Is anki(or similar flash card method) the best way to learn vocabulary?

[thaichalina]

Before i hit full gas on learning thai just wondering what's the best way to learn vocabulary? I'm considering between 2 ways.

First is well-known anki flash program and second method is writing words in a notebook,for example in this way:

บ้าน -baan (F falling tone)- house

and basically just write words like that and learn in that way.And when i want to learn i just try to look at HOUSE word and try to remember in thai.

But i've heard a lot about anki,is their method much better for remembering/learning new words?

[asiaexpat]

Why not use both methods. Anki is very helpful for me but I also use a notebook to record new words and help with spelling. I listen to conversations and record words I do not know, then find the spelling and meaning using Thaidict software then make Anki flash cards to help remember.

[starrdog]

I just read and then look up words I don't understand as I like having context for my vocabulary. Look up the same word several times from different sentences and it eventually seems to stick. Others here have suggested the "Mary Haas Thai Reader" which looked like a really good place to start if you're interested in taking this route.

[CaptHaddock]

Writing new words down in a notebook is an excellent way to help memorize the word the first time you encounter it because it adds the physical channel. The more channels we use to interact with a word, i.e. physical, vocal, aural, visual, etc. the more likely we are to remember it.

But then what? Are you going to go over your old notebooks at some frequency to review words you have learned, but haven't encountered often enough to memorize fully? Some of those words you have got by heart by that point so that reviewing them is a waste of time. Other words you will have forgotten completely so that you will have to learn them again fresh. This is the task that spaced repetition programs, of which Anki is the best, set out to solve. Space rep programs function as flash cards. Your Thai vocabulary is an Anki deck. When you practice with Anki it has scheduled more frequent prompting of the cards that you have got wrong recently and less frequent occurrences of those that you got right. It knows if you remembered the card correctly in one of two ways: you speak the Thai word to the English word prompt and tell Anki whether you got it right or you type the response in Thai characters which Anki can score. So you spend more of your time on words that you don't know well. Makes your study time more efficient. If you use the typing method, which is what I recommend, you will not only learn Thai spelling, but you will learn touch typing in Thai without making any special effort as long as you use the correct finger for each key. If you can touch type English you already know which finger to use for each key.

When reviewing Thai vocabulary you will normally set Anki to prompt with the English word and then type the Thai word in response. However, you will sometimes want to review in the other direction, i.e. saying the English word in response to a prompt of the Thai word. It's easy to do this in Anki.

After you have been working at learning Thai for a few years you will have thousands of words and phrases. I don't think there is a practical way to review a vocabulary of that size without using a computer flash card program. I tried several before settling on Anki as the best of the breed.

Good luck with your Thai study.

[AyG]

Personally I prefer to make flashcards from blank business cards with Thai on one side and English on the other. I can then just slip a bunch of them in my pocket and practice whenever I have a few spare moments.

[CaptHaddock]

Personally I prefer to make flashcards from blank business cards with Thai on one side and English on the other. I can then just slip a bunch of them in my pocket and practice whenever I have a few spare moments.

Or you could use Anki on your mobile which is synced through the cloud with your desktop Anki and practice whenever you have a few spare moments that way.