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Updated SRS section

The old SuperMemo section of “How to learn English” is now called the “SRS” section. The pages were previously SuperMemo-centric; they now cover the two most popular spaced-repetition systems: SuperMemo and Anki. I’ve rewritten the introduction to SRS (I’ve even drawn a nice graph to demonstrate the idea of spaced repetition), edited “Making SRS items (cards) for learning English” and added some notes on which SRS you should get.

Also added a short page on the advantages of listening over reading.

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24 Comments so far ↓

  • Traveller

    Tom, don’t you think adding audio clips for your collection is quite easy in Anki than Supermemo. So, shouldn’t English learners opt for Anki over SM? I’m using Anki on my PC, and it is working marvelously with no bugs to show for which are a common sight in SM.

    • Tom

      Yes, the audio recorder is a killer feature. (My only beef is that you can’t trim the audio clip, so you tend to get clips with silence at the end or at the beginning.) Despite the fact that I have my doubts about the spaced repetition algorithm used in Anki, I am more and more inclined to recommend Anki to English learners as opposed to SuperMemo.

      • Traveller

        Does spaced repetition algorithm issue matter at all? I mean, if you are going to review hundreds and hundreds of items over a period of months, you won’t have an idea over the efficiency of a peculiar algorithm. You will feel like you are reviewing words with any other spaced repetition software out there be it Supermemo, Anki or Fullrecall etc

  • Wojtek

    And don’t forget that Anki 2 is coming this month!

    • Tom

      Good point, I’m pretty excited about this release.

      • Anibal

        Tom, people are talking a lot about a tool called “learning with texts” (LWT) in sites about language learning. You could write about it or even review it (I deeply enjoy yours profoundly detailed reviews)… It would be great, as always!

        • FLTR

          Anibal, a lightweight alternative to LingQ and LWT is the “Foreign Language Text Reader” (FLTR).

          While reading a text in a foreign language, you look up unknown words in web dictionaries (you must be online to do so) and save vocabulary terms (words and multi-word expressions) with translations, romanization (like Pinyin, Hiragana, etc., optional) and example sentence (optional). Each term has also a learning status (1/”Unknown” to 5/”Known”, plus Statuses “Ignored” and “Well Known”) with an associated color.

          The saved words will automatically show up with all their data and status in ALL texts in the same language. They can be easily imported into flashcard software like Anki or Mnemosyne via the export function.

    • Anibal

      Hello Wojtek!

      I have seen you here in this site before and it seems you understand a lot about computers and programming =)

      I’ve downloaded Anki 2.0 beta 18, and I got really frustrated about it. I found it quite unfriendly! It reminds me of supermemo.

      So I ask you, do you think they’re going to polish it before realising it to the majority of the users? If not, then I’m going to stick to 1.2.8 forever…

      • Tom

        I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping the interface in the new version would be easier to use, not harder.

        (Digression about the Anki 1 interface: It’s not so easy either. It took me a long while to get the hang of it. The most common actions are not highlighted in any way, so you often have to look for some inconspicuous button. I don’t think there is a big difference between Anki 1 and SuperMemo in terms of user-friendliness. For me, the biggest advantages of Anki are the multiplatform support and the flexibility in designing item layouts.)

  • Ivana

    thanks. about to start using it. so anki is a better choice?

  • Ivana

    also, I’ve read the part on the forums where you talk about your experience in learning German. It’s so comforting to see someone going through the same phases and troubles that you have

  • alternative to anki

    Alternative to anki:
    Mnemosyne

  • Ivana

    is it also free?

  • Ivana

    is it better than anki?

  • alternative to anki

    @ Ivana
    I’ve only used them for a short time, but from what I’ve read anki is better.
    In my case in particular, I don’t use mnemosyne for learning Portuguese or English. I use mnemosyne as if it was a real life collection of cards, i.e. a small amounts of questions I consider particularly important and I may check them from time to time, but mainly when a test is coming.
    When it comes down lo learning Portuguese vocabulary I use anki. I’m still using “old” versions of both programs though.

  • alternative to anki

    @ Ivana
    I’ve only used them for a short time, but from what I’ve read anki is better.
    In my case in particular, I don’t use mnemosyne for learning Portuguese NOR English. I use mnemosyne as if it was a real life collection of cards, i.e. a small amount of questions I consider particularly important and I may check them from time to time, but mainly when a test is coming.
    When it comes down lo learning Portuguese vocabulary I use anki. I’m still using “old” versions of both programs though.

    • Ivana

      Hi,
      I’m using the old version of Anki too. (the one you can download for free)

      Can somebody tell which online dictionary is the best for copy-pasting word definitions pls? I’m using http://www.thefreedictionary.com most of the time, but actually I think the explanations could be better.

  • alternative to anki

    Being a page for learners of English, I think that what I’m going to say is a little too obvious. Nevertheless, I’d really like that someone took the time to tell me if I made grammar mistakes. Thanks in advance.

  • Ivana

    “I’d really like that someone took the time to tell me if I made grammar mistakes.”

    I don’t know if this sentence is ok, sounds a little weird to me.

    I’d say:

    I’d really like if someone took the (?I’m not sure if”the” is ok, I’d say “some” and play safe here) time to tell me…

  • Adrian

    Hi everybody !!
    Please answer
    I use SM 2002 and it has been a great deal of help for me.
    By the way.
    Would anyone like to exchange databases or txt databases to learn English ?
    What do you think about english test.net
    Thank you Tom I admire your work in this website.
    Please would you be so kind as to pass me some of your sentences databases in txt to learn English please.
    Thank you

  • Traveller

    The best way is to read short articles on line. If you come across a difficult word in a sentence, copy that sentence containing that word. It is a much faster and quicker way to improve your vocabulary. If you want to add more sentences containing the same word for a better recall, use a good on line dictionary.

  • cdowis

    “I’d really like that someone took the time to tell me if I made grammar mistakes.”

    I would appreciate it if someone were to point out any of my grammatical errors .

Leave a Reply to Traveller