If you are learning Japanese and/or Mandarin Chinese and have an Android device, I highly recommend checking out Skritter’s new public beta app. As I mention in my review of Skritter, they offer one of the best tools for learning Chinese characters. Instead of traditional flashcards that just test passive recognition, the Skritter site and apps require that you actually write out the characters on the screen or using your mouse/trackpad. This “active recall” approach is far more effective than the self-gradings used in other spaced repetition apps. And best of all, in cases when you have no idea how to write a character, Skritter provides nifty stroke by stroke hints to help you along.
If you haven’t tried Skritter yet, now would be a good time as you can get a 3-week trial instead of the 1 week they usually offer. The offer is valid for new accounts activated before August 31, 2014.
Here’s what to do:
- Sign up for an account through the website (not through the app).
- Click “Alternate Payment Methods”, “Use a Coupon Code”, and enter androidbeta3w in the box.
- Download the Android beta app following these step-by-step instructions. Note that if you don’t follow the instructions exactly, the app will not function.
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