In the constant search to find more efficient language acquisition techniques, I’m always adjusting my study routine. The other day I stumbled upon Lingt, a site which offers vocabulary lists for Chinese language learners and creates a memorization schedule for you to maximize vocabulary recall. The site has 12 vocabulary lists which you can add to your study routine, for a total of 1,200 characters. That’s not a huge number of characters for advanced students but the study program, with its games and achievements, is a something that feels fun and new. In Lingt’s own words:
Lingt helps people manage the tremendous task of committing a new language to memory. We do this by trying to make learning 1) more efficient by scheduling review at the optimum time for memory retention and 2) making the experience more compelling by incorporating mastery scores, achievements, and other gaming elements.
Currently, Lingt is most effective for those with a basic knowledge of a language and are looking to quickly and effectively broaden their vocabulary.
I signed up for the free beta program and after going through the first level realized that this program really tests you thoroughly. After testing me on character recognition for basic phrases like ??? and ?? while saying the words aloud, it quizzed me on tones for individual characters and then words. It repeatedly drilled me on the characters that I couldn’t accurately recall the tones for until it could verify that I had committed them to memory by inputting the correct answer consistently.
After completing the first vocabulary list I’m awarded 40 experience points and a Special Achievement: Smarty Pants Level 1. I’m actually looking forward to continuing this and seeing where it goes. If not for the strict tone analysis it wouldn’t seem like as much of a challenge, but I’m compelled unlock some achievements and see how the program develops. Between internet sites like Lingt, Nciku, and the iPhone as a language learning platform, the growing number of resources available to learners is really astounding. Used correctly, these tools can help you learn the language more efficiently than ever before.
Unfortunately the voice recognition didn’t work for me (using the built in microphone on a Macbook Pro) but otherwise everything works like you’d expect it to. Check it out and see if it doesn’t help you commit new vocabulary to memory: Lingt
I’ll give this a shot
Thanks, I’ll take a look. This is a great idea, achievements and such. I hope they have some sort of gold system, that will get me hooked.
Absolutely – not only that, but they send you e-mail reminders when you have vocabulary to study. If you stick with it, Lingt will definitely yield results. A great free resource for Chinese students.
What a wonderful tool. Just began my first study lesson! Thank you for the resource.
No problem – if you stick with it you’ll definitely see results. Good luck!
why there’s not a tool like this for learning English?
I’m pretty sure that there’s something similar to this for English learners. Try checking on google or on some websites or blogs about learning English – I think you’ll find a lot of solid resources.
There is another great free site for both Chinese and English learners called Lingq.com . It may be the same producers, not really sure. I’ve used Lingq for a long time and love it. It is a great freebie system.