Since I am about to add a feature to my website that will allow users to print flash cards and vocabulary lists with example sentences, I spent some time thinking about what role these popular methods play in language learning. Personally, I have learned a lot through digital flash cards on apps like Anki and Kanjibox, but I have also wasted plenty of time and energy on low-value activities like creating flash cards and studying isolated words on flash cards.
I came up with three principles for using these tools effectively, and I would be interested in hearing yours. Do you use flash cards or vocabulary lists to study languages? If so, how do you use them? What information should an ideal flash card contain? Here are mine:
(1) Always study vocabulary in the context of real example sentences; never study isolated words.
(2) Beware of using flash cards to "go through the motions" of studying, a form of productive procrastination.
(3) Memorize example sentences, but never memorize definitions.
-- Ryan