What is Anki?
Anki is a computer program and phone app in which you can study flashcards. These flashcards can either be downloaded or you can create your own.
Flashcards are a system where you can study an English word and then see a photo or the translation into your own language. If you remember the word, it will appear again in a few days or weeks. If it’s a difficult word then it will appear again in a few minutes for you to repeat.
In summary, it’s a fantastic way to increase your vocabulary.
My Study Method
You can find your own method using Anki to learn English, but below, I will explain what I use in my own language learning.
Learn a new word or new grammar from language lesson / reading / listening.
Create or find several example sentences
Add the sentences to your Anki deck and also add a translation
Study your deck every day
How to Use Anki
You can download Anki here for your computer.
Or you can download it on your phone’s app store (note that you have to pay for the iPhone version)
Here’s what my Anki app looks like. To create your first deck (course) click “Create Deck” at the bottom then give it a name.
Then click “Add” to input some vocabulary.
This is where you can start adding your own vocabulary. I’d recommend keeping it simple and using the Front to add your English words and sentences and then add the translated word on the Back.
Add as many as you like.
Once you’re done, close the window and return to the deck’s main page and click “Study Now”.
Now you can study your words. Anki works best if you study the cards every day.
If it’s a hard word, click “Hard” and the card will show again in 1 minute. You can also check if the card is “good” or “easy” and it will show the card further in the future.
If you want to study more or fewer cards each day, you can change this in the settings on the Deck page.
Good luck with your studies! I hope Anki will help you improve your English vocabulary as much as it’s helped me over the past 10 years with my languages.
Hi! Really cool tutorial. Thanks! I don’t manage to use it every day. I have too many other tasks to do. Listen to podcasts, watching youtube videos, and more.
Thanks! The trouble is when you don’t study with Anki every day, the reviews can build up and it gets a bit overwhelming. But it’s probably a good idea to prioritise those other methods.