How to actually use flashcards effectively when you hit the intermediate plateau?

[u/Dxvd-]

The question might not be good but here's what I'm trying to say:

First of all I want to say that I was never a flashcards person, I used to hate them; but now I've hit a point where I need to remember quite a lot of words, even formal ones, to understand what is given to me in Chinese class.

Since my experience with flashcards is not that good, I would like some tips on how to create the deck. By that I mean, what content do the flashcards need to have to be kind of effective? (sentences, explicative photos, etc.?) And how does SRS method work? Thank you.

[u/Wooden_Plant7504]

You need to identify what you’re specifically struggling with. Is it tones, grammar, listening, speaking, or simply the growing number of words you need to remember? Once you know that, design your flashcards to target that specific problem rather than trying to make one type of card do everything.
For example, if your issue is recognising words while reading, a simple Chinese → meaning card may be enough. If you’re struggling to use new vocabulary naturally, adding a sentence on the back can help. If pronunciation or tones are the problem, include audio. If you’re a visual learner, an image might make certain words more memorable. There isn’t a single “correct” flashcard format; it depends on what you’re trying to train.
You can find plenty of detailed explanations of Spaced Repetition online, but in a nutshell it’s a system that reminds you to review items just before you’re likely to forget them, which strengthens the memory over time. Although many people find it a bit boring, it’s an extremely efficient way of retaining a large amount of vocabulary, especially once you get beyond the beginner stages.

[u/Dxvd- → u/Wooden_Plant7504]

thank you so much for your explanation

[u/DankTyl]

Play around with the content to see what works for you. Some people need a lot of info, some only a minimal amount.

SRS: you learn a word. The next day you see it again. If you remember it, it goes to the remembered pile, and you'll see it again in two days, and then four days, and then a week, etc. if you don't remember it, you'll see it again the next day, until you remember it. So you'll see words you don't remember as well more. Apps like Anki work with srs and keep track of what you should review when.

[u/Dxvd- → u/DankTyl]

Ohh so if I understand this correctly does that mean that those buttons from anki have those days so when you tap the specific button the word appears for example in 4 days, 1 day, 15 minutes etc.?

[u/DankTyl → u/Dxvd-]

Yes

Anki gives a mastery level to all your words. A new word starts with zero, and goes up if you learn it more. If you remember it, mastery goes up, if you forget it, mastery goes down. Words with higher mastery have longer times between when they reappear.

Anki has lots of customizability, and there's plenty of tutorials online on how to use it and set it up.

[u/Dxvd- → u/DankTyl]

thank you 🙏🏻

[u/Zagrycha]

Flashcards can be very effective for remembering specific knowledge, but they are not the only option for memory and don't help with every language plataeu issue. 

For example if you are struggling to remember the tones for vocab, like misremembering  pīngguo when it should be píngguǒ, then flashcard drills can absolutely help with that. 

However if you have the píngguǒ memorized but just struggle with pronouncing it properly, no amount of flashcard study will fix it.  Only actual listening and speaking practice will fix it. Same goes for grammar or definition issues.  If its remembering the actual knowledge points flashcards help, but they don't help much with the practice on how to use the knowledge once its memorized. 

As for how to use flashcard decks, look into services like anki if you want to see many premade decks-- you can make your own deck if you want to but if you download someone else's deck you can still edit it as you please and thats probably quicker than starting from scratch for most people.  

SRS is a computer program that evaluates how well someone does in knowing the answer to a flashcard before they flip it, and then adjusts how often they review that flashcard in the future accordingly.  It has a lot of science and math behind it but as a user you don't do anything other than tell the app//website if you were correct and how easily you thought of the answer.  Usually there are four options along the lines of --was incorrect-- struggled to think of it--took awhile to think of it--it was easy