Who Wants to Challenge Me to a Race?

To some degree, I think it’s possible to use the reorder script responsibly, but I honestly don’t think most people do. One look at the “Reorder Scriptaholics Anonymous” thread will make this apparent if it’s not already. Learning vocab that uses the kanji you learn reinforces the kanji, and if the goal is to learn Japanese, you need to learn vocab anyway, so why not learn it at the optimal time so that it’s learned in conjunction with and reinforces the kanji? Learning the language is more important than winning the race, but I’m going to try my hardest to do both.

With that said, if you want to use it, especially if it prevents you from giving up entirely, more power to you.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m definitely going to learn this language!

I also do vocab on Anki every day, and to a lesser degree I study grammar once in a while if I have time as well.

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Sign me up for group 3! =D

I will be using scripts though.

I am dyslectic, so need ignore for typos. I always say the answer out loud and only use it if I actually said it correctly and just hit the wrong key. Said te became re, basically typo rather than not remembering how it was spelled. I sometimes use it on meaning if it is an acceptable synonym I just hadn’t added yet (only if it is valid enough to actually be added, it MUST have the correct meaning)
This script can be abused. It is up to the user to keep honest

Ultimate timeline. I use it to see when my critical items come in, and when I get reviews (trying to avoid big bulks for better remembering and learning)
I don’t see this as an abusive script, even though you can hover and click items. You can always access them either way.

Lesson Reorder. I do radicals first, then kanji and then Vocab. I do all radicals as soon as they become available, then wait a minimum of 4 hours before doing half the kanji, wait another 4 hours before doing second half. Vocabs I do 10 in a sitting and 3 times a day with a minimum of 4 hours a part. This put me at zero lessons before guruing the radicals. I do all second batch kanji in one sitting, but repeat the vocab system once the first Kanji set Guru and thus hit zero about a day before level up. This way all items get more attention and I avoid big bulks. To me this helps me learn the items better.
This script can be abused. If you neglect vocabs completely you will reach new levels but without learning the vocabulary, and thus not really learn much at all as the vocab is where your kanji knowledge is put to real use. Make sure to reach a zero at least once per level.

Real Numbers. Yeah, this one has absolutely no negative sides or possibly abuses. It simply removes the 42+ and tells you exactly how many lessons and reviews there are. The 42+ is fun the first week, after that it got old and in the way.

These are my scripts and how I chose to use them. I like how we are encouraged to tackle the material in our own ways =)

If you chose to go completely script free I would recommend to stop after the radicals are done on first half and after the kanji on second, and space out the last vocabs if possible. This really does help with comprehension and the reviews coming back.

I had to reset from level 19 cause I did all lessons in a sitting each level, and the massive reviews just killed me D=
I also found doing it that way really hurt the ability to remember each item. Small reviews sittings is much better for retention than doing 100+ in a sitting. So not using scripts is actually not better for retention and learning if you do all in a go instead. If not using scripts it would be better to go slower. Scripts make it possible to optimally learn while going fast really.

Your are in!

Yeah, learning is more important than winning the race for sure!

I’d say I use the reorder script pretty responsibly, but who knows.

When I finish a level I get a pile of ~100 vocab, all radicals, and some of the kanji. I start with doing all the lessons for radicals, and some of the kanji. Then, I do a couple of vocab lessons every day. When I guru my radicals I use the script to do all kanji lessons. At the end of a level I want to be finished with all lessons. This way I don’t have to do a ton of lessons at once to level up quickly, and instead I can spend that time on other things.

I personally don’t think there’s a perfect way of learning, everyone has to find their way. So, this works for me, but if it doesn’t work for you, do it your own way!

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I am the same way I also do not use the reorder script for similar reasons that you sated.

