Drills, tests and spaced repetition
Understanding spaced repetition
Flashcards Cymraeg uses a scientifically-proven learning method called spaced repetition. This means:
- Cards you find easy will be shown less frequently
- Cards you find difficult will be shown more often
- The system calculates the optimal time to review each card
- This makes the most of your study time and long-term retention
Rating your performance
When studying, you'll rate how well you remembered each card:
Wrong
You didn't remember the word at all. The card will be shown again soon.
Hard
You remembered with difficulty. The card will be shown again relatively soon.
Good
You remembered correctly with some effort. Standard interval increase.
Easy
You remembered easily. The card will have a longer interval before being shown again.
On a computer you can press 1 to 4 instead of tapping: the button lights up so you can see which you chose.
Drills and tests
There are two ways to study, for two different jobs:
Drill: learning new words
From a deck. Choose 3, 6, 9 or 12 words: it teaches them three at a time, through four short stages: Learn (see the English and the Welsh), Recognise (pick the Welsh from four), Remind (one more look) and Recall (type the Welsh from memory, then rate yourself). Words you rated Wrong or Hard get one more go at the end: a look at them all, then you type them once more. You can stop part way: what you've done is saved.
Test: keeping words you've learned
From a deck, a project or your dashboard's Review. You see the English, think of the Welsh, show the answer and rate yourself: Wrong, Hard, Good or Easy. Words due for review come first, and each word then comes back just before you'd forget it. Every rating is saved as you go, so you can stop whenever you like.
On a computer, Space shows the answer, and Enter checks a typed one.
After a drill
The results show how it went and what to do next:
- Recognised and Recalled are kept apart, because picking from four is easier than typing from memory.
- Worth another look lists the words that gave you trouble, with Test these.
- Test all the drill's words straight away, either way: Flip the cards (think of the Welsh, then check) or Type the answers (type each one from memory).
- See these words in sentences opens the deck's sentences for just those words.
Study tips
- Be honest with your ratings: This helps the algorithm work effectively
- Study regularly: Short, frequent sessions are better than long, infrequent ones
- See them at work: a word sticks better in a sentence. Try the deck's Sentences tab, and Practise sentences
Managing your words
- Edit a word: tap it to change the English or the Welsh
- Delete words: tick them and press Delete selected (on a phone, Delete words)
- Sort words: by date added, difficulty, the English or the Welsh
- Your own order: drag projects on your dashboard, and decks in a project, by their grip