For all of you out there who like to learn from their own mistakes and use Lang-8, how do you go about internalizing the corrections?

For those of you who SRS the corrections, how do you set your cards up?

How about other ways of utilizing the site? I was thinking about taking sentences that were corrected and rewriting them, conspicuously, in other entries. However, I'm not sure this would be a recommended approach, as it could stifle creativity and may not constitute as an efficient method of spontaneous reproduction.

The way I've been using the site is basically typing my feelings, reading the corrections, thinking about them and then replying to the comments.

So, if any of the efficiency masters or regular Lang-8ers could chime in on any tips or tricks they use, I would be forever grateful.

tl;dr How do you Lang-8?

Just noticed this: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=5057&page=1 >.<

I add sentences / grammar structures I want to use in the future to anki, both from my entries and other peoples responses with both recognition and production cards. You'll find you naturally use the new stuff without consciously rewriting it I think.

From reading the English corrections, and doing them myself, I don't think corrections on Lang-8 should be viewed as native speech. At best, even the best corrections only approximate native language.

That's kind of true but at the level of most people using it they're not trying to sound like a native, but use correct and understandable language. The people that can already write correct English but a little unnaturally I correct to sound natural.

It's also why peoples responses are so useful, so I guess a tip is try to write something that stimulates some discussion / responses ^^

Yea if you want to srs from lang-8, a good idea would be to srs the responses native people post on your entries and not necessarily the corrected sentences themselves.

caivano Wrote:That's kind of true but at the level of most people using it they're not trying to sound like a native, but use correct and understandable language. The people that can already write correct English but a little unnaturally I correct to sound natural.

It's also why peoples responses are so useful, so I guess a tip is try to write something that stimulates some discussion / responses ^^

This is a very valid point, and I think it may be because of how the system is set up. Because the system has you correct sentence by sentence, you don't get the same flow as if it were to be a whole paragraph.

In my profile, I state that I correct entries not solely based on grammatical correctness, but on the flow and how I would've written/read it. Unless specifically asked, I will rewrite the post first and then break it up into chunks afterward.

I only do this with intermediate/advanced entries. With beginner entries, I will only focus on making the sentence intelligible and grammatical. One of my friends does the same for me, and I am very grateful for that. I also notice that when you have a person who corrects in that way, others follow. What do you all think about this approach?

Thanks for the responses.

Cacawate Wrote:In my profile, I state that I correct entries not solely based on grammatical correctness, but on the flow and how I would've written/read it. Unless specifically asked, I will rewrite the post first and then break it up into chunks afterward.

I only do this with intermediate/advanced entries. With beginner entries, I will only focus on making the sentence intelligible and grammatical. One of my friends does the same for me, and I am very grateful for that. I also notice that when you have a person who corrects in that way, others follow. What do you all think about this approach?

Thanks for the responses.

I do this exactly the same way, but I don't usually base it to the user, but the specific journal entry. If someone who is usually coherent puts up a really bad post, I just bring it back to 'technically correct' and leave it. And if someone who is usually horrible suddenly posts something awesome, but awkward, I make it sound fluent.

And this is controversial, but I always point out problems in other peoples' corrections, including when they've corrected something that originally sounded fluent, but they've decided to make it different (whether it's correct or not).

My main goal in correcting peoples' entries is to make it sound fluent without removing the person's individual style, as much as I can.

I really don't think you should SRS from Lang-8. SRS other things, then write on Lang-8 to train your output. Read the corrections, realize why they are the way they are, then move on and try to conform to them the next time you write on lang-8. SRSing corrections is just a few steps away from SRSing your own sentences, definitely not recommended.

I second Tobberoth, but I dig SRSing comments / explanations etc given to me by natives on Lang-8. Everything from "Good work!" comments to "This is how I like to think about the difference between が and は" explanations...

I use the note feature and add whatever correction that jumps out at me as important. For example, I have a tag called "が and は," which is dedicated to sentences where I used ga instead of when it should've been wa and vice versa. Over time that's bound to help one with differentiating between the two, I think. Other tags I have are "文法" and "word usage." For the word usage tag, I add whatever sentences have a word that was crossed out and exchanged for another word, but only if it has an explanation with it.

And sometimes, if I like a corrected sentence, I add it to my SRS. It's just the same as if I'm reading a book and add a sentence I like.

edit: I'm always SRSing sentences in comments too -- I feel like these sentences have more value than sentences I take from books and news articles because they represent the norm for expressing oneself in Japanese to others (in most cases, and especially if it's polite language).

Mange takk to both Tobberoth and Zorlee, and I agree that SRSing yourself, even if it is a corrected version of yourself, is kind of self defeating. Let's say, however, the correction wasn't so much a correction, but a complete rewording of an idea; a way you hadn't thought to express yourself in Japanese before. If that was the case how would you feel about SRSing that, and how would you go about it?

Nuriko and Rekkusu, thanks for the great idea! I'd never thought about SRSing responses, but they could be a great source of both motivation and learning (granted the responses contain i+1). Nuriko, I'm unfamiliar with the "note feature". Can you explain that to me, please?

It seems there are many variables for how beneficial corrections can be, and I guess the best conclusion is to look at it as sentence mining. You wouldn't mine sentences from your own journal but could definitely mine sentences from the comments of one.

I think it's useful srsing using both corrections and my own writing (post checking), if it's something I had to look up to write. It's really easy to remember these sentences as I spent some time creating them. As I said I don't mind if it doesn't sound completely natural so long I'm understood, and I have Japanese friends who laugh at me and tell me if I say something too unnatural, and after this I *really* remember :$

Nearly all sources of sentences are a little / quite flawed in one way or another anyway.

I just toss the whole entry into the SRS accompanied by TTS audio so I can not only read it corrected, but hear it as well. If the entry is very lengthy, I will simply use paragraphs. These cards are easy to read since, after all, I wrote them. The benefit is remembering the corrected grammar patterns. Overall, I think it is the audio makes everything stick so much easier.