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With the new lesson order update, if the user doesn’t designate the shuffled option for lessons, WK will automatically make users do the previous levels vocabulary first, then they would have access to the new level’s content. It was a new update that had some people up in arms a couple a months ago. So if he wants to quickly level up without any scripts, he would have to complete all the previous level’s items in the same sitting as his new radical lessons…

I am the same way I also do not use the reorder script for similar reasons that you sated. Although I do recognize the use of reorder I think far too many people ignore a lot of it till it is too late

but that is the way Wanikani is intended.

I’m not sure about the purpose of your response. Obviously it was WK’s intention because they changed the settings to reflect this. My comment was to clarify why crollins7 the rationale behind doing large batch of lessons as an attempt to go fast without using the reorder script.

Yeah my bad I should not go to the forums so early in the morning haha…

No problem. Been there done that, haha.

Yeah, I know. I just supposed that he would want to use the reorder script.

There was a time when I didn’t use scripts because I didn’t know how to install them, so I know the feeling of doing 50+ vocab + radicals in a row. It’s much more heathier for someone’s learning to use the reorder script to see the radicals first (considering full speed).

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Oh I see. I misunderstood. Sorry about that.

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I just have more faith in Koichi as a teacher than I do with programmers on the forums. They are talented and all, but it’s hard to match his ability to see the overall picture. He could always implement that script into WaniKani as a standard feature if he felt that it was better for learning in the long run. He’s undoubtedly aware of its existence. People want to have their cake and eat it too, but sometimes things are uncomfortable because they’re good for us. 100 new lessons in one sitting one or two times a week isn’t that bad anyways. It just takes an hour, maybe two tops.

The spacing out theory is something we do cause it is better for learning according to research, not cause it is easier.
Sure, I’m glad you have fate in Koichi, but don’t say we are wrong just cause we are not the creator or cause the creator hasn’t implemented it yet. They don’t need to, cause there’s a script for it :wink:
They encourage us to use scripts, as long as we use our brains.

Link This is just the first I found. It is the leading theory and no one ever said the opposite. Sitting down and do one huge session is doable, sure, but you are more likely to forget what you learned; this is proven. Spacing out means more attention per item and giving them time to set so you remember them longer. The SRS takes care of the rest, but again, getting 500 reviews one day and 20 the next is not the optimal learning.

I commend you for having your own conviction and sticking to it, it is just that you tell us we are wrong for the wrong reasons. Do follow your path, just know it is not the most beneficial method. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, but spacing works better according to studies. I hope you understand.

In regards to the article, I would agree if we were talking about 8-12 hour sessions as discussed in the article, but 1-2 hour sessions aren’t exactly cramming. I would agree that “spacing works” if we’re talking about SRS, but what you’re talking about is different, and I think it only applies to intensive cram sessions (as experienced by procrastinators in college or people that leave WaniKani for a week without going on vacation mode), not necessarily a 1-2 hour new lesson session.

As I stated earlier, if you feel that it helps you, more power to you, especially if it prevents you from giving up completely.

We’re all entitled to our own opinions, and I respect yours because you’re here learning, which shows you’re not the average person, so even if I disagree, I have to respect the tenacity. I don’t mean to discredit anyone’s effort to elevate myself; everyone here in this thread is putting in a lot of hard work.

No, when I mean SRS I say SRS. I’m talking about spacing out lessons, only doing a few per sitting rather than all 100+ in one go. So guess you missed the point completely. Yes, during the SRS we get a mix of items, and are supposed to get a mix. But if you do all lessons in one go A: you will forget more and B: get huge review sessions rather than smaller ones which will make it harder to recall.

It might not be apparent now, but once you hit Painful (lvl 11-20) is when doing all at once really start to hurt. I did too, cause I didn’t use that script first time around. Painful soon became death and I had to reset.
Now I try follow the guidance of the high levels, cause they are the ones who know what it really feels like to study with WaniKani, and take their guidance. Now I’m back on Painful yet it still feels pleasant. I usually have around 150 reviews on “Next Day” at all times and a near perfect score/ no current leeches.

