Dave, I recommend just using anki for cards that you yourself create from pieces of conversations that you've heard/seen (or text that you've read in an article). Keep it in context as much as possible, and with exceptions try not to even put any English on the other side if you can manage it. I do that when I come across a phrase that makes me think "hmm, I understand that but would have never phrased it that way". There are of course times when you need to put the English word/phrase on the other side, but aim for nothing, followed by a picture, followed by the words in English if absolutely necessary. 

Ryan, this is a nice plug article for Anki and flash cards in general. Thanks for writing it.

I noticed one little mistake in a sentence which I thought you'd want to correct.

Original: How do you not only remember the vocabulary you're taught, but that you remember it so well that you can use it the next time?

Correction: How do you not only remember the vocabulary you're taught, but remember it so well that you can use it the next time?

An even more natural way to make the point might be:

How can you remember new vocabulary so well that you can keep on using it?

Or maybe: Is there a good way to get all that new vocabulary into your long-term memory?

I hope this is useful, and thanks again for a helpful article!

Talk soon,

-Cai

I think ANKI is an excellent tool, especially when you create your own deck of cards. I always recommend it to my Spanish students. And if they are permanent students I create the deck including the audio so that they have the correct pronunciation of the words and phrases we had studied in class.

Try it, is really great.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of free flashcard programs out there. In my limited knowledge, what separates Anki from the others is how flexible it is. You can create just about any kind of flashcard you want, adjust the algorithm in almost every way imaginable, etc. But while this is an advantage to some, it's a disadvantage to others. The learning curve for using Anki is higher than most other SRS's imo.

I use Anki  from two years ago and every time I'm more and more happy with this software.

In fact, To me is one of the best tools nowadays.

Great topic.