Thoughts on japanese.io's new SRS?

Japanese Language
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I’ve been using the fancypants Power version of japanese.io for about three months now and I like it. Since my executive functioning sucks, I’ve found it really useful for all the bookkeeping tasks that make language learning hard for me. The day before yesterday, they rolled out a new SRS service.

Two days is still way too soon to judge, of course. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t feel like I’m learning when I use it. The words aren’t sticking like they do here and in my Anki decks. I think it might be because JIO’s system just shows each flashcard once a day, whether you get it right or wrong. I don’t know.

I don’t mean this to knock the site, which is wonderful. In fact, I think this is more of a me problem. But I’m excited to see what JIO will do to improve this service. I think it’ll be a great place to keep learning vocab even after I hit level 60 here.

Has anyone else tried using this new thing? Any thoughts?

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That sounds less like an SRS and more like regular repetition. Is that all there is too it?

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It looks like it does reviews once a day like Anki. The questions that I got right on day 1, I haven’t seen since (although obviously it’s only been two days). The questions that I got wrong on day 1, I saw day 2, which was yesterday, of course. But unlike Anki and WaniKani, JIO’s system doesn’t immediately add incorrect cards back into the deck so I can review them in the same session. That feels super weird.

EDIT: I just got reviews for four more cards that I’ve seen, so this one might space the repetitions out in real-time like Bunpro. I still can’t tell.

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That’s an interesting approach. I can’t say whether it’s better or not but it does provide an alternate approach than something like kitsun.io

I’d love to hear how it goes for you.

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Are you sure you’re seeing right answers 1 day after you answered them? It could be that their minimum SRS interval is 1 day (which tbh rather fast for my taste :sweat_smile:)

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I’m still trying to figure out the intervals myself. The SRS looks comparatively simple in that each word has five levels and those levels promote/demote depending on the answers. But I’m not sure what the algorithm is for when to show the words again. I like the simplicity, though, just because it’s hard for my ego when I forget a WaniKani word that I would’ve burned!

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Hello. I’m on the Japanese.io team. Thanks for trying out our new feature.

Japanese.io uses spaced timings for word reviews in Study. Past review performance is one of several signals used in scheduling and it’s typically the most important one. Our shortest review interval is four hours, but you might get a longer interval if have prior familiarity with a word. For example, if you have taken the vocabulary assessment test or have connected your WaniKani account.

We have built a word familiarity model that we hope will make vocabulary acquisition highly efficient. We have considered making knobs available for those who wish to use “plain SRS only” without other signals.

Thanks for the feedback regarding missed words. It’s a great idea and we will address this in an update very soon.

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Cool; thanks! That’s super helpful and interesting!

One of my goals is learning words from 心理試験, but I’m trying to keep my supplemental vocab learning “parallel” to WaniKani. I’d rather not add words that require kanji that I haven’t studied yet—or words that I know I’ll study later on WaniKani. So if I may suggest another feature: in the “screen words” area, I could really use a “dismiss this word for now” or “move this word to the end” option.

I hope it didn’t seem like I’m badmouthing the site, by the way. I’ve found JIO tremendously useful in organizing my studies, and I’ve enjoyed being a Power user! Before you debuted this SRS, I was manually putting all my starred words in a really detailed Anki deck. So I can already see this new feature saving me a tremendous amount of work and allowing me to redirect my energy!

Thanks for all the work you’ve put into japanese.io so far!

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Incidentally, what’s your preferred way to point out quirks in the vocab entries that seem unintentional? I just encountered 度 as a standalone vocab word. JIO has its furigana as たび, its reading as たんび, and its voice entry as ど. It’s not a big deal, of course, but I’d be happy to help improve the service in whatever small way I can!

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Thanks again for the feedback.

We’ve been considering a “dismiss word” feature and we might add this shortly. By the way, we’ve implemented the workflow change that you requested; missed words are now kept in the flashcards session.

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Thanks. We’re considering adding a “feedback” feature for this. Feel free to get in touch with us directly on the in-app chat.

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Oh, dang, that was quick. Thank you so much!!

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I really like this feature, as you can easily study the vocabulary for a specific text, music lyrics for example.

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