Hello. I haven't found a satisfactory suggestion for this question so I'll post it here. How do you personally memorise your vocab? I'm having trouble memorising seemingly arbitrary lines of kana. I can make up little stories for some of them, but I was wondering if this is a waste of time? Do you simply memorise the way the word sounds?
I would be interested in hearing your opinions.

Two words: Anki SRS.

Yes I'm using that. But when it comes to actually trying to memorise a word for the first time, do you make up stories, as one does with kanji?

you don't need to expend mental effort in trying to memorise the word for the next review. Short spaced reviews are a waste of time unless you're trying to pass a test tomorrow. Just re-expose yourself to words and their meanings a few times spaced over time (via L1 definitions or whatever) and they'll eventually stick. Basically just let the information pass through your brain cache every month or so until sticks, don't try to hang onto it. Human short term memory is crap but our longterm memory owns.

1. Find word in the wild. "Wild" just means that it has context, one short sentence that makes it clear what the word means. Can be truly wild, or in a learning resource.
2. Make a note of the sentence, so you can come back to it later. To me, this is copying it down in Notepad, etc
3. Open the text file in Firefox, and use cb's modded rikaichan to save them all and enter them into anki
4. Let the SRS work its magic.

I think the most important is that the sentence you use makes it clear what the word means. That way, no matter if you're using English or Japanese definitions, the sentence defines the word for you.

Current card setup: http://i53.tinypic.com/9qd7r9.png
The furigana for the sentence is auto-generated.
The furigana for the vocab word is just saved from rikaichan.

It's minimalistic, but it works. Different cards for different contexts, even if it's the same word.

Squiffy, the SRS method of learning new vocabulary doesn't work for me. I use iKnow.jp to add new vocabulary to my head, and it works quite well. I suspect the same thing could be done with flashcards or any other method of recalling the words over a short period of time, and then using Anki for the scheduled reminders.

I never use any memory tricks like stories or visualizations.

Edit: Note that I said 'learning new vocabulary', and not refreshing it. I need something before Anki to make things stick. And I've found that once it's stuck, I generally don't need Anki because I read and watch so much TV.

squiffy Wrote:Hello. I haven't found a satisfactory suggestion for this question so I'll post it here. How do you personally memorise your vocab? I'm having trouble memorising seemingly arbitrary lines of kana. I can make up little stories for some of them, but I was wondering if this is a waste of time? Do you simply memorise the way the word sounds?
I would be interested in hearing your opinions.

What do you mean by lines of kana? Are you learning the words as kana only? I'd recommend against that, unless you're just using the kana as a supplement for audio. Even then, it'd be better to wait till you've learned a substantial amount of kanji up front (i.e. through RTK) then learn words containing the kanji that you've learned (preferably when they're mature in SRS terms).

As for learning words, yes, using mnemonics is best (using strategies to relate new information to information you already know), compared to other forms (such as rote i.e. mindless repetition), but you don't need to make them as elaborate as you would with RTK. You don't even need to try and remember the mnemonic, just use it to make the encoding deeper and more robust. A few seconds of this maximises the use of working memory/short-term memory to begin the process of long-term consolidation (and reconsolidation in the active learning of the SRS). Using multimedia/multiple senses to do this as well is also best: audio, image, video, text, handwriting (or air-writing or tablet-writing ;p), subvocalizing, speaking, etc.

For sentence cards you can also weave in the sentence context to help you remember.

Plugins you'll want to use: JDIC Audio, Realtime Import (to use with Rikaisan for instant card creation), Overture's Morphology plugin (I call it MorphMan, you can use this to extract unknown words and sort cards by the number of new words per sentence), Image Download. There's also a scratchpad thingy for Anki, useful for touch devices.

Having reviewed the scientific literature and implemented it into my study strategy, I can also say that I think using initial intervals on the first day of a few minutes from initial study to a few hours after that, to a day after that, (then days/weeks/etc. after that), is best.

