Reflections on study methods

Posted on November 30th, 2004 by Sacha Chua

I think I’m overdrilling the kanji. I need to finish the chuukyuu
homework in less time, though. According to my timeclock (absolutely
wonderful, that thing is!), this is how I spent my day yesterday:

0:38:30	Kanji lesson 25: Review
0:39:38	Take my laundry down and iron it
0:02:43	Kanji lesson 25: Second review
0:38:12	Kanji lesson 26: 1st pass
0:22:07	Dinner
0:31:04	Chuukyuu homework 13
0:06:35	Kanji lesson 26: 2nd pass
0:18:56	Chuukyuu homework 14
0:31:12	Kanji lesson 27: 1st pass
1:08:55	Chuukyuu homework 15

for a total of around 5 hours and much tiredness.

Perhaps I can use electronic flashcards instead, although I won’t be
able to sort it that easily. Instead of sorting, I can perhaps skip
over stuff I already know. Using flashcard.el’s Leitner method will
result in overdrilling again. I should practice writing based on the
reading, as that will also take care of making sure I learn onyomi.

Maybe I should make two passes per group of five kanji, then one pass
through the whole thing. After that, I’ll do the homework. Review is
done as one pass of writing through the whole thing.

I’m almost out of word cards. I’ll need to either stock up on them or
think of an electronic way to do this. I need quick access to the
correct answer and a way to keep track of my progress. I have to
resist the temptation to hack up something quickly. I shouldn’t be
thinking about writing a program to do the job. (Once a programmer,
always a programmer)…

Mmkay. As for optimizing my chuukyuu homework: I should probably fill
the vocabulary part all in one go. If I keep the computer open, I can
use it to look up pronunciation. I should also review all of the
grammar using the web-based training notes, as they provide just the
bare essentials. When in doubt, I can turn to the paper version.

Today:

- Get my Chuukyuu chapter time down to 20 minutes.

- Break down my kanji study time into the time it takes me to copy the

kanji down, the time it takes me to make a first pass and the
retention rate of such, the time it takes me to make a second pass,
and how much time until I feel reasonably happy with my progress.

- Use another method for my second set of kanji: groups of five in

between Chuukyuu questions. Track total time.

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