Is Anki The Best Flashcard App For Learning A Language?

If you are new to learning a language it will not take long before you hear about Anki and you will probably notice a lot of people swear by it and attribute it to their success. 

Basically it’s just a flashcard app and while many dedicated language learning apps offer this function, the generic system that Anki offers is always seen as the best …and that is because it is.  

Anki may me simple, but it is the best flashcard app you can get and I will explain exactly why that it is below. Its simplicity allows its power to shine through. It does exactly what you want and it deserves to be called the best.   

Anki Is Totally Customisable

The most beautiful part about Anki is that is just blank slate. Its whole purpose is that it is a generic open sourced flashcard app …It is not a language app.  

This may sound like a disadvantage, but it’s not. It just means you can use it to help you remember anything, including languages and it is therefore totally customisable to whatever you are trying to learn, or remember.

Anki is actually pretty popular among medical students and language learners for this exact reason. We can both make any cards we want and still get a lot of benefit from using it. There are no external factors messing with it, it’s just a simple flashcard app.

However, while it is simple, you can actually make it into whatever you want. The flashcards are extremely customisable and you can add any pictures, sounds, video or text and make it look exactly how you want. You can also arrange the cards into all sorts of different groups and order them however you want as well customise the review algorithm to change how often you are seeing the cards.

Its simplicity allows you to have whatever you want. Most people keep it pretty simple, flashcards don’t need to be complicated, but even these basic types of cards are highly effective and can help you learn anything you want.

Add-Ons

As Anki is open sourced it basically means any one can play around with how it works …which means there are plenty of add-ons available.

This means very clever computer programmers can make Anki even better and even more customisable by creating these Add-ons. These are like little software updates that make the main program do something extra, which should help you out.

This sound complicated, but it’s not. If you study a language like Japanese you will quickly find out about Add-ons as they make things a lot easier. I use one that basically allows Anki and my online dictionary to talk to each other. Whatever this add-on does, it allows me to highlight some text on the internet …click a button …and it creates a new flash card in Anki. The Japanese text I have highlighted gets put on one side of the card and the English on the other.  I don’t have to mess around with creating the card, or looking up the word. I just press the button and it all gets done for me.

That’s just one example, but there will be all sorts of other Add-ons you can get that just make the whole process simpler and more user friendly for you and this blows any other flashcard app out of the water as they do not have the same level of customisation and optimisation. 

There Are Lots Of Premade Decks for Anki

Anki can allow you to make whatever cards you want, but you can also download a pre-made deck.

What is cool about this is that they are user generated, so basically it’s just other people sharing the decks they have made.

This is perfect for language learning as you can end up getting decks from other learners, who know exactly what you need from flashcards. They were once in your shoes as a beginner learning the same language and they created this flashcard deck to help them …and now they can pass that on to you.

This type of resource can be so invaluable to a new learner and it can really feel like it has been tailor made for you at times. The language learning community is really awesome and people will put a lot of effort into decks. They are also often updated by other community members, only making them better.

When you compare this to other flashcard systems, it just doesn’t compare. Usually they are quite basic, generic decks that do not have the same level of rich content.    

Of course allowing anyone to share their decks does mean you get some poor quality ones, but you can edit these, or just ignore them completely. You can usually tell if a deck is worth your time or not before even downloading it, so I don’t think this is really an issue. 

Overall the quality of the decks you can get for Anki just surpass any rival, it really is the best system.

(You can read more about – Where Can You Get Pre-made Anki Flashcard Decks When Learning A Language?)

Anki Is Free to Use

Anki is also free to use, so you can’t complain about the price!

When you start talking to other language learners they will often tell you how invaluable they found Anki and how it really helped them make progress in their language.

They really see it as an essential tool that they needed. The fact that you can have this for free is amazing, and I’m sure many would say they would have happily paid for it if they had to.

I think it is also important to note …there are no annoying adverts. You download the software and that’s it. I can’t think of any other computer programs that you can get for free that offer so much customisation. Anki really is quite incredible. 

It’s Not Free On IPhone

The app is also available on mobile, but for some reason the IOS mobile app costs. It’s around $25, so it’s not cheap, but it is a onetime purchase.

However, it does seem to be free on android, I have no idea why there is a difference between the two, but such is life.

So, if you are more an iphone/ipad person, then you will have to pay to use the app. It can be worth the money though as you can sync your phone to your computer and alternate between the two.

I only use the desktop version and I have found it annoying when I travel, as I come back to hundreds of flashcards waiting for me …so maybe next time I have to go away I will get the app and study when on the move.

Anki Is Not The Most User Friendly Interface

As much as I have said Anki is amazing, I think it can be a little scary for a beginner.

It is the type of software where you really need to read the instructions. You can’t really open it up and just go …its maybe not the most user friendly interface.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it just means you need to play around with it and watch some videos showing you some basics and you will quickly work out what is going on.

Once you work out how to create cards and generally how the system works you will see it is very simple. I actually found downloading some premade decks was very helpful, as it allowed me to see how other people where making cards and what was actually possible and I could sort of reverse engineer what they did by looking at the settings.  

If there is something you want to do, there will be a video or website that explains step by step how to do it. It can be a little imitating playing around with the settings, but you will get comfortable with it after a while.

Anki Can Look A Bit Ugly

One of the downsides of Anki is that it looks kind of ugly, but I guess it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

As I’ve already said it is a very simple program and it does look like something you would find on Windows 95 (Although Anki was made in 2006). It just a simple grey box with text and is not very glamorous.

However, what it looks like is not important; most people overlook this as the functionality is so good.

The good thing is that you can actually change how it looks. If you remember those Add-ons I talked about before …you can get add-ons that allow you to customise how it looks, so you don’t have to look at a boring grey box if you don’t want to!   

Other Apps Are Limited Compared To Anki

Everything I have mentioned above about Anki is not really found in other flashcards apps. Of course some of them will offer the same features, but none of them offer everything that Anki has.

Most apps are nicer looking and easier to use. They are friendlier for the average person … but they just do not have that same level of customisation and they usually cost too, usually the more you pay, the more options you get, which as we know isn’t how Anki works. It’s free and fully customisable.

I am sure you would still get a lot of benefit from the other apps and if you just want something simple then they will probably give you everything you want …but so can Anki.

It doesn’t matter what you want, Anki can offer it …it really is the best.

Conclusion

Hopefully now you can see why language learners speak so highly of Anki.

If it is something you haven’t tried yet, you should give it a go. It can really help with learning a language and while it may be a little intimating to start with it, it is worth taking the time to figure it out.

I honestly think it has made a huge difference to my language learning and I know I am not the only person to think this and I would imagine you might say the same if you used it. 

(you can read more about – Are Flashcards Effective When Learning A Language?)