I’m not sure if this goes here, or into the regular help section, but recently I’ve made attempts to start using Anki with my Japanese studies and eventually my history studies. I set up automatically making cards, etc. Then when it came to actually using it, I ran into a problem that is literally impossible to google; How do I remember what MY answer was? When I see my “切磋琢磨” card, I guess what the answer is in my head and then check the reading. But when I see that reading, it’s sort of hard to remember what my guess for what the reading was, making problems with grading. It’s the same with probably everything.
Is this a common problem, or do I just have to add a text field and call it a day?
From a learning effectively viewpoint, the major trade-off with adding the text field and increasing your grading accuracy is that card reviews will be slower. You can always think faster than you type.
I also use Anki to review Japanese vocab so I’ll talk about my experiences with that.
Maybe you’re having trouble remembering your mental answer right after thinking it because you just haven’t gotten used to reviewing vocab on Anki yet? I say this because I don’t recall having a problem with remembering what reading I was thinking when grading myself on vocab. But I started 5 years so maybe I did have it in the beginning.
But for a long while now, I have had a slight problem with judging whether I correctly remembered the meaning (I grade myself on both). Often my answer on the meaning is a wordless gestalt of “hmm that kind of feeling kinda similar to that other feeling” and I’ll accept that as correct, if I feel the usage of the word in the example sentence approximately matches my feeling. Grading is pretty fuzzy when my answer isn’t even verbal.
I think my understanding of the meaning will get better over time and as long as I can recognize a word ok, that’s good enough to answer “Good” on vocab review. There’s a trade-off with increasing workload by using too harsh grading criteria too.
Thank you for your incredibly detailed answer. For the time being, it seems like the best option is to try to get used to things first. If it comes down to it, I can add a text field and only use it sometimes if I feel like I’m having difficulty remembering what my guess regarding the reading was. There’s a lot more to think about here then I assumed.
I like to keep a paper notebook on my desk while doing Anki reviews. If my answer is a bit difficult to remember, I write it in the notebook before revealing the back of the card. This has the advantage of re-enforcing the answer via the sense experience of writing. (Of course, it also has the potential disadvantage of re-enforcing a wrong answer if I miss the card!)
Some people can write faster than they type. Besides: writing with your hand is proven to re-enforce learning, whereas typing with the keyboard doesn’t even come close to that.