Overview of the Flash Process
Copyright 1989, 1992, Bob and Nora LeChevalier
c/o The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 (703)385-0273
Revised January, 1992.
Purpose of this Document
This document describes the basic structure of the 'Flash' technique for
learning language vocabulary, originally developed by Dr. James Cooke
Brown. This process has been demonstrated to be a most effective technique
of flash card management for learning language vocabulary. The general
features of the process are described in this document, along with hints
for flash card users who wish to apply this technique to learning Lojban
vocabulary, thereby allowing it to serve as a standalone document for such
users. For users of LogFlash, this document describes the underlying
structure of the program's method of teaching you the vocabulary, allowing
the LogFlash User's Manual to concentrate on actual operation of the
program.
The Flash Card Ladder
The 'Flash' technique uses the basic paradigm of a 'ladder'. You start
with all words that you are trying to learn at the bottom of the ladder.
Dividing the words intro manageable groups, you work each group up the
rungs of the ladder, attempting to get each word to the top of the ladder.
Everytime you get a word right, it moves up one rung. Everytime you miss a
word, it drops to the bottom of the ladder.
Each rung of the ladder is called a 'lesson pile', because using flash
cards, all of the words for that rung will be kept in a single pile.
(Pragmatically, flash card users will use rubber bands or other fasteners
to keep piles together during the several weeks that you will be using the
technique. Users of LogFlash let the computer to keep track of which pile
each word is in.)
The following shows the basic ladder structure. The LogFlash program uses
several variations of this structure, which will be discussed in the
instructions for that program.
| |
|------ Under Control ------|
| |
|-------- Recall 1 ---------|
| |
|------ Recognition 3 ------|
| |
|------ Recognition 2 ------|
| |
|------ Recognition 1 ------|
| |
| New Words Drop Back |
Lesson types
There are two kinds of lesson used in the 'Flash' technique. In a
'Recognition' lesson, you will see a Lojban word, and attempt to recognize
it, identifying an English keyword that is closely associated with the
meaning. In a 'Recall' lesson, you will be given that English keyword, and
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will attempt to recall the corresponding Lojban word. Recall lessons are
significantly more difficult than Recognition lessons, although repeating a
word in a few Recognition lessons before first attempting that word in a
Recall lesson has proven effective in enhancing success. This is the basis
of the lesson ordering in the LogFlash ladder.
Recognition uses skills needed to translate Lojban text word-for-word into
English, while Recall is more appropriate to creating a Lojban sentence
from an English one.
It is valuable to get through all of the words in Recognition lessons
before attempting to master them. This is why words sit idle in the Under
Control pile at the top of the ladder until you have studied all of the
words in at least one Recognition lesson. Having studied all of the words
at least once in Recognition, you will have some idea of the scope of the
Lojban vocabulary being studied. Thereafter, not only will reading Lojban
text be much easier, but in creating Lojban from English, even if you
haven't mastered the Recall direction yet, you will often be able to
determine in your head that, for a given English word, that "Yes indeed
there is a keyword entry in a English-Lojban list for that word".
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For this reason, LogFlash uses a special 'New Word Review' mode when you
first start using the program, quickly passing through all words with
Recognition lessons only before starting to study them intensively in both
Recognition and Recall. It is not clear that such a mode is effective with
physical flash cards, but people studying with flash cards are encouraged
to try such a mode if you have trouble with the normal lesson sequence.
Lesson Piles
We will discuss the lesson piles in reverse order, from the bottom, since
the words will work up through them in this order:
New Word pile This is where all words start.
Dropback pile When you make errors in any other pile, this is
where they fall; you then work them back up the
ladder.
Recognition 1 pile This contains words on which you have
Recognized the English keyword once.
Recognition 2 pile This contains words on which you have
Recognized the English keyword twice in a row.
Recognition 3 pile This contains words on which you have
Recognized the English keyword three times in a
row.
Recall 1 pile This contains words you have Recognized 3 times
in a row, then Recalled the Lojban once.
Under Control pile This has words that are considered "Under
Control". You have Recognized the English
keyword 3 times in a row, and Recalled the
Lojban twice in a row.
There are also Error piles for each of the "rungs", where your errors sit
temporarily until they drop to the Dropback pile. These are discussed
below.
Words that make it to the top of the ladder, the 'Under Control' pile, are
not yet mastered. You will practice these words once more after a few
days, then let them rest, idle, until all of the words have been gone
through at least once, and most have been worked to the top of the ladder.
When no words remain in the 'New Words' pile, you go into MAINTENANCE Mode,
in which you start to practice all of the words you have studied. You will
have made substantial progress in learning the words just having gotten
most of them to the top rung of the ladder. Now you practice to achieve
mastery of the words by attempting to 'balance' any many words as possible
on that top rung. When you err, the words drop down to the bottom of the
ladder, again to be worked back up to the 'Under Control' rung. When you
first enter Maintenance Mode, you will have forgotten a lot of the words
you worked up earliest, and many words will fall to the bottom of the
ladder. You may have to go through the complete set several times to reach
a state where you get only a few wrong in the entire deck. Our experience
has been that your number of errors will be cut in half for every complete
pass through the entire set of words being studied.
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When, for an entire set of words in the Under Control pile, you average
less than 3% wrong (or 97% correct), you are said to have Mastered that set
of words. In the Lojban gismu set used for LogFlash 1, this means about 40
errors among the 1400 words in the set.
If you achieve Mastery of a set of words, then you will know that you have
accomplished something indeed. Those words will be established in your
memory indefinitely. While we recommend intermittent 'Brush-up' of your
mastery of the list, people who have achieved Mastery of the Lojban gismu
have gone for a couple of years with no practice, and even then have
retained 80-90% accuracy in recalling the words, restoring to full Mastery
with perhaps two passes through the entire set of words. Once you learn
words with the Flash technique, you do not forget them.
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Now for the caution: the Flash technique is an intensive study technique,
and it is effective BECAUSE it is intensive. You will spend several weeks
working with a set of words, ideally spending from 30 minutes to an hour
every day in study. If you skip even a single day, you will likely notice
an effect on your next study session, although generally not a severe one.
If you skip two or three days in a row, the following session will be
significantly more difficult, with increased errors. However, if you
complete one such 'catch-up' session, later sessions should be normal and
you will resume normal progress. (As an example of this, LogFlash has been
used successfully by people studying during lunch hour each day of the work
week, with weekends off. Progress is significantly slower, but still
better than most any other study technique using that schedule.)
If you lapse for even longer than two days, or if you undergo a sustained
period where you irregularly skip days, reducing your frequency to fewer
than 4 or 5 sessions a week, your error rate will increase and you will
start feeling reluctant to continue studying. People have often reset all
words back to the beginning and started over, or just simply given up,
perhaps trying again several months later. We recommend that you NOT do
this. Even after a lapse of a few weeks, continue where you left off,
skipping the New Words lesson pile for a day or two until your error rate
approaches normal. The object is to get those words to the top of the
ladder. Do so, and the effort gets much easier very quickly.
Error Lessons
For each pile, you are tested once on each word. Successfully tested words
are passed to the next higher rung. Unsuccessful words are marked as
errors. After all words in a pile have been tested, the words marked as
errors are placed in an 'Error Lesson'. You are given a chance to review
these words that you had problems with, and then practice them over and
over until you have gotten each word right 6 times in succession. If you
have a lot of errors, this may take a fair amount of time, but the error
practice is vitally important to the 'Flash' technique. Indeed, it can be
said that you learn words by this technique by getting them wrong, thereby
forcing you to practice the words you have trouble with more intensely.
Then, since the words also drop back to the bottom of the ladder, you also
practice these words more times in total, before they finally are moved to
the top rung.
It is thus strongly recommended that if you have trouble with a word, that
you do not hesitate to mark it as an error. With manual flash cards, there
is always the temptation to say "I knew that", after either being stuck
with the word 'on the tip of your tongue', or making a minor error by
getting one letter wrong. LogFlash has the unforgiving nature of a
computer program, and doesn't allow you to 'cheat' by passing a word that
you have missed. LogFlash does have an optional 'typo' mode for unskilled
typists; this option gives you one chance to correct an error, in case you
merely made a typo.
Keywords
The 'Flash' technique teaches you to associate an English keyword, or
occasionally a short phrase, with each Lojban word. The English keyword is
NOT an exact synonym or a definition of the Lojban word, but is generally
useful in bringing that definition to mind. Keywords are chosen to be
unique rather than accurate, to enable 'Flash' technique users to clearly
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identify which single Lojban word is being sought. More accurate synonyms
may not have been chosen because they might suggest more than one Lojban
word.
You can often use Lojban keywords in forming a word-for-word translation of
Lojban text, but the accuracy of such a translation is quite limited.
Session Types
A "Session" refers to a day's learning activity. You should try to do an
entire Session in one day. The exact contents of a Session depends on the
Session type, or 'mode' but in general consists of one lesson from each of
the pile-rungs on the ladder described above. Adjust the number of New
Words that you study each day as necessary, in order to make it possible to
complete an entire Session each day. There are four types of Sessions:
A. NEW WORD REVIEW
LogFlash users start in NEW WORD REVIEW mode, which uses only the
Recognition 1, Dropback, and New Word piles, in that order. Words that
graduate from Recognition 1 lessons are not studied again until the next
mode is entered, after all words have been reviewed. This allows a
relatively quick review of all of the words, to give you a feel for the
range of words that are present on the list. It is useful for people first
studying the language to have such a review because you then are more
likely to be able to effectively use word lists to read Lojban text or to
express yourself in Lojban.
7
B. GAINING CONTROL
Flash card users will start in GAINING CONTROL, with all words in the New
Word pile. LogFlash users who have reviewed all New Words change to this
mode, which resets all words to the New Word pile to be worked up again.
GAINING CONTROL Sessions involve all of the rungs of the ladder. An Under
Control lesson in this mode gives a review of words that have been at the
top rung of the ladder for a while to help you retain them until you finish
studying all of the New Words. However, the essence of this mode is in
working words up from the bottom of the ladder to the top. During GAINING
CONTROL, your Dropback pile may get quite large, especially if you skip 1
or more days between Sessions. When this happens, skip the New Word pile
lesson for a Session or two until the Dropback pile is again a manageable
size.
C. MAINTENANCE
Sometime after you have gotten all words out of the New Word pile in
GAINING CONTROL mode, you can go into MAINTENANCE mode. In MAINTENANCE
mode, you concentrate on the words in the Under Control pile. You are
attempting to 'balance' all of these words on this top rung of the ladder,
with an ever smaller number falling to the Dropback pile. The only words
working up the ladder are the words that you have made errors on; this
makes MAINTENANCE mode Sessions typically much shorter than GAINING CONTROL
mode Sessions. The Recognition 2 lesson is skipped in MAINTENANCE mode;
since you are familiar with all of the words, extra Recognition practice
offers little benefit in learning to Recall the words at the top of the
ladder. As you become more skilled in MAINTENANCE mode, you will want to
slowly increase the number of words in each Session. In LogFlash, you do
this by regrouping the Under Control words with a new lesson size. With
flash cards, you simply take a larger number of cards each Under Control
Session.
D. BRUSH-UP
At some time in the future, after you know all the words well, you will
probably not review the words very often. If you suddenly find you need a
better review than MAINTENANCE, you can effectively start over, using
BRUSH-UP Mode. All of the words are returned to the New Word pile, and you
work them up the ladder again. This mode is just like GAINING CONTROL
except that, since you are presumed to be more familiar with the words, you
may skip the Recognition 2 lesson just as you do for MAINTENANCE Mode. You
will find that you can study more words in each lesson in this mode, since
you will quickly find that you remember many of the words that you have
previously studied.
Lesson Order
Each Session has up to 14 Lessons. Do them in the order listed, skipping
any where the pile is empty. (Obviously, at the start, you will have only
words in the New Word pile.) The procedure is completely automated in
LogFlash, except that you can change the number of New Words in one New
Word lesson at any time:
LES
SON
_#_ PILE TO USE ACTION ON PILE PUT CORRECT IN:
PUT ERRORS IN: SPECIAL NOTES:
8
1 Under Control Recall Lojban, based on Under Control
Under Control Errors Selecting words from pile and
English putting correct
ones back is
special. See note
#1.
2 Under Control Errors Recall Lojban, based on Under Control
Errors, N/A
English, until correct 6x to be put in Dropback
in a row. Use the words at Session end.
just missed in Under
Control.
3 Recall 1 Recall Lojban, based on Under Control Recall 1 Errors
English see Note #1.
4 Recall 1 Errors Recall Lojban, based on Recall 1 Errors,
to be N/A
English, until correct 6x put in Dropback at
in a row. Use the words Session end.
just missed in Recall 1.
9
5 Recognition 3 Recall Lojban, based on Recall 1 Recog
nition 3 Errors
English
6 Recognition 3 Errors Recall Lojban, based on Recognition 3
Errors, N/A
English, until correct 6x to be put in Dropback
in a row. Use the words at end of Session.
just missed in Recognition
3.
