Memrise Flash Cards

I am trying a new flash card website called Memrise It is a free online flash card program / system. The first time I used it I didn't like it much...but returning to it I have found it useful. To make your own card set is not as easy as it could be, but I persevered and ended up getting useful set for NPCR lesson 16. There are many wordlists already created for HSK and multiple Chinese text books. I prefered to use my own as I much prefer my pinyin with tone marks instead of numbers.

The learning methodology behind Memrise is that it uses memory techniques to optimise learning. It uses spaced repetition system. As well as this it has an interesting interface with a garden metaphor. So you plant seeds in a green house, plants in a garden and water plants. It is expressing the the growth of you memories. The idea is to experience the flash cards in a dynamic environment. The Memrise Blog explains all this in some detail.

Something I haven't explored in detail yet is the Mem Stream a page where you can make mnemonics and have them rated by other language learners. There is also a Leaderboard which has your ranking out of all the users for the day, week, month and alltime. At present I am 4102^nd....I was 6532^nd yesterday.

So I am going to persist with Memrise for a while to see if it helps me learn my vocabulary. I will of course also contine to use Quizlet ( I really like the tests that can be generated) and Hanlexon to make hanzi practice sheets and lists.