VocabTutor version 3
for Psion Series 3 computers

Overview
VocabTutor is aimed at people seriously studying a foreign language, as an aid to vocabulary acquisition. It saw me through my O level French (running on a ZX Spectrum) and has since taken me on various machines to the point of fluency in Welsh and Polish.

Vocabulary is arguably the most important aspect of a foreign language to master if you want to be seriously fluent. It's nice to have a good accent, but even if yours is really rank, people generally don't mind so long as they can understand you. And grammar, though important, is finite, and there comes a point when you can get by quite ably without learning any more. But vocabulary.....

Unfortunately, foreign vocabulary (and English vocabulary come to that) is arbitrary. You just have to learn it. And though in these trendy TEFL days it's an unfashionable thing to say, there is no better way to learn than by repetition, drilling, rote learning. Of course, it would be nice to be in the foreign country, because then you could learn words by hearing them and using them yourself. But for most of us, we have to inflict it on ourselves, as a chore.

So this is the job of VocabTutor. You input the words you want to learn (which incidentally is a help to learning them as well). The program then picks one at random and puts it on the screen. Either you get it right, in which case it goes on to another one, or you get it wrong, in which case it tells you again what it should be, and then picks another. It goes on till you have got them all right.

Installation
Unpacking the .zip file should have given you:
Vocab.opa	The program file
Vocab.wrd	This file in Psion Word format
Vocab.txt	This file in plain text format
template.odb	The template database file
Vocabf.als	List of your data files, for easy editing

Make a directory called \vocab\, and put the file called template.odb in it. Put the .opa and .als files in the \app\ directory, and instal both with Psion-I. The other files can go anywhere it is convenient for you.

Running
Before running the program, you will want to input some vocabulary. The program uses the normal Data program, for convenience. The best thing to do is put the cursor on the template file under the icon and use Psion-C to make a copy of it with an appropriate name for the data you want to save. This could be anything, the name of the target language, a chapter number from the text book you are learning from, a date, whatever. The file will appear under the icon for vocab.als. Input the vocab into this file in the usual way with Data, by highlighting it under this icon. When you have finished, press Psion-X to close the database. You are now ready to test yourself.

Run the program by picking the file you want to test yourself on from under the Vocab.opa icon. You will see the menu options; select whether or not you want to be be tested from the source language or into the source language, although please note that this latter option is only available once you have registered. You can also choose a case-sensitive test if you want.

The program will pick a word at random. If you can translate it, good. If you make a mistake, however, you are presented with a choice: it could be that your mistake was a typing error, or that you gave "jolly" instead of "merry" or something, and consider that you do actually know the word in question, and want to allow your answer despite the program. If this is the case, press Esc. Otherwise, if you agree that you haven't learned the word yet, have a look at the displayed correct answer, say the word to yourself (this makes a big difference to the success of the learning process), and when you are ready, press enter. The computer will pick another word, but you will be asked the word you got wrong again. The program goes on till you have got them all right. It will probably take a good few tries before you are getting them all right.

Registration
Registration costs 5. Until you register, you cannot be tested from the target language into the source language (usually the easier way round). You can send the fee to the address below. If you are paying in a foreign currency, get in touch and we can arrange something. On receipt of payment I will send you a registration code, which you can enter by choosing register from the program's menu.

Contact
Neil Sands
neilsands@cix.co.uk

History
v3.1 - .als file added. Case sensitive test added.