7 Recognition 2 Recognize English, based Recognition 3
Recognition 2 Errors Skip this if in MAINTENANCE
on Lojban or BRUSH-UP. Any
words
here at that time,
move to
Recognition 3.
8 Recognition 2 Errors Recognize English, based Recognition 2
Errors, N/A Skip this if in Maintenance
on Lojban, until correct to be put in Dropback
or BRUSH-UP. Any words
6x in a row. Use the at end of Session. here
at that time, move to
words just missed in Recognition 3
Errors.
Recognition 2.
9 Recognition 1 Recognize English, based Recognition 2
Recog 1 Errors If in Maintenance or BRUSH-UP,
on Lojban put correct in
Recognition 3
instead of
Recognition 2.
10 Recognition 1 Errors Recognize English, based Recognition 1
Errors, N/A
on Lojban, until correct to be put in Dropback
6x in a row. Use the at end of Session.
words just missed in
Recognition 1.
11 Dropback Recognize English, based Recognition 1 Dropback Errors
on Lojban. Use all words
in error piles at end of
previous Session.
12 Dropback Errors Recognize English, based Dropback Errors,
to N/A
on Lojban, until correct be put in Dropback at
6x in a row. Use the end of Session.
words just missed in
Dropback.
10
13 New Words First, select 20 words and Recognition 1 New Word
Errors Selection: see note #2.
review them. Then,
Recognize English, based
on Lojban.
14 New Word Errors Recognize English, based New Word Errors -
to N/A
on Lojban, until correct be put in Dropback
6x in a row. Use the at end of Session.
words just missed in
New Words.
NOW, having completed the Session, take the words in all the Error piles
and put them instead in the Dropback pile.
Note #1 (Under Control selection and placement of words):
If "GAINING CONTROL" or "BRUSH-UP":
The following procedure describes the LogFlash Under Control Lesson.
The purpose of the procedure is to give you a delayed review of the
words promoted to Under Control. The procedure effectively adds three
invisible rungs to the ladder at the Under Control level, with
automatic advancement except for the final rung, thus giving a 3
lesson delay before the Under Control Review. Flash card users may
wish to emulate this procedure, hence the steps are given. However,
if this seems too complicated, either skip the Under Control Lesson,
or just test yourself on the words just promoted to Under Control.
a. Keep track of the current Session Number.
b. In each Session where you have correct Recall 1 words, put them
in a pile labelled with the current Session number. You will
then put this pile together with any previous piles in Under Con-
trol. Flashcard users will likely want to follow the procedure
listed below carefully to minimize problems.
c. SKIP the Under Control lesson until you have 3 sets of words in
your Under Control pile (marked as from 3 different Sessions).
d. After you have at least 3 sets in the Under Control pile, select
for testing all the words from Sessions back. The correct ones
will go right back where they came from; DON'T re-label them with
this Session number. The error words will go in Under Control
Errors, to be moved to Dropback at the end of the Session.
e. Thus, in the Under Control lesson, you are always testing words
from three Sessions ago, and do not test them again until you go
into MAINTENANCE Mode.
| |
|--- Under Control from Session -4+ ---|
| (not tested) |
| |
|--- Under Control from Session -3 ----|
| (TEST THESE) |
| |
|--- Under Control from Session -2 ----|
| (not tested) |
| |
|--- Under Control from Session -1 ----|
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| (not tested) |
| |
|--- Under Control from last Session---|
| (not tested) |
If "MAINTENANCE":
Continue to keep track of Session number. Any words graduating from
Recall 1 into Under Control will be merged into the pile with the
current Session number.
Keep piles grouped by the Session number, with the smallest Session
number first in the pile. Select the oldest set of words (smallest
Session number). The correct words will get relabelled to show they
were done in this Session, and put at the end of the Under Control
pile. (You may also be adding words from Recall 1 into this pile.)
The error words will go in Under Control Errors, to be moved to
Dropback at the end of the Session.
Your Session times will quickly shrink, with no New Words. After
going through all of the words at least once in MAINTENANCE Mode, your
Session times will shrink still further. You can either do multiple
Sessions, or you can shuffle all the words together and regroup using
a larger Session size. Eventually, you should be able to go through
the entire deck in just a couple of Sessions, doing as many as several
hundred words in less than an hour. You can consider yourself to have
mastered the words when you have at least 97% accuracy (less than 40
error words in one entire pass through the deck.
