Note: Our SRS-supported review modes (Priority Review and Weakest Memories) become available for use roughly 9 hours after you learn a sentence. You can only select these modes if the algorithm thinks it's time for you to review something. The goal of SRS is not to renew whenever, but to save time by reviewing only when you need to review. 🙂
Glossika employs a custom-built SRS algorithm to help users commit information to memory. In a very loose sense, this means a few things from the user's perspective:
1. While training, Glossika observes your performance
2. Glossika uses this information (when an item was first learned when it was last reviewed, how often you get that item correct/incorrect, and many other factors) to predict how well you know/remember each item you've learned so far
3. Glossika refers to the strength of your memories to determine the optimal time to review each learning item, then schedules those reviews for you to do later
4. On a daily basis, Glossika updates your memory strength and also presents you with a new list of items to be reviewed
In more practical terms, this means that Glossika is working tirelessly to protect your time. Whenever you launch a new review session, you are reviewing precisely the items that Glossika has determined you're at risk of forgetting today.
Note: The memory strength of items learned/reviewed in listening-only mode decay more quickly than those learned/reviewed in full-practice mode.
How does the SRS algorithm benefit me?
Our SRS benefits users in three major ways:
Simplicity — All you need to do to make progress is log into Glossika each day; our algorithm will determine which items you should review and which ones you should learn next.
Efficiency — Forgetting things is unavoidable, so review is important. We ensure that you invest more time into items you're struggling with and waste less time on items you already know well, giving you the most value possible from each learning session.
Personalization — Everybody takes a different route through Glossika. We keep track of your strengths and weaknesses and prompt you to review accordingly, ensuring that your learning is as smooth and painless as possible.
How do I take advantage of Glossika's algorithm?
1. From your course landing page, click "review"
2. Select "Priority Review" or "Weakest Memories" for data-backed learning
3. If you don't see this menu, or if you change your mind within a session, simply click the icon to the left of your progress in the upper-middle region of the screen.
Glossika's algorithm is constantly at work, but we also give users the option to take control of their own learning via the Collection, Favorites, and Levels review modes. (Perhaps your trip to Mexico is next week, so this week you want to cram a handful of sentences you see yourself using immediately.)
You can learn more about Glossika's different review modes here.
A note about Listening-only Mode
Listening-only mode doesn't ask you to input information or check that you understand sentences; it simply plays audio, and you listen. This means a few things for learners:
1. Because we cannot assess your learning, listening-only reps don't build our "confidence" of your memory strength as much as full-practice reps do. If you only use listening-only mode, you'll do about twice as many reviews as someone who primarily uses full-practice mode.
2. As we cannot measure your performance in listening-only mode, we instead use a somewhat simplified leitner system. This basically means that, each time you review an item, we make you wait longer before you see it again. The result is that you'll still move items from short- to long-term memory, but it'll be less efficient because we can't filter the items you know well (and should review less) from the items you struggle with (and should review more).