🎴 In defense of Anki, a response to Luca Lampariello

Everyone’s learning journey is different and I am married to Anki

Good morning,

Luca Lampariello made a video called Why I Don't Use Anki to Learn Vocabulary (And Why You Shouldn't Either), who argues that he never uses Anki or any space repetition system software. I really enjoyed watching it, although I do disagree with a few points.

I have been using Anki daily for the past couple of years and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I’ll answer his arguments point by point. If you’d like to listen to his video first, here it is:

⌛️ Assumption 1: Making Anki flashcards wastes learning time.

The first point he makes is that making flashcards wastes time you could have spent practising the language. You have to fill the front with the card, the back of the card, add an image, add the audio etc. It could take several minutes for a single Anki card.

→ Be a minimalist, not a perfectionist

I usually take 15 seconds max to create a card. I find something interesting, copy it, add the translation, done. The default google text-to-speech will serve as audio to help with memorisation. 

📚 Assumption 2: The size of your deck will get out of control.

He argues that adding new cars can become addictive, and that reviewing old cards can become a chore. These seem to be two aspects of the same issue: the size of your Anki deck getting out of control. 

→ It balances out eventually

You might have this issue when you're just starting to build your deck. In my experience, it balances itself out. When I have lots of cards to review, I just don't add more. 

→ You have control over your reviews

Something he doesn't mention is that you can choose how many new cards you want to learn every day. And it's true that people who use spaced repetition sometimes learn 10-100 cards every day. I learn one single new card a day for each deck.

→ My daily Anki time

• Korean: 10 min (30–40 sentences)

• Other languages: 5 min (15-20 sentences)

• Total: 15 min

💬 Assumption 3: Flashcards take language out of context.

I've been wanting to talk about this. He says that flashcards take the words out of context. Indeed, the typical flashcards decks are isolated words with their main translation. If you want to add a specific definition, it would take even more time.

→ How to always remember the context

I dont write words on my flashcards - I write full sentences. No premade deck, only sentences that make sense to me. For example, I heard in a TV show: I remember the context of the scene and don't need to add a picture, even if my translation is not perfect. 

→ The more personal, the better

When I'm speaking, if I don't know how to say something, I'll ask a native speaker or look it up. I'll add the card to my deck and I will always remember why I needed it in the first place.

📵 Assumption 4: Brain-friendly learning strategies make SRS apps irrelevant

At the end of the video, he shares his bidirectional translation method as an alternative to SRS. 

→ Why Anki works best for me

It's not easy to find materials that I want to translate. I don't want to spend a tonne of time picking the perfect resource but I want to study something that's interesting to study the whole week. Also, translating takes a long time for me, although it's a good exercise. On the other hand, a 15-min Anki session allows me to review so many situations I've seen or heard. 

📆 Daily studying is a constraint of SRS

Skipping a day can become overwhelming. I've used this as motivation to study every single day for at least like 10 minutes - for years. However, I understand that it is not feasible for everyone and that it can be challenging to keep up with the cards if you miss a day. SRS are designed for daily use. If it is not an option, consider adapting the method or reviewing fewer cards.

🃏 So what should you do?

Generating flashcards has also been helpful in reviewing new concepts, allowing me to anchor my knowledge and identify areas where I need to improve. That said, everyone's learning journey is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. Try things out, experiment, and let me know what works for you!

Best,

Lou

✍️ Quote of the Week

Some people say, How can you live without knowing? I do not know what they mean. I always live without knowing. That is easy. How you get to know is what I want to know.”

Richard Feynman, The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist