to use it in a sentence. The "phonetic" might or might not sound like the character's pronunciation today. It might be a pronunciation from other non-Mandarin dialects, so using modern Mandarin pronunciation might not help in learning the pronunciation.

[wushijiao]

Basically, for the relative beginner/intermediate stage, which I'm at now in Hindi/Urdu, I:

1) Listen to audio (dialogues) dozens, if not hundreds of times. At the same time, I use a couple of books that cover similar vocabulary, so there should be some cross referencing for most words. This is kind of a "grazing" approach (a great analogy, if you ask me). (The analogy is good because is it implies that you don't need to have everything down pat right away. You can self-quiz yourself after learning new material and get, say. 11/20 words right, and not feel bad. But as you keep repeatedly listening to the materials, and come back to re-graze on old ones, you'll eventually get closer to 100%).

2) Make flash cards (often with common collocations or example sentences). Then review them a few times a day in quick sessions. I actually review them when walking on the street when I'm waiting for the traffic light to change!

For intermediate/more advanced stages:

1) Try to get as much extensive audio and reading input as possible, which raises the chances that I'll encounter the new word again.

2) Flashcards (although reviewing flashcards for less common words often feels less useful).

Edited March 4, 2010 at 05:44 AM by wushijiao

[xiaotao]

I learn Chinese in a leisurely way. Read not too hard books that interest you. You'll see the same characters over and over. I enjoy the daily chinese e-mail lists. The more exposure the better chance of learning. It has to be enjoyable. If you get it, you get it, If you don't maybe later.

[c_redman]

I mostly learn words from vocabulary lists, like the HSK, or extracted from texts using software. I've found that an SRS like Anki is not well suited for introducing words I've never seen before. There was little point in marking every single card unknown multiple times.

Instead, I use straightforward flashcard software (my favorite is Stackz) to run through the whole set for a few days. After that, I will wait a few more days and then import the list into Anki. Stackz has a learning mode where new cards are added to a heap of 2-10 cards at a time, which keeps the time between testing the same card low. I find this necessary when there are many unfamiliar or difficult words. Each session I gradually increase the heap, starting with 4 and increasing up to 8-9.

It's worked well for the HSK lists I - III, which is about 5000 words. For lists that large (HSK III was 2100 words) I did need to break it down into groups of 200, to make the studying manageable.

[renzhe]

Doesn't Anki have a "drilling deck mode" similar to SuperMemo that helps you do exactly that?

With a tiny bit of gymnastics, you can do it with Mnemosyne too, which is what I do. I drill 50 items or so for a few days, then add them into the learned group and let SRS take care of the rest.

[Address7]

I, too, use Anki. It's true that it requires writing the character to memorize it, but Anki doesn't stop you from doing that. I do Anki daily, with a piece of paper in front of me, writing the character before clicking the button to check.

[chrix]

Actually I've asked myself that, what would stop people from using anki with a note book instead of signing up for skritter, for instance... I mean that way you wouldn't need to buy a graphics tablet or an iPhone...

(Disclaimer: I haven't tried skritter, as I'm no longer in the character hand-writing acquisition phase)

[Hofmann]

How to learn new words; I recommend using them. If you think there might be an article about the new word, search for it on Wikipedia.

e.g. 生詞.

[xianhua]

If possible, attempt to put yourself in as many varied real life situations as you can when new words will be introduced. The situation and the word then become linked, giving you an anchor point to flick back to when recalling the word.

If I learn new words simply by looking at a text book, it may take many occurences to commit the word. If I here it in a real-life situation (where I am actively taking part), the word may stick with one instance.