There are already a handful of SRS vocab learning tools out there, speaking of Anki, Memrise, iKnow, HouHou and so on… They all have their pros and cons, however, none of them work in the same way as WaniKani does.
That’s why I’m considering developing a new vocab learning application as part of a university project. But first I’d like to know if there’s even demand for such an application.
Here are my thoughts on a WK-like vocab learning app so far:
Main features
Learning
Vocab database: Core 10k.
Just like WaniKani, there will be a leveling system.
As you’re making progress and level up, more lessons will come available (50-100 words per level).
Audio and example sentences will be available as well.
Reviewing
You are shown a Kanji/Kana and have to type in the correct meaning in english (like WaniKani)
OR
you are shown an english word and have to type in the corresponding Kanji/Kana (like KaniWani).
The way the SRS works will also be very similar to WK.
Additional features:
-) add your own vocab words
-) add notes and additional example sentences
-) whatever else may be needed…
Would you use such an application for vocab learning?
YES, but only if it’s free!
YES, I’d pay for that! (less than $3/month)
YES, take all of my money!!! (comment your credit card details below)
Yeah, I’d been wanting something to learn me all the words once I’d finished learning all the letters. I have StickyStudy on my iPad, but it relies too much on my honesty, but instead I’d just flip over the card and go “oh yeah, I knew that” and hit the tick regardless of how close my original thought actually was.
Meh, I have no problem with iKnow. Besides, there’s really no reason to have levels without some logical grouping of information. It works well in WaniKani because you learn a lot of kanji in a level that form words together, but I see no point in an app that just has vocabulary.
And you don’t have to type in anything, it’s just recognition without any recall. Also you could just SRS everything in one afternoon, there is no budgeting…
Now that I think about it, I always wanted to suggest that to Justin (the developer)
Time to give him a call I guess
I think the levels could provide some structure and a goal. That way you don’t see a mountain of vocabulary, but have a feeling of being at a certain level (no pun intended) and have a workload for that level.
It would make sense to structure levels around the WK/JLPT kanji level that way it limits the amount of vocab while providing a form of building block approach to words.
Not only would the kanji in lower level vocab be simpler but it would also contain less kanji per word, overall it would be simpler to learn.
True, but WK is not really meant to teach the most useful vocab; only vocab that best helps drive home the point. That is why there are discussions on the forum about how useless some of the vocab can be in terms of day to day application.
It would probably be a bad idea to build a new product (if it’s to be monetized) that is dependent on WaniKani’s structure or someone’s progress in WaniKani.
i would be more willing to spend money on such a product if it was a one time purchase and no monthly fee. I would invest up to 60$, if it’s good. Of cause it would be ok if you would charge again for expansions (with more content - no bug fixing). I like the idea of levels, maybe sorted into themes like Supermarket, at home, cooking, etc. I wouldn’t want the feature to add my own words though.
But… WK is already a tool for vocab learning. For everything else there’s Mastercard Anki. Or iknow, or memrise. Dunno if I’d be too interested in this, to be honest.
Not trying to dissuade you, but with @hinekidori’s anki approach available and us at KW still intending to allow users to add custom vocab with two-way Ja ↔ En questions in the future - it might be wasted effort?
The SRS aspect is pretty simple to handle offline. It’s the UI and little details (matching conjugated verbs in sentences etc) that’s time-consuming to develop.
