Well, maybe not the best way. Right after I published this for the first time, my favorite voice of cynicism scanned through the post and asked me how I could possibly know that this was the best method out there. Sigh. Fair enough, voice of cynicism. For the sake of accuracy, then, let’s just say that this is a really, really good way of learning new Mandarin vocab. Introducing… picture flashcards!
Instead of regular flashcards, which have English on one side and Mandarin (character, pinyin, etc.) on the other, picture flashcards use no English, only Mandarin. One side picture, the other side Mandarin. I’ve found it much easier to actually use the vocab I learn in this method, whether in writing or speaking. I have far fewer of those wait-I’m-translating pauses when I only associate the word with the concept that it’s meant to express, instead having to go through the middleman of my native English.
Below is an example of how I format mine. The benefit to this format is that I don’t need a double-side printer or scissor skills, as I can just fold the paper in half lengthwise. The drawback is that it uses twice as much paper. Go with your personal priorities, I suppose.
And this is a fairly conceptual example. If the vocab list is along the lines of “turtle”, the flashcards should take all of 10 minutes to create and print.
Once you have the formatting down, it doesn’t take all that long to create a nice set of picture flashcards. I’ll make my Word doc format available for download ASAP, but until then (or if you gasped in horror at my waste of resources), columns on Word or one of those online flashcard format gadgets work perfectly well.
I’m sure – as in 100% certain (do some of you already use this method?) – that I’m not the first one to have thought of this, but I haven’t yet been able to find any sites or microblogs working with this. Admittedly, the only Google searches I did were “mandarin picture based flashcards” and “image language learning flashcards”. Yeah. If any of you find a good resource, please share in the comments.
[Update: You can make these on Quizlet! Click the “Add images” box when you create a new set, and you can upload images on one side of the flashcard without text. Much, much faster than Word Docs.]
In my defense, I haven’t even logged in to WordPress for a couple of months, much less found the time to actually write anything. The joys of being a full-time student… To paraphrase the wisdom of Goku, “GGGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”
My summer begins next Wednesday, so hopefully I’ll jump back into regular posting soon. If you try this strategy, let me know how it works for you. Hope all y’all have been keeping up your study – keep on truckin’!
(Note: This post was mis-updated (read: completely erased) more than once, and I was frustrated enough by the time I finished rewriting it that I just clicked Publish without any proofreading. Please tell me if you spot anything that needs edits.)
ABC Mandarin Mission 
Hi, I think flashcards would definately help me. Thanks for the idea!
Hope they do – let me know how it goes!