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Note #2 (New Word selection):
Choose about 20-25 words to learn. Review the words once before
testing yourself.
If using the Lojban textbook, take the words in the textbook lesson
order marked on each card; that is, do all the textbook lesson 1 words
before those in textbook lesson 2.
Flash card users will have to write the Lojban (on the side of the
card opposite the English) for each word when they first use it. This
serves as the New Word review for those students (and keeps the price
for the set of cards much lower).
Feel free to change the number of New Words if your Session times are
either too long or too short. Your lesson size should be large enough
that you generally have more than 6 errors in the New Word Lesson.
You will learn much more quickly if you increase your lesson size so
that this error load goes up to about 20-25 words per lesson
(typically around 40 New Words). At this level, your Sessions will
take twice as long (1 to 1 1/2 hours), but you will get through the
New Words twice as fast, and more importantly, forget fewer of them
before going into MAINTENANCE mode. You will thus probably reduce
your total time to Mastery by at least a factor of 3.
Notes for LogFlash Program users:
In GAINING CONTROL and BRUSH-UP, your Under Control words, selected by
the computer, will include all the words from 3 Sessions ago PLUS some
random ones from other Sessions. Any correct words will go back where
they came from. Errors will go in Under Control Errors, to be put in
Dropback at the end of the Session.
You also get a break in your error practice. Instead of having to get
the entire pile correct 6 times in a row, you get to drop out any word
as soon as that word has been answered correctly 6 times in a row.
Options exist that allow you to do the following:
a. allow yourself a second chance on an error to correct any typos;
b. skip the New Word lesson;
c. set a maximum number of words for any lesson (used to control
excess Dropback pile sizes without changing the number of New
Words;
d. change the number of error practices from 6 to some other number;
e. change the algorithm so that errors are dropped back a single rung,
rather than to the bottom of the pile.
The latter two options are NOT RECOMMENDED, but are provided as a
service for those who feel particularly frustrated with the standard
use of the program. You will learn more slowly or less effectively.
However, continuing to study using a less stressful regimen is better
than giving up.
Option c. is an alternative to constantly turning on and off your New
Word lesson per option b. when you often find yourself skipping days,
causing your Dropback pile to swell. (Before this option existed, one
person of irregular study habits saw this pile swell to over 250
words, generating an error lesson of 87 words - truly a daunting
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effort.) By setting a limit on lesson sizes, typically 2-3 times your
New Word lesson size, if any piles get too large to be practical for a
single day's effort, the excess words are simply delayed until the
following day's Session. This option should not generally be combined
with option b.
One Helpful Hint:
When you first study a New Word, try to derive a memory hook for the
word. Some of the English definitions have a defined 'clue word' to
help this, but feel free to invent your own and write in on the card.
Your memory hook can be anything, including a nonsensical relationship
between two similar sounding or appearing words (in either language),
names, or possibly ties to some personal experience that can lead to
remembering the other word. If you have such a memory hook, you will
probably learn the word twice as quickly. When you finally get to
know the words, the hooks will pass out of mind. Of course, if the
memory hook is especially odd or striking, no matter how nonsensical,
you will probably never totally forget the hook.
For example, one person, who typically eats bread for a snack, learned
the gismu "manci" (wonder, awe) by association with "munchies", thence
to 'Wondertm bread', then to "wonder", the keyword.
14
Learning rafsi with this method:
You repeat the whole process with the rafsi, although you needn't sort
the words in any order. Just put them all back into New Words in any
order, and start taking 20 (or however many you choose) as before.
In Recognition lessons (until you get them in Recog 3), try to
identify the English keyword from the CVC-form rafsi, covering the
Lojban word with your finger (so you don't use it). Put correct words
aside, not into the next higher pile. If a word has no CVC rafsi, it
is automatically correct. Put error words into the error pile as
before. Then go through the remaining correct words, recognizing from
the CVV-form rafsi this time. Repeat a third time using the CCV
rafsi. A word goes into the Error pile if you get any of the three
wrong.
In Recall lessons (Recog 3 and above), you only go through the pile
once. You must name ALL 3 rafsi correctly - including a null response
when a rafsi isn't assigned for a given rafsi type, in order for the
word to be correct. If any are incorrect or omitted, the word goes
into the Error Pile.