For more on that, see: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?p...#pid141918

You also might want to read these two accessible papers:

Four Principles of Memory Improvement: A Guide to Improving Learning Efficiency

Abstract: Recent advances in memory research suggest methods that can be applied to enhance educational practices. We outline four principles of memory improvement
that have emerged from research: 1) process material actively, 2) practice retrieval,
3) use distributed practice, and 4) use metamemory. Our discussion of each
principle describes current experimental research underlying the principle and
explains how people can take advantage of the principle to improve their learning.
The techniques that we suggest are designed to increase efficiency—that is, to
allow a person to learn more, in the same unit of study time, than someone using
less efficient memory strategies. A common thread uniting all four principles is
that people learn best when they are active participants in their own learning.

The Four Strands

Abstract: The activities in a language course can be classified into the four strands of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning and fluency development. In a well designed course there should be an even balance of these strands with roughly equal amounts of time given to each strand. The research
evidence for the strands draws on the input hypothesis and learning from extensive
reading, the output hypothesis, research on form-focused instruction, and the
development of speaking and reading fluency. The paper concludes with 10 princi-
ples based largely on the four strands. The strands framework and the principles
provide a basis for managing innovation in language courses.

Here's what I normally do. I also can't "learn" well from Anki itself even in cram mode and I can't really do sentences yet since I'm a beginner (I also think learning without sentences can be faster, for me at least).

Right now I'm learning words through pronunciation in kana only because I'm still learning kanji through RTK. If you know kanji, you could learn pronunciation first in the beginning of the day, then pair it with the kanji later in the day. It sounds like you don't know kana well yet? Go to Tae Kim's guide (http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/writing) and practice writing them. Then the words won't look like strings of alien characters. After doing that you can start learning pronunciation of words using kana.

I take my Anki deck and export the tags I'm focusing on ("Chapter 4" or whatever from my textbook). I export the cards to a text file.

I copy the text into Excel. I delete all extra columns so that just the word, pronunciation in kana, and English definition is left.

Throughout the day, I take small breaks from work and I look at the vocab 4 words at a time. You could even put a couple rows in between each group of 4 words so you don't get distracted by others. I don't really have a set method, I just take a minute or so to repeat the words in my head until I have a pretty good grasp on them, then move to the next 4 words on my next mini break. I also quickly review the words I learned previously during each break. I try my best to not look at the pronunciation column so I can quiz myself (you could even hide and unhide it in Excel if you want).

When I get home, I unsuspend the cards I "learned" that day to review. So far this method works pretty well. Since I break up my study time, I don't get burned out either.

My process:

Input a $&'"($&"#'(ton of new vocab.
Decide how many I'm going through a day. (minimum of 50 now, was 200 a day for a couple weeks before N1 test in July)
Go to the browser, highlight 10 vocab (have the top window at the exact height to only show 10 at any one time).
Go to Actions -> Cram.
Run through the vocab, always hitting no, while memorizing the readings. Cycle through them a couple times (usually 3-5) until I can recall all the readings without a problem.
Then, cycle through and learn all the meanings (I spend more time on this). Look up example sentences on Google, Kotobank dictionary definitions, etc, to internalize it more.
Cycle through until I can read it and produce the meaning instantly.
Then cycle through one last time hitting hard for all of them. (I only do this when I'm 100% sure I can read and say the meaning here)

After that it's just a matter of keeping up on reviews every day, and encountering the word in the wild. (Reading books, 1000moji, blogs, news, what have you.)

If I find I have trouble with a certain word, or words that look/sound similar, I just bring them up together and pinpoint what exactly is causing the problem and handle it.

(I'm at 10k+ and the last book I read without a dictionary was 終着駅 by 西村京太郎)

My method. http://kmdes.com/kms-japanese-blog/2011/...n-1-guide/

I found despite that I haven't actually SRSed like I was supposed to, I still manage to remember most of the vocab I learned in that test.

If you're not learning kanji with vocabulary you will have a tough time understanding anything. When you see kanji in your mind you are supposed to be thinking "thank you Jesus" and not shove it off like the plague.

KMDES Wrote:My method. http://kmdes.com/kms-japanese-blog/2011/...n-1-guide/

I found despite that I haven't actually SRSed like I was supposed to, I still manage to remember most of the vocab I learned in that test.

