30:30 Vocabulary Challenge - July 2023

[rdearman]

In terms of using the spreadsheet, I discovered that inputting everything correctly (so that it satisfies the IF-function) will be the biggest challenge for me!

In case it helps anyone, I am setting mine up for passive recall while letting my input column accept one of several correct answers taken from a list of words separated by commas (a comma plus a space to be exact). A screenshot of what I mean is probably the easiest way to show it. This would also work to allow multiple correct spellings if that was desired. I pasted the Google Sheet formula below so it can simply be copied and pasted as needed.

Code: Select all

=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(D2,SPLIT(C2, ", " , 1,1),0)),0,1)

I updated the download with your formula! Thanks!

[philomath]

I'm in!

My first thought was to sign up with French, which I have an intermediate level in, but I think I'll try German instead. I just started, so I barely know any words—learning 900 would give me a huge boost.

[inu]

Is it mandatory to write down all 900 words in a spreadsheet in the final test or can I use any testing-method as long as I'm able to report how many words I remembered and how many I didn't remember and give the numbers instead?

[rdearman]

Is it mandatory to write down all 900 words in a spreadsheet in the final test or can I use any testing-method as long as I'm able to report how many words I remembered and how many I didn't remember and give the numbers instead?

Yes. You just need to report the results.

[cito]

I figure I wanna level up... sign me up for Russian!

Edit: with a smithering of French maybe... not sure yet

[untrucdeouf]

I love this challenge idea! I'm going to attempt it with Tagalog. Even if I end up only retaining half of the words by the end of the month it would still represent a pretty major increase in my vocabulary.

I'm planning to create wordlists as I go rather than in advance. I think to try to maximize my effectiveness, I'm going to focus heavily on grabbing vocabulary from songs, which I can listen to during the day (and throughout the month) for reinforcement.

[raikiro]

I'm joining the challenge.
I like challenges, but most don't really fit me in terms of time frame or activity types. Besides, I have been looking for a way to finally get myself to focus a bit more on vocabulary.

I'd like to do three languages, each in equal parts: Japanese, Spanish and Russian. That way I'm hoping to get an indicator of how different they are for me difficulty-wise. While 300 words per language might not be the biggest sample size, it should suffice to be somewhat comparable.
I will study all of those using the Iversen-style word lists, which have served me well in the past. Before starting I will outline my revisions for the month, so that they are consistent for all the words.

A question though, @rdearman: in your original post you focus on producing the TL. Is the production part a requirement for this challenge, or would it be equally valid to solely test understanding TL->NL, as long as it is consistent for all 900 words tested?

Good luck to everyone!

[rdearman]

You can do TL-»NL if you want

[Beli Tsar]

But since I have you on the line: Oh challenge-master, does it have to be 30 every day or on average? Cramming more than 30 might be a pain but help me (and anyone else) front-load or play catch up. Curious to know, you incredible sadist.

No, it is 30 more words, ever single day. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a challenge, it would just be an average.

"I can shoot straight if I don't get excited." - Hannibal Smith

So no front-loading? Because if we were aiming for pure results, then having the last week for review would certainly give better ones.... Happy to play by the rules, of course, if the answer is still no...

[rdearman]

So no front-loading? Because if we were aiming for pure results, then having the last week for review would certainly give better ones.... Happy to play by the rules, of course, if the answer is still no...

True, but since this is the first one, lets give it a try with just the simple rules, and if it needs to be tweeked, there is always August, October, December.