Personally, I like to have the reading and definition of characters hidden, so that I have to actually remember the correct answer and can’t lean on those to remember what characters mean. However, having these features turned on for every item type is kind of annoying.
For example, I want to have the reading hidden when I have to write the tone, so that I force myself to remember the reading and the tone. If I were just able to see the reading, I would remember the tone much more easily, and it wouldn’t help me learn. I also want the definition hidden when I have to type the reading (or the tone), so that I have to remember the pronunciation just by looking at the character, and so I don’t end up associating the reading with the English definition.
However, it doesn’t really make sense to hide the reading or the definition when I have to write the character. I need the definition to be able to write the character, and I need the reading to help disambiguate the definitions. (For example, the chapter of Heisig that I’m currently on has “terror-stricken,” “fearful,” “be frightened,” and “be afraid of” and the reading helps me remember the phonetic component of the character.) As it stands now, if I have the “Hide reading” and “Hide definition” settings turned on, when I have the write the character, I’m shown a blank box to write in, and no definition or reading without clicking “Show.”
It would be great if there were a way to selectively hide the reading and definition. Personally (and as someone who studies bilingualism/second-language acquisition), I would do it this way:
- Writing review
- Definition shown
- Reading hidden
- Reading review
- Definition unavailable
- Reading unavailable (obviously)
- Tone review
- Definition hidden
- Reading hidden
- Definition review
- Definition unavailable (obviously)
- Reading hidden