VocabTutor version 5.3
for Psion Series 5 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:
VocabTutor.opo	The program fileVocabTutor	This file in Psion Word formatVocabTutor.txt	This file in plain text formatVocabTutor.htm	This file in HTML formattemplate	The template database fileabout.mbmclose.mbmregister.mbmtest.mbmvocab.mbm	Picture files

Make a directory called \documents\VocabTutor\, and put the file called template in it. Make another directory called \system\apps\vocabtutor\ and put all the .mbm files in it. (You might need to adjust Show System folder, using ctrl-k from the system screen, before you can do this.) Then the other files can go anywhere it is convenient for you. (The program is run by double-tapping on the VocabTutor.opo icon, so put it somewhere handy.)

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 open the template file, and immediately do ctrl-shift-S to rename it to something appropriate. This could be anything so long as there are no spaces in it; the name of the target language, a chapter number from the text book you are learning from, a date, whatever. Input the vocab in the usual way for Data. There is a limit of 500 records, but if you feel you will need more for any particular file, get in touch and we can arrange something. When you have finished, press ctrl-E to close the database. You are now ready to test yourself.
Run VocabTutor.opo by tapping on its icon twice. You will see the toolbar options; choose "Test", and then select the file you previously set up. You are also given a choice as to whether you want to be be tested from your source language or into your source language, although please note that this latter option is only available once you have registered.
The program gives you the option of the test being case sensitive. Some languages require capital letters in certain words, so for these languages it is recommended that you keep the case sensitivity on. Also, if your target language includes accented characters that the Series 5 cannot cope with, you might choose to represent these with capital letters, and leave the case sensitivity on.
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 a or tap the allow button. 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, tap continue or 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. You are given a score at the end - this is a simple ratio of wrong answers per size of file.

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
v5.01	.opo file fixed
v5.1	Case insensitive tests supported
v5.2	Maximum database size increased to 500 records
v5.3	Toolbar support added. Score now given after test completion.