Sure, spacing can still be done using no scripts, but means taking more time since the radicals comes after vocab. With a script Radicals can be done first, and then do the rest spaced out for better learning. This is the point I was trying to make. If you can keep a consistent 90%-100% score on reviews then it works for you and you can keep doing it that way. If you start getting low scores know that you can still keep to the mighty Kouichi’s teaching by taking more time per level by spacing out the lessons. This doesn’t in any way go against the original system, and they never specify if they intend for us to do it all in a sitting or space it out. It will cost more days per level though, but learning the material is more important than levels.

I see you edited your post before I finished writing, so maybe you got the point better on a second read.
But as for the edit, yeah, the article gives some specifics, but the point still stands. And I didn’t look for one that worded it perfectly for my need, just asked “one big study session vs several small” in google to find one that was decent enough, I do challenge you to find one from a reputable source to say the opposite. When it comes to language studies there are more specific resources we could find, but the result would still be the same for the question “one big vs many small” learning/study sessions.

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So long level 6. You’ve been a real pain in the ass and I’ll miss you like I would a hole in the head.

So this level is where I finally had to change my study and review method. I breezed through the first part of it (as I’d done with the earlier levels) by simply blasting through all answers paying little heed to whether I got answers wrong or whatever. After about a week the wanicrab app told me I would level up in two days, the next day still 2 days, and the next and the next. In the end I spent 20+ days doing one that it seemed at first I would easily complete in 8 or 9.

And of course the problem was by blasting through it in that way and giving little heed to whether an answer was incorrect or not (cos i’d get it next time) I was like studying in quicksand. As of now I’ve started slowing down (and not blasting through all lessons in one sitting as I was previously). So level 6 you were a ballache but you taught me some valuable lessons so for that I thank you but now please kindly f*** off and don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out :slight_smile:

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In the beginning I also thought that there was no need for scipts and whatever, I just did all lessons in one sitting, but as was already said here, the retention rate for the first couple of reviews was terribly low. Also I would get massively stacked reviews that are just intimidating and lower the motivation.

At level 12 I was struck down by vacation and getting ill afterwards and after that I decided that I had to find a way to increase the fun I have again.
So I installed some scripts: Ignore → for typos/synonyms. As I was doing my reviews on the app most of the time before anyway there was no reason not to install this script. I know it can be abused, but that would be damaging myself, so why should I do it.
Lesson Reorder: So I could focus on the relevant lessons and spread the others over time. For example I just leveled up yesterday. I instantly did the radical lessons, but no more, because I had other things to do. Today I did the kanji lessons, but because I was lacking time again that was it. But before guruing the radicals, my lesson count will go down to 0. At that point I will be able to do the kanji lessons and get a couple vocabs every day.
Review reorder: This script is solely for the purpose of speeding up. I will only use it when critical reviews are in a big stack and I have little time, so I can do them and deal with the rest when I have time again.
Ultimate timeline: This is just to see when my reviews come up, so I can plan my other activities according to my reviews.

So due to installing this scripts I was able to be more relaxed while doing WK. Also my retention rate was increased. While I had about 80% review accuracy before, I get about 90% now (and that is not only due to the ignore script, because as I said I was able to use it in the app before anyway). And I was even able to increase my speed, which might not seem that important, but it is a great motivational facotr for me.


So without scripts WK would be way more inconvenient and much less motivating for me.

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And now that we are talking about scripts I think I will say this here: I don’t remember the name of the script that enabled you to do so, but never use a script that lets you “derandomize” the order of your reviews.

It started innocently, “I don’t have much time now, I will use it to make this faster, this is not cheating!”… wrong. My brain got lazier every day and in the end I was unable to do lessons without it. The result was catastrophic and I had to reset… like half a yer or a year later, when I regained my motivation again. What a waste of time… :confused:

I’m saying this after @Dadung post because I think it was one of this scripts that let’s reorder your reviews, and these are the ones I will never install again.

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