Passed German exam. Happy, thankful to Mnemosyne-crew, and most of all: I
will easily maintain or improve my skill-level in German in the future :-)
/ Henrik
On Monday, 22 April 2013 21:06:27 UTC+2, Henrik in Oslo wrote:
>
> (Inspired by Tom Catos posting about retention rate)
>
> I have for more than 10 years use Spaced Repetition Learning Software
> (SRLS).
>
> For the past 12 months I have studied German. I have
>
> - followed two good courses at Goethe Institut ("B1" and "B2")
>
> - had some private tutoring
>
> - used Mnemosyne extensively: Entered ~ 9 000 learning items (German), ~ 7
> 000 of them active right now.
>
> - ~ 130 items per day (includes Italian and history)
>
> - used Mnemomsyne tags actively in order to prioritise
>
> - I intend to take an oral exam (German) in 2-3 weeks and I am fairly
> confident I will pass
>
> - my German will keep improving the coming years
>
> I have previously learned Italian, more or less following the same process
> (using Supermemo). It took a lot longer to learn Italian (I had no
> background knowledge, Italian is further from my mother tongue, Norwegian,
> there is less material available). I have now also "learned more about
> learning a language". Over the years I have adjusted my approach
> considerably. Below are my main points (learning is individual, we all need
> to find out "what works for me"):
>
> *1) Using SRLS, my aim is a retention rate no lower than 95%.***
>
> Supermemo uses the term "*leeches*" for the stubborn learning items that
> one systematically tends not to remember. Now I periodically keep an eye on
> my "leeches": Are they badly formulated? Do I have the necessary
> "surrounding" and "supporting" knowledge? Some I simply give a
> "Priority-2"-tag and put on hold until I am more ready. Others I
> re-formulate (would be nice if Mnemosyne allowed "copy-items" and/ or
> "Reset learning"). I may also supplement with a different approach (use
> picture/ sound). Some I write down (yes, good old handwriting) and look
> through every now and then. I find that changing the learning-context can
> do wonders...
>
> *2) For me, language is primarily spoken***
>
> I listen to native-speakers. I search for learning situations (now I have
> German friends, of course). I am not shy to make mistakes. Mnemosyne with
> sound is for me powerful and useful. *Interesting how often I (in a
> real-life situation) cannot find a phrase that I really know well when
> going through my daily Mnemosyne-lesson..*.
>
> *3) Some textbooks are really good***
>
> For German I used an OCR scanner to grab excellent text-book material into
> PC... and some of it all the way into Menmosyne learning items. I tried to
> work ahead of classes and I was well prepared. And of course I still repeat
> stuff we "learned" in August. *A pity so few text-books are digital. *
>
> I also find good material online (one has to be critical of quality
> though).
>
> *4) "It is easier to learn a language when you already now it"***
>
> Now I am really focused on learning basics and the easy stuff first. That
> foundation then provides the platform to progress from. Therefore: I reduce
> my leeches. I am not yet ready for them.
>
> I cram sentences like: "I am sorry, could you please repeat that/ could
> you please speak very slowly/ do you think you could express it
> differently" etc. And I use them.
>
> *5) Language is context***
>
> I have few single-word items in my database, put perhaps *10 small
> sentences *for *each important term. *I tend to build knowledge clusters
> (areas of interest, developing from basic, primitive language to more
> mature / advanced within this cluster.
>
> *6) Passive learning comes before active, and that is ok***
>
> As children we were bombarded with language that we did not quite
> understood, only slowly were we able to understand it, *then *use it.
>
> Typically with Mnemosyne I try to find interesting texts and
>
> a) I start by making "Cloze" cards. If leechy: I provide hints. Sometimes
> I start with easy-clozes in a difficult text and then add harder clozes to
> same text (card) as time progresses
>
> b) Then I make more traditional "front-to-back" items (usually short
> sentences), nearly always first from foreign language to familiar
> language. Tab separated txt is very efficient for pre-editing and input to
> Mnemosyne
>
> c) After a while Mnemosyne can inform me ("Easiness" and "Lapses") which
> of the front-to-back items are ready to enter my "active" knowledge, and
> stay there.... Browse, identify, right-click and convert card-type to
> "front-to-back and back-to-front".
>
> *7) Grammar is language in use, not just rules to remember***
>
> I learn both. Cloze is really useful in "filling in" the correct
> grammatical conjugation in a context.
>
> *8) Perhaps the main benefit for me of using Mnemosyne (and previously)
> Supermemo:***
>
> It has given me (a fairly untidy person) a much more *systematic approach*to
> learning.
>
> Now I spend 10-20 minutes EVERY day (sometimes a lot more when inputting
> stuff, tidying up etc)
>
> I feel that I spend time on useful and relevant learning material (not
> stuff that is too easy or to difficult)
>
> Whatever interesting, useful pieces of knowledge I learn: It is really
> nice to know that it is very unlikely that I will come in the position so
> familiar to many of my fellow language course participants over the years:
> "I took this course x, years ago, but I have forgotten most of it"
>
> Potential problem: Addiction.* I wonder if I can learn in any other way*.
>
> *Thanks to Peter and all the rest of you for providing this excellent
> learning tool.
> *
>
> I would like to hear other stories and experiences.
>
> / Henrik in Oslo
>
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