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Use Spaced Repetition System in Chinese Learning

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A common issue a lot of Chinese language learners face is how to retain the vocabulary and all the rules. It seems to be so difficult to remember all those characters or learning points even if it might have seemed to be easy at the beginning. Unfortunately it is an unavoidable issue for all the new things we learn. Forgetting is a natural process of any learning. Whoever successfully manages to beat the process of forgetting wins. Here I would like to introduce Spaced Repetition System (SRS) in Chinese learning which can effectively increase Chinese knowledge retention.

What is Spaced Repetition System

Spaced Repetition System “is a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect.” (wikipedia)

How to Beat Forgetting Process and Increase Retention

As the “Typical Forgetting Curve for Newly Learned Information” graph suggests, the knowledge newly obtained will be lost gradually. At the end of the first day, only 80% can be kept in the memory. Without any intervene, the knowledge continues going away. By the end of day 3, almost all of the obtained knowledge will be gone (what a shame, right?)

However, if what was learned at first is reviewed one day later, it will be retained much longer as it would be freshly reinforced in our memory. This time, if no further review is introduced, the obtained knowledge will be lost at the end of Day 7 instead of day 3.

If what was newly learned is reviewed again on Day 4 (2 days after)? The graph suggests , the retention rate is much higher: 80% of what’s learned is still remembered by day 6.

What happens when we conduct the 3rd review on Day 6? You can see that the retention rate is increased greatly and the knowledge is more likely to be mastered.

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How Can We Use SRS in Chinese Learning

In order to keep the retention of Chinese learning, we can adapt Spaced Repetition System and have reviews at increased intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material.

For example, when learning Chinese grammar, it makes a lot of sense to learn a certain number of rules on the first day and review them the next day. Have another review in 2 days again in 4 more days. In such a way, the rules are likely well kept in memory.

Use SRS in Chinese Vocabulary Building

Like learning any other languages, a big task is for Chinese learning is to memorize its vocabulary. And there are so many Chinese characters to learn, not only their pronunciation, but also how to write them in the right order. SRS is extremely powerful in building Chinese vocabulary as the scientifically proven system defeats the forgetting curves with intervene of spaced-out repetition.

When we first learn new Chinese vocabulary, we can make a list of them. On Day 2, we review all the vocabulary on the list. We can mark the ones we remember so not to spend too much time on them. On Day 4, we review the same list and mark the ones we still remember. On Day 6, we do a last review with special focus on the ones unmarked. You will be amazed to see how many of them you’ve remembered!

Looking for A Program with SRS Incorporated?

If you want to learn Chinese characters and if you are looking for a program which helps increase the character retention by incorporating the spaced repetition system, you may be interested in our Chinese Character Building Courses.

Chinese Character Building Course – 3 level courses you can choose based on your level. This is self-paced study. Once you enroll, you can follow the curriculum and study on your own pace.