(Note: In LogFlash, the procedure is similar, except that you will
enter the Lojban word given the rafsi, or the rafsi given the Lojban
word, in Under Control Mode. Then, when all New Words are gone, you
go into BRUSH-UP Mode, which repeats the process, with you entering
the English keyword. Then, when your New Words are again gone, you
can go into MAINTENANCE Mode, which also tests from rafsi to English
keyword. This is the desired approach for rafsi learning, but would
require two or more sets of flashcards made up differently - or three-
sided flash cards - to emulate this process.)
Notes on Error Lesson practices:
A review is permitted before the first time through, but may be
skipped to save time. Unless you only have a couple of words, you
will probably miss some the first time through anyway, so it can serve
as your review pass.
It is helpful for flash card users to shuffle the words each time you
go through the deck.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLASH CARD USERS:
If you are using flash cards, you will have to keep track of which
words are in which piles. It is very helpful when doing Sessions to
have a clear table - the cards are small and can be easily lost, and
it is helpful to be able to lay out all the piles in ladder order
before starting to avoid confusion.
The flash card deck comes with pile labels for each pile, and several
blank and colored cards to aid this, but use rubber bands or small
boxes to keep each pile separate from the others. There are five
numbered labels provided for Under Control and New Word piles, since
each will have a lot of words in them at various times in the learning
process.
15
When you first get the flashcards, you will have to sort them in the
order to be studied. A code based on the textbook lesson number
appears on each card in small print. Separate the cards based on the
first digit (1 through 9 and then a). If you wish, you can then sort
on the second digit (a through z and blank), which will cause related
words to be grouped together. (A separate list gives each card and
its code.) In case some are damaged or unreadable (and cannot be
corrected on the card), or if you lose a card, you can make a new one
using the blank cards provided. Separate out the pile labels, blanks,
and colored cards.
If you want to match the preferred procedure, put all of the 'a' coded
words aside until you have mastered the '1' through '9' words (in
MAINTENANCE MODE). This leaves you only 900 words to learn for now,
instead of 1400. (You can take all of the words at once, but it will
be significantly longer until you get to review words you've studied
before, which may hurt the learning process. Divide the 1-9 pile
words into five groups, labelling them in order using the "New Word 1"
through "New Word 5" pile labels. This allows the groups to be of
manageable size for rubber bands.
Take 20 (or however many words you want) flash cards from the top of
the first New Word pile. Using the separate list, write the Lojban
word, and optionally the rafsi on the back of each corresponding
English side. If you want to use the same deck for learning rafsi,
you should write the Lojban so that it can be covered with your finger
while looking at the rafsi. Otherwise you will need a new deck to
study rafsi. Writing the words should constitute your review, and you
can start testing per the New Word recognition instructions above.
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In GAINING CONTROL and BRUSH-UP Modes, managing the flash cards that
successfully graduate from Recall 1 can be complicated; it becomes
important to keep track of when you graduated the word into Under
Control. The way described here is one way that will work without
much confusion. It is based on actually setting up the additional
ladder rungs within the Under Control pile set as described above, and
acting as though there are 5 Under Control piles within the pile set:
|--- Under Control 5 ---|
| (a sequentially |
| ordered file of piles)|
| |
|--- Under Control 4 ---|
| TESTED |
| |
|--- Under Control 3 ---|
| not tested |
| |
|--- Under Control 2 ---|
| not tested |
| |
|--- Under Control 1 ---|
| not tested |
| |
|------- Recall 1 ------|
. .
Since your words first enter the Under Control pile from Recall 1, we
will first discuss how you move cards from Recall 1, then discuss how
the Under Control lesson works. Once you have words in the Under
Control lesson, of course, you do that lesson before Recall 1.
When you graduate words from Recall 1, label the pile of correct words
with the current Session number, using the blank or colored cards.
Mark this labelled pile with the additional label of Under Control #1.
(In MAINTENANCE Mode, you will probably have an Under Control pile
with the current Session number from the Under Control Lesson just
completed. Merge the Recall 1 words with this pile. More on this
below.)
In your Under Control lessons, you test yourself by recalling the
Lojban from the English keyword. The only words you test are those
marked with Under Control #4, which are marked with the Session number
from a few Sessions ago; you put correct answers from this test in
Under Control #5 and transfer the unchanged Session number card when
done. Then, immediately wrap the Under Control #5 words with a rubber
band and put them at the end of the set of all previous Under Control
word piles until MAINTENANCE Mode. This set is the 'true' Under
Control pile, and will have several sub-piles of words, each marked
with a Session number, ordered by that number.
