I am currently at level 15 and loving Wanikani. 1 struggle has been how time consuming it is… I find myself spending good 2 hours daily to keep up (I am aiming for a 8-9 day per level). Luckily working from home helps a lot to manage such workload (yoo-hoo!).
Anyway, when reviewing vocabulary, I always felt like before typing the answer I should spend time recalling BOTH meaning and pronunciation.
For example, WK shows 特選 and asks for the MEANING、but before typing it in, i would spend time recalling BOTH the reading and the meaning.
I recently realized that if i just concentrate on 1 at a time, i can type in faster. Ie i can type とくせん a lot faster if i dont bother thinking about the meaning “special selection”, as my brain does not even register it.
Is that OK though? Will it affect the retention? How do you guys do it?
It’s fine to not recall both meaning and reading at the same time, it’s what I used to do. The one caveat I would like to point out when doing this though is that (at least it feels to me like) your retention will be slightly lower because the amount of times you recall an item will be lower. If you feel overwhelmed with the amount of time you spend on reviews though, it can definitely not hurt to try it. If you feel after a while that you preferred it when you recalled both, nothing is stopping you from switching back
Same. I don’t think it slows me down, because when the word comes up one more time I’ll immediately know it since I just recalled it a few flashcards ago.
I personally think that just going for the category asked will in total be a lot more efficient. It may hurt your retention a bit, but honestly, saving yourself like 1h a day is a fair trade for a potential slight drop in retention.
But as @sour_cat said, if you realize recalling both works better for you, you can just switch back at anytime, to each their own.
You can install the reorder script and set it to 1x1 mode. That way you’ll be asked for the reading and then the meaning immediately after. It saves a ton of time during reviews, almost cuts my review time in half.
I found that when I try to recall both, it’s easier for me to remember special readings and the like. That’s why I’m using the Ultimate Reorder script so that I get the reviews of reading and meaning (in that order) of the same item back-to-back. If you’re worried about the time you need for WK but don’t want to lower your workload, maybe you want to give this approach a try?
I do this too, and even though it obviously lowers retention (since you essentially halve the # of reviews for each item) IMO it’s definitely worth it for the time it saves if you’re still able to have 85%+ retention
I know exactly what you’re saying, I find my brain can’t handle both things at once. And it’s much easier to just not bother. But I rather think I should make more effort, as it’s not making the connections between the sound of the word and the meaning. And then that’s not helping my listening skills at all.
Not both, but I always try to remember reading so I can say “げ かん(下巻 ) is a last volume”.
I don’t try to remember meaning too much when I’m asked for reading.
Yeah, I was a little hesitant to use 1x1 mode at first because of this. But speaking purely from my own experience, I didn’t notice any decline in recall ability once I made the switch. I still get the same % on my reviews as I did before (possibly even slightly higher, because there’s less memory interference that can take place between being tested on reading and meaning). Your experiences may vary, but I think the speed and lowered frustration of 1x1 mode make it worth it.
