iKnow: The Best Japanese Vocabulary Flashcard Site on the Web
18. Nov, 2008
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We’ve all been through it. We’ve all experienced it. Studying vocabulary can be a huge drag. There are tons of different resources for vocab studying, but none of them out there are really really good. Usually, you have to input all the information yourself (which takes longer than just studying without flashcards), or you just study and forget to go back. No vocabulary resource has been so streamlined and so well put together before iKnow.co.jp, which, of course, is what we’ll be looking at in pretty good detail today.
If you’ve ever had trouble with vocabulary, iKnow will change that. If you think you’ve been doing fine all this time, you’ll soon realize that it can only get better for you.
Here’s why iKnow is so good at pile driving kanji / vocabulary into the mat (is my WWF vocab okay?). Firstly, iKnow hits vocab from all angles. Hands on learner, visual learner, auditory learner… doesn’t matter. There’s something for everyone. In fact, if you use all these angles to your advantage, you’re only solidifying and remembering recently learned vocab more efficiently and better. I don’t know how often I forget vocab I’ve just learned. iKnow prevents this as much as possible.
The Algorithm
One of the neat features you’ll experience on iKnow is “the algorithm.” Sounds like something from middle school math, but a lot more useful. iKnow keeps track of your studies. Depending on if you do good or bad, it will have you study things more (or less), and tell you when you should study again. You are actually given a schedule of sorts to help motivate you and time your learning, so you can keep that vocab from falling out of your brain. There are some other flashcard programs that maybe do half of this. iKnow is the first to go this far, and it really makes a huge difference in your learning patterns!
iKnow Flashcard System
One thing I really like about iKnow’s basic flashcard system is that it doesn’t trust you. Why should it? When you say you know something, it tests you. As you are doing better and better, the testing gets more and more difficult. It keeps track of what you get right and wrong, helps you learn the things you don’t know so well, and spits you out a better person.
It times you, then keeps track of your data so that next time it knows what to test you on next time. I didn’t study my last set of words for a little while, and when I came back today, it had me do a review. It also added a “maybe” button for me, because it knew I kinda sorta forgot them. The machine is too smart…
Dictation
If you’re more the hands on type (or want to practice listening more), dictation is one of iKnow’s shiniest points (though they are all pretty shiny). Dictation has you fill in the blanks (a voice actor reads you the sentence) which gives you a whole other way to practice your vocab lists. Don’t worry if you don’t have the Japanese keyboard settings up and running on your computer. iKnow has you type in romaji, at which point it converts everything automatically. Pretty snazzy, right?
Now, the dictation problems get more difficult as you do better and better. Eventually, you’ll be filling out the entire sentence, so be sure to stop and practice everything a few times before you try and move on. My style of learning really clicks with this way of practicing, so this one’s definitely my favorite. Not all lists have dictation available (especially if you are using a custom list), but there are plenty that do have it to make it a good experience.
Brain Speed
This style of learning doesn’t work all that great with me, but if you want a little more pizzaz, and like high pressure situations, check out Brain Speed. This takes your vocab list and pits you against time to choose the correct translation of a vocab word. The better you do, the faster it gets. As you move along, you’ll be encouraged by cheesy affirmations (nothing wrong with that). If speed is your game, check this one out. You can also compete for high scores, which adds a little edge.
Making Your Own Lists
One of the best features of iKnow is the ability to create your own custom vocab lists. iKnow makes it super easy to do this – much easier than anything I’ve seen before. All you have to do is type in the word you are searching for (can be in Japanese or English), click the plus button, and then poof! it’s added to your custom list. This could be really useful for people who are studying via a textbook (just add new vocabulary to your iKnow lists and studying will be a breeze), but really I could see anyone finding a good application for this one. There’s so much potential for this.
The best part is that you don’t need to add a bunch of your own information. All you have to do is find the word you want, click on it, and all of a sudden you have a word with examples, translation, and everything you’d ever want on a flashcard plus more. I’m never making my own flashcards again. Let’s keep those trees alive.
Cons
There isn’t anything bad about iKnow, though there are some things that could be a little stronger. iKnow tries to be a social experience, and in some ways they do a good job (i.e. sharing your custom lists with other people and building up content). Other sections just don’t feel all that useful, though I imagine there’s going to be improvements in the future. One section, which is the journal category, doesn’t really seem to have a purpose. The social aspect is definitely there, and important, but it also has a little ways to go. Don’t let that stop you from using the hell out of iKnow, though. You won’t find anything better.
Conclusion
I’m not sure what you’re waiting for, and I’m not sure why you bothered reading this far. You should be practicing your Japanese vocabulary over at iKnow right now.
Also, here’s a few lists. The first two I made for my students over at eduFire, which they use to practice their vocabulary (or, they are supposed to be using. Tsk tsk). The other three are just good lists for beginners to take a look at. If you’re more advanced, you’ll just have to deal with it (and go find lists made just for you).
Oh, and don’t forget to log in and register before you start. You want it to keep track of your progress, right?
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