The next three piles are moved without testing them. Just move the
label on the front, and leave the Session number unchanged. Move the
pile from Under Control #3 to Under Control #4, the one from Under
Control #2 to Under Control #3, and the one from Under Control #1 to
Under Control #2. You will then add words into the now empty Under
Control #1 pile from the next Recall 1 lesson (after doing the Under
Control Errors lesson).
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When you go into MAINTENANCE Mode, you don't need the five Under
Control pile groupings. If you have been putting your completed piles
at the end per the above, the oldest set will be in front/on top.
Immediately put the remaining piles from the numbered Under Control
stacks in reverse order at the end (#4, then #3, then #2, then #1).
In MAINTENANCE Mode, you will continue to clean out any remaining
words from the GAINING CONTROL Mode lessons, graduating them into a
pile which you will merge with the correct answers from your Under
Control lesson. The Under Control lesson will be the words in the top
stack that is marked with the oldest Session number. Error words
still go into Under Control Errors pile. Correct answers get put in a
pile and later merged with the correct answers from Recall 1. The
combined pile is then labelled with a NEW current Session number (you
can reuse the old Session number card for this), and put at the bottom
of the stack.
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You may wish to note the current Session number when you go into
MAINTENANCE Mode, so that you can tell each time you go through the
complete deck thereafter. After about the second complete pass
through the deck in MAINTENANCE Mode, shuffle all piles all into a
single large pile, put a marker (a colored card will do fine) at the
end to mark the end of the deck. Each Under Control lesson, you will
take some number of cards from the front of the deck as the "oldest
Session" and test yourself. Put the correct words at the end of the
deck, along with any words you graduate from the next Recall 1 lesson.
When you get to your marker, you've gone through the complete deck
once, and can reshuffle and start again. At this point, bookkeeping
of Session numbers has become irrelevant.
Eventually, almost all of your words will be in Under Control. At
this point, if you haven't started sooner, you may wish to keep count
of the number of errors you make in one pass through the entire deck.
This number will probably cut in half about every pass through the
entire deck. When this number is under 30, you probably know the
words well enough to move on to the 'a' words or to concentrate on
rafsi.
When you know the 1-9 words pretty well, you can start fresh with the
'a' words in New Words and GAINING CONTROL Mode, either putting the
rest aside, or reviewing them occasionally in MAINTENANCE Mode
independently of the GAINING CONTROL process. When all words are in
MAINTENANCE Mode, you can shuffle them together. If you are going to
continue reviewing the words in MAINTENANCE Mode, you can start at
about the 90% correct level (90 errors in the deck). If you are going
to put them aside, you should be at least at 97% correct (30 errors in
the deck) before starting on the 'a' words.
Flash cards do not work as well as LogFlash for learning rafsi. The
procedure has to be modified or adapted such that you are working
between rafsi and English keyword without using the Lojban. You can
either get a new set of flash cards for this purpose, or try covering
the Lojban with your finger. (To do this, however, it helps if the
Lojban word is easily coverable.) We will be glad to take (and pass
on) your alternative ideas to this approach.
Warning for Flash Card Users:
It is easy to cheat, but you only cheat yourself. "I should have
known that" is NOT a correct answer. Require yourself to say the word
correctly out loud before looking at the answer. If you say it incor-
rectly, it is WRONG. Final letter errors will be common in Recall
tests. Getting the final letter wrong is an error.
If you have any doubt whether you got the word right, consider it an
error. Likewise, if you take too long to come up with the answer.
The error lessons will sometimes seem onerous, as will dropping the
word all the way back down into the Dropback pile. But if you don't
thoroughly know the word, you'll just end up missing it some time
later anyway.
You should do the error words until you have gotten them all right six
times (or more), even if you think you know the words before then.
You should do the lesson all six times, even if there are only one or
two cards.
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Questions and Comments are welcome.
Contact:
The Logical Language Group, Inc.
2904 Beau Lane
Fairfax VA 22031 USA
703-385-0273
These instructions Copyright 1989, 1992 by The Logical Language Group, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy them for purposes promoting Lojban, provided
that this copyright notice is included in its entirety, and provided that
you do not charge for the product.
a'o ko gleki cilre
(I hope you happily learn.)