Overview
This program helps students learn foreign vocabulary and grammar. Like some other vocab trainers, it stores a list of vocab items and tests the student repeatedly, keeping track of the student's progress and returning to items that are causing difficulty. It also offers the following additional features:
- Management of vocab lists is as simple as editing a colon-delimited text file. (See 'Creating vocab lists').
- The learning engine is based on 'the 90% rule', which states that maximal learning efficiency occurs if items are reviewed after a delay, when they have a 90% chance of being remembered. (For details, see 'Learning principles'.)
- The optional use of mnemonics is integrated into the learning process. For instance, to remember that 'trousers' = 'die Hose', the student can picture a man putting a hose down his trousers, and annotate the item so that the mnemonic is displayed when needed. ('Mnemonics'.)
- The trainer provides hints for difficult items, working on the principle that it is more memorable to get something right with help than to give up and be told the answer. (See 'Hints and feedback'.)
- The software automatically extends the current pool of words being learned and schedules items for revision, based on student progress. It graphs both the learning and forgetting processes. (See 'The progress graph'
- Each item can be associated with a sentence that demonstrates its use. ('Linking to a book chapter'.)
- Each item and can have up to two audio files attached to it, one which demonstrates its pronunciation, and one that shows contextual usage. (See 'Setting up audio'.)
- The software can automatically strip new words from any text file, adding the words to the current vocab list. ('File formats'.)
The vocab trainer can be used to learn any list of words but, to try a pre-prepared list, choose 'New User' under the Help menu.