Cloze deletion is one of the classic methods for using flashcards effectively.
It's recommended in [SuperMemo's 20
rules](http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm#Cloze deletion) because
it's straightforward to use and produces great results for all kinds of
knowledge.
As with most guidance on memorisation and flashcards, cloze deletion works very
well for learning Chinese in some ways, and less so in others. This article
covers how you can make the best use of cloze deletion for learning Chinese more
efficiently.
How to do cloze deletion
On a cloze deletion flashcard, the prompt is some information with a certain
part hidden. Most commonly it's a sentence with a word blanked out. The desired
response to the card is to recall the missing information.
Cloze deletion is convenient because it's usually easy to convert textbook-style
information or online content into cloze deletion cards. You just copy the
information you want to retain, and blank out a key word or phrase in it.
For language learning, the most obvious way to apply cloze deletion is to use
example sentences with key
words blanked out. Note that you can also apply
defeat in detail with cloze deletion:
you can turn one sentence into many separate cards by blanking out different
elements of it.
Context and language learning
One reason cloze deletion is effective is because it provides some context in
the prompt, which may guide you to the response in a natural way. In one way
this is making the card “easier”, which may seem undesirable, but the goal with
flashcards is not to be able to rigidly regurgitate information but to try and
emulate a more organic learning process given constraints on cost and
convenience.
Reliance on context is a genuine issue when you're trying to retain information
in the long-term, though. It's possible to be excellent at recalling the
knowledge you need in a specific context, but to find yourself at a loss in
others. The way to deal with this issue is to recognise it and make sure that
you cover the knowledge with a variety of prompts and a variety of approaches.
In other words, flashcards are only ever one part of the solution.
The flip-side of context with language learning is that contextual knowledge is
an integral part of our language skills. Native speakers can, for example,
immediately understand what's said to them on several levels, disambiguate
unclear utterances and intuitively assess the “correctness” of any sentence, all
with very little effort. They can do this because they have such a strongly
interconnected web of knowledge about the language; everything in their native
language has a rich context for them.
As a second-language learner you have a contradictory goal: try and build a
strong context for everything you might encounter in the target language, but
also avoid relying on context as a crutch. How does that make sense?
The answer is that there's a crucial difference between the small, specific and
isolated context in something like a cloze deletion flashcard, and the gigantic,
richly-linked web that an average native speaker holds in their head. It's like
comparing a single web-page to the entire Web. Aim for the latter and try not to
rely on the former alone.
AJATT's Massive Context Cloze Deletion (MCD)
Any article on cloze deletion and language learning wouldn't be complete without
taking a look at [AJATT's Massive Context Cloze
Deletion](http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/what-is-it-about-these-mcds-
part-1), or MCDs.
MCDs are pretty much plain old cloze deletion cards, but with these key aspects:
- A lot of context around a very small deletion
- A focus on the context as much as what's deleted
You could argue that this isn't really any different to normal cloze deletions,
which may be the case. The small and specific deletion is supported by the
minimum information principle.
Regardless of how original you think they are, MCDs are a good idea and can be
incorporated into any flashcard system. They work well alongside other types of
cards, and are a good way to diversify the approaches you take to retaining
information long term.