Flashcards: English to Chinese (vs Zh to Eng)?

[Jan Finster]

I wonder if and how much time you guys spend studying flashcards and the like in the "English to Chinese" direction? I am currently doing almost 100% "Chinese to English". While I feel my passive understanding is quite good (somewhere around HSK 3-4 with gaps), my active speaking skills are elementary at best. I wonder if studying  "English to Chinese" would help improve active vocabulary and speaking skills.

[ZhuoMing]

English to Chinese flash cards will help with production because it will associate English meanings with Chinese words in your mind.  I have my SRS set up to make two cards each time I enter a new word or sentence - one that is Chinese to English and one that's English to Chinese. 

[Publius]

A setup I used for Japanese. Each note has three cards:

Card 1 "Listening" (Front and Back)

Card 2 "Reading"

Card 3 "Production"

[mackie1402]

20 hours ago, ZhuoMing said:

I have my SRS set up to make two cards each time I enter a new word or sentence - one that is Chinese to English and one that's English to Chinese. 

 

I do exactly the same. Pretty easy to set up on Anki. 

I used to only use words but now I always use sentences.
I get a lot of example sentences from lecture notes, the books I study and grammar guides online. 

I used the Chinese --> English to get familiar with the meaning of the new words.

Then I use the English --> Chinese to practise the grammar and translating. 

 

Since I started using sentences I've noticed a huge improvement in retaining vocabulary and grammar.