10 years of Anki, a rambling reflection
I can't believe I've been using Anki for a decade.
(not the whole decade, as you can see. But it's 10 years ago today that I studied cards for the first time)
11 years ago, I was studying abroad in Tajikistan. One of my classmates had learned Arabic and Persian really well in the same amount of time that it took me to get to a really mediocre level in just one language. He mentioned offhand that one of the keys to his success was a computer program called Anki, digital flashcards for daily vocabulary study.
Something about a magical algorithm that will show you vocabulary just before you're about to forget it... Spaced Repetition... I didn't really understand at the time, but hey, it worked for him!
Unfortunately, it took a year for me to follow his advice. I didn't care for the idea of spending ages in front of my computer to drill flashcards every day (I didn't have a smartphone, and I wouldn't get one for several years yet). And I didn't think I needed it! My memory was fine... Right?
But a year later, I was doing my MA in translation, and really struggling to keep my language skills sharp. I was learning loads of new words, but they fell out of my head as soon as I moved on to the next text. So I finally installed the program that would become my second brain, my backup language memory.
Now it's ten years later, and I study 5 languages with Anki. I spend about 20 minutes per day reviewing 200-300 cards. I've taken breaks and lost and regained interest several times over the course of 10 years, but I consider Anki a fundamental part of my language learning practice.
Is Anki flawless and absolutely necessary to learn a language? No. There are just as many people who blindly venerate Anki as there are those who loudly criticise it.
It's not absolute magic, it's a tool - a machine that needs tinkering and maintenance to be used well. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it is flexible enough to fit many different people's needs, if one is willing to figure out how to use it.
Its steep learning curve and depth are things that make it hard to recommend to other people. Showing someone Anki for the first time and explaining how I use it feels a bit like giving someone an empty notebook and telling them,
"This is my favourite book. It's revolutionized my studying!! But first, you should change the cover, because the one it comes with isn't great. Then you should adjust the tightness of the binding. Don't forget to use a special pen! And it doesn't have anything written in it yet, you have to add all of that yourself. And if you stop using it for more than a few days at a time, it becomes really difficult to catch up with. But it's my favourite notebook and it works really well if you use it right!"
Some people will love to customise it and get everything just right, and can get great results. Some people think this is way too much bother, and I totally respect that. How many hours did I spend learning Anki at the beginning, that I could have used to learn my languages? After 10 years, I'm sure I've broken even, but how can you be sure you'll stick with it?
(There are a lot of New and Suspended cards in my collection because I have imported a bunch of Subs2SRS decks, which serve as a mass sentence bank when I want to find how a word is used in context. I rely on that less and less now that I'm using Migaku, though - more on that below.)
I do my daily reviews with AnkiDroid on my phone, in small chunks over the course of the day - during all those microbreaks, like waiting for a meeting to start, or standing in line, or on the bus. I used to do nearly all my cards during my morning bus commute, but I'm not commuting anymore! But having Anki in my pocket is essential; I've never been able to keep the habit of reviewing on the computer every day.
Once or twice a week, I open Anki on my computer so I can take advantage of some of the awesome add-ons, and more easily add and edit cards.
These aren't all the add-ons I have installed, but they are the most impactful day-to-day.
Multi-column note editor: Save precious screen space for note types that have many fields (and you should have a lot of fields, to keep information separate, so you can move things around on your card freely. Don't you dare put translation/pronunciation/definition/audio/gender/notes/etc all in the same field!)
Straight Reward: Prevent 'ease hell'. It adjusts card ease based on how many times you get it right in a row (a streak/'straight'). It adjusts in batches, so it also works with mobile so long as you log in on the computer every so often.
Morphman: Wrangle Subs2SRS decks into shape. Calculates how many words you know, finds the sentences you know and the ones you should learn. Works best with Chinese and Japanese.
Migaku Dictionary (and Migaku Browser Extension - it isn't strictly an Anki add-on, but it connects to Anki): The dicitionary lets you look up words from the card browser and copy definitions with one click. The Browser Extension allows full audio sentence/definition cards from Netflix/Youtube/etc in a matter of clicks. Killer app for language learners while immersing with media.
New branches, new leaves, same tree
I love how Anki can adapt to different study methods over time. My card collection is a constantly evolving creature. I started with very basic one-word vocabulary cards... Then little by little I added things like pronunciation and example sentences... I moved to sentence cards, then audio cards. I thought things couldn't get any better than mass-importing Subs2SRS decks, especially with Morphman, and now I like the more targeted approach of hand-picked sentences with the Migaku extension.
Old leaves fall. New ones take their place. Branches are added. Flowers and fruits abound. The trunk itself grows larger. But the tree remains the very same.
It's been with me across 4 phones, 3 computers, a tablet and an ebook reader. It has sentences from most of the books I've read in foreign languages over these years, quotes from friends and language partners, heartwarming moments from Cdramas I've watched, and many lines from movies, poems, and songs. I feel a little sentimental about my collection when I think about it in this way - it's been with me through so much, and I've put a lot of myself into it.
The deal you make with Anki
I've never been able to stick with any ~language learning apps~ for a long time. I don't like to stick to someone else's curriculum or someone else's pace, I want to do things my way. I want to design my cards exactly the way I like them. I want to learn from my favourite tv shows, I want to choose exactly the vocabulary that I prioritise.
Anki basically says: OK, choose whatever you want to learn. Set up your cards. And if you agree to check in every day, I'll make sure that material sticks in your memory. That's the deal. Well, I haven't always kept up my end of the bargain - sometimes I check in after a few weeks and find a big stack of cards waiting for me. But when it does work... It just works beautifully.
I hope this was helpful in some way
Lastly, some very quick Settings advice as a reward for reading this far: Keep New Cards/Day low, or they will sneak up on you later. Keep Maximum Interval high. Raise the Interval Modifier higher. Leech Threshold should be low, and the New Interval for Lapses should be at least 10% (mine is 20). Anki works best for long-term memory, not for time-sensitive things like exams. Plenty of people do use it in that way, but I can't give any advice on it :)
And most importantly - you control Anki, don't let it control you. If you're not having fun, if you're getting frustrated and not seeing any progress - You have the power to change things up. Adjust your material, adjust your cards or your settings. Take a break from new cards if you need to. If it's making you really miserable...walk away! It's not meant to be a torture device. It's a tool for you to use as you see fit.
If you're interested in reading more ramblings on Anki, I've written a lot more and shared some of my decks for Persian & Mandarin too.
