I was reading that the ideal retention range is around 80%-90%, but I am stuck in the 50%-60% range. Would it be more beneficial to spend more time with SRS? Less? Any tips are appreciated.
You should spend more time on learning them before putting them in to the SRS or spend more time reviewing them when you fail. One simple way is to physically write out any word that you fail while reviewing.
I find my retention rates are higher when I’ve seen the words outside of just the srs– when I’m reading more my retention rates are better, and when I read less they’re worse
* Before Anki, to learn the words in the first place, I put them in a list and review it frequently the day before.
* During Anki, if I get it wrong more than once I add it to another list and review it frequently that day.
Lower your interval modifier, meaning there’ll be less time between reps.
It might depend how much you do with the card to learn it before putting it into reviews. For me, my vocab retention went way up when I started editing each Anki card on the first run, inventing mnemonics and adding them to the card, and looking the term up in a dictionary for examples/nuances/etc. to add as well.
It’s slower the first time through, but it gives me a lot more mental connections to hang the meaning on.
Depends on whether you’re using a premade deck or making your own. If it’s the former, then lower the interval modifier and/or lower the number of daily new cards. If it’s the latter, be more picky about what you add to your deck.
Depends. How many cards you learn daily and do you learn vocabulary outside of that? How much generally you learn anything else?
If you don’t learn much, then there are basically 2 ways to adjust. You can try to do more reviews, especially 1-2 reviews within first 20-120 minutes. Or you can try to change approach. For example, you can pick a deck with more pics or sentence examples, try mnemonics or simply to think where to use such vocabulary. Maybe even something like free decks on [memrise.com](https://memrise.com) (memrise SRS aims at more repetitions), supplement with other sources like youtube videos or even change approach completely and learn vocabulary via media.
Basically to try different things and see what works better for you.
the biggest two things that boosted my retention:
starting to regularly use the language outside of srs
doing my anki decks in the morning, then in the evening doing a custom study of the day’s failed and new cards
I have 90% retention. Here’s some things I do:
-Try to memorize the least information possible. Flash cards have been proven to work the best when you only need to remember one thing per card. Some words have like 20 different definitions and usages. Don’t bother memorizing them all. Just get a vague feel for the word, and focus on remembering the kanji readings.
-Don’t spend too much time on a single card. If you spend too much time thinking then it’s going to drain you and affect cards you would’ve gotten right. If you can’t remember a word with Anki, then maybe you’ll learn it better in a different setting.
-Find the time of day where you perform the best in Anki. For some people it’s in the morning, and for some it’s at night. IIRC some studies wrote that morning sessions are better for short-term memory, while the evening is best for long-term memory.
-Read a lot outside of Anki. Anki is best done when paired with reading because they create a positive feedback loop with each other.
-Eat healthy, get enough sleep, and exercise.
Unless a new word looks easy, I usually make both a “word card” and a “sentence card”. That means I’ll see them twice as much as I’d do otherwise. My memory needs that.
If I was only remembering 60% of the cards I was reviewing, I would stop adding cards until I was up to at least 80%. If regular reviews still weren’t helping, I would try to use some mnemonic devices – making up fake etymologies for whatever I’m forgetting.
I write everything down when I’m doing my reviews. If you don’t, then maybe you could try that too.
Some things you could do:
– fewer new cards every day
– put audio and pictures on the back of the card
– make your own cards instead of using pre-made decks
– use sentence cards instead of isolated vocab cards
I drill my mistakes 3 times a day, even when I have new lessons or reviews pending
Prioritize the mistakes. Write them down on paper. Keep the papers near you when you study. Flip them over when it’s time for reviews to keep you honest
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You should spend more time on learning them before putting them in to the SRS or spend more time reviewing them when you fail. One simple way is to physically write out any word that you fail while reviewing.
I find my retention rates are higher when I’ve seen the words outside of just the srs– when I’m reading more my retention rates are better, and when I read less they’re worse
* Before Anki, to learn the words in the first place, I put them in a list and review it frequently the day before.
* During Anki, if I get it wrong more than once I add it to another list and review it frequently that day.
Lower your interval modifier, meaning there’ll be less time between reps.
It might depend how much you do with the card to learn it before putting it into reviews. For me, my vocab retention went way up when I started editing each Anki card on the first run, inventing mnemonics and adding them to the card, and looking the term up in a dictionary for examples/nuances/etc. to add as well.
It’s slower the first time through, but it gives me a lot more mental connections to hang the meaning on.
Depends on whether you’re using a premade deck or making your own. If it’s the former, then lower the interval modifier and/or lower the number of daily new cards. If it’s the latter, be more picky about what you add to your deck.
Depends. How many cards you learn daily and do you learn vocabulary outside of that? How much generally you learn anything else?
If you don’t learn much, then there are basically 2 ways to adjust. You can try to do more reviews, especially 1-2 reviews within first 20-120 minutes. Or you can try to change approach. For example, you can pick a deck with more pics or sentence examples, try mnemonics or simply to think where to use such vocabulary. Maybe even something like free decks on [memrise.com](https://memrise.com) (memrise SRS aims at more repetitions), supplement with other sources like youtube videos or even change approach completely and learn vocabulary via media.
Basically to try different things and see what works better for you.
the biggest two things that boosted my retention:
starting to regularly use the language outside of srs
doing my anki decks in the morning, then in the evening doing a custom study of the day’s failed and new cards
I have 90% retention. Here’s some things I do:
-Try to memorize the least information possible. Flash cards have been proven to work the best when you only need to remember one thing per card. Some words have like 20 different definitions and usages. Don’t bother memorizing them all. Just get a vague feel for the word, and focus on remembering the kanji readings.
-Don’t spend too much time on a single card. If you spend too much time thinking then it’s going to drain you and affect cards you would’ve gotten right. If you can’t remember a word with Anki, then maybe you’ll learn it better in a different setting.
-Find the time of day where you perform the best in Anki. For some people it’s in the morning, and for some it’s at night. IIRC some studies wrote that morning sessions are better for short-term memory, while the evening is best for long-term memory.
-Read a lot outside of Anki. Anki is best done when paired with reading because they create a positive feedback loop with each other.
-Eat healthy, get enough sleep, and exercise.
Unless a new word looks easy, I usually make both a “word card” and a “sentence card”. That means I’ll see them twice as much as I’d do otherwise. My memory needs that.
If I was only remembering 60% of the cards I was reviewing, I would stop adding cards until I was up to at least 80%. If regular reviews still weren’t helping, I would try to use some mnemonic devices – making up fake etymologies for whatever I’m forgetting.
I write everything down when I’m doing my reviews. If you don’t, then maybe you could try that too.
Some things you could do:
– fewer new cards every day
– put audio and pictures on the back of the card
– make your own cards instead of using pre-made decks
– use sentence cards instead of isolated vocab cards
I drill my mistakes 3 times a day, even when I have new lessons or reviews pending
Prioritize the mistakes. Write them down on paper. Keep the papers near you when you study. Flip them over when it’s time for reviews to keep you honest