I am using your method for a couple days now. It's working great. How many words are you doing per day?

KMDES Wrote:My method. http://kmdes.com/kms-japanese-blog/2011/...n-1-guide/

I found despite that I haven't actually SRSed like I was supposed to, I still manage to remember most of the vocab I learned in that test.

Sounds interesting, I'll give it a try

jkun666 Wrote:

KMDES Wrote:My method. http://kmdes.com/kms-japanese-blog/2011/...n-1-guide/

I found despite that I haven't actually SRSed like I was supposed to, I still manage to remember most of the vocab I learned in that test.

I am using your method for a couple days now. It's working great. How many words are you doing per day?

It varies. Since I wrote the method I've been busy with moving (1200 miles) trying to find a new job (unsuccessfully), making arrangements to move again (2000 miles this time.) dealing with crappy personal stuff and still looking a for a place of my own to live. Basically trying to hold my life together and making sure it doesn't crumble apart has taken up most of my time and focus.

Sorry about the pity-fest explanation but that's just what's been going on that I haven't been able to continue with testing the results of mass amounts of words. But I'm always interested in the results of others and I encourage people to at least give it a try once. It might be a very successful method for them.

If things start settling down for me, then I'm gonna try and set aside at least enough time to do a cycle every day. Crossing my fingers here.

squiffy Wrote:Hello. I haven't found a satisfactory suggestion for this question so I'll post it here. How do you personally memorise your vocab? I'm having trouble memorising seemingly arbitrary lines of kana. I can make up little stories for some of them, but I was wondering if this is a waste of time? Do you simply memorise the way the word sounds?
I would be interested in hearing your opinions.

The most difficult method would to learn the Kanji that each Hiragana and Katakana were derived from. However, you will still need to spend the time to memorize each Kana with it pronunciation. That means writing each Kana individual while voicing its pronunciation.

I first wrote each Haragana one by one in あいうえお Japanese order 10 times. Once finished, I wrote each Haragana in 5 rows and 10 columns in order while looking at the chart. When I was satisfied I would then write it from memory, and several times a week after that. I did the same thing for Katakana.

Kana by themselves have no meaning. They are just sounds. Learning the Kanji that each Kana was derived from would help you learn Kanji. This will help in reading some names.

Yes, you should simply memorize the way the letters sounds. However, learn how the sounds change when combined with other letters.

One point that I forgot. When learning new Kanji and Kanji compounds learn them with the correct Kana.

I learn the words, transfer them to my SRS, and review them. Some words just take longer to sink in. For instance I had trouble remembering 居酒屋. I don't know how many times this word came up for review in Anki. And now, when I saw your post and decided to reply, all of a sudden I was able to recall it.

My strategy is to learn the words, and look for sentences that contain this word, which again is going to my SRS. Some words that I have no relation with, make it easy to develop a connection, for instance 調査. It reminded me of Geoffrey Chaucer and that is why it was easy to remember. A similar example would be 首都.

There will always be words that will be hard, or even impossible to remember, but that's the way it is. You can beat yourself over it or just move on. You don't have to remember every word you come upon. Try to remember them, expose yourself to them, and if you fail numerous times, suspend the card(s).

If you can recall a story and Kanji associated with a keyword, e.g., using Heisig's RevTK, then you can do the same for vocabulary. For example, [たいせつ] 大切 : important; valuable; worthy of care = large 大 and cut 切: It's extremely important you treat that large cut in your foot to avoid an infection.

Repeat, repeat repeat. Don't bother with mnemonics for individual words, it's a huge waste of time and it adds extra steps to retrieving the memory which prevents fluency. I can guarantee you that if you keep memorizing words for weeks every day you will become increasingly better at it, atleast that's been my experience thus far. At first your retention will be like 60-70 % but as you keep doing it it will go towards 80-90% easily. There really is no other decent shortcut besides SrS to hammer vocab and readings into your brain. If you clog everything up with mnemonics and stories you'll be spending more time making those up than actually learning new information.

I'm overwhelmed with the fantastic responses here. I'm very interested to read your varied methods.

Thanks so much, it helps a lot!