Practice

Phrase review: the path of themes

The Review tab is a path of themes: Basics first, then everyday situations. Starting it composes the session for you — a few new phrases from your current theme plus whichever practised ones are due — so there is nothing to pick by hand.

What the path is built from

Each theme is a section of ready-made phrases. Basics come first: they are the load-bearing expressions the other themes rely on. Everyday situations follow, in the order the service sets.

Only a theme with broken-down phrases joins the path: every phrase needs its ladder of blocks, the thing a lesson is built on. A theme without such phrases is not shown at all.

What a theme bar shows

The bar counts drills, not phrases opened. A first encounter fills part of a phrase’s share, each later drill adds more, and only after several successful drills does the phrase count as mastered and contribute its share in full.

Next to the bar you can see how many of the theme’s phrases are already mastered and how many are still in progress. A theme is marked complete once every phrase in it is mastered.

Which theme counts as current

By default the current theme is the first one on the path that is not fully complete, and new phrases are drawn from it. If you started a particular theme, that one stays current until you choose another.

Starting a theme versus the general start

Starting from a theme keeps the session inside it: both the new phrases and the reviews come from that theme only. The general start is wider — if the current theme runs out of new phrases the following themes are drawn on, and reviews come from everything you have ever drilled.

Theme order and themes you do not need

A theme can be moved up or down, and the path rearranges itself around you. A theme you do not need can be removed from the path: it disappears from the list and no new phrases are drawn from it.

What is open without Plus

All of Basics and several everyday situations are open on the free plan. The remaining themes are visible on the path but locked: starting one offers Plus instead, and its phrases join neither the new material nor the reviews.

What to do if…

A theme will not start and offers Plus instead

That theme is part of the paid material. Basics in full plus several situations are free — start there; they also come first on the path.

Phrases from other themes turn up in the session

That is the general start at work: reviews are drawn from everything you have practised, whatever theme it came from. To stay inside one theme, start the session from the theme itself — then both new phrases and reviews come from it alone.

A theme I was working through has vanished from the list

It was most likely removed from the path. Phrases from it that you had drilled still come up for review, and the phrases themselves remain on the All phrases tab.

The bar is nearly full but the theme is not marked complete

The mark appears once every phrase in the theme is mastered, without exception. A nearly full bar means some phrases are still in progress and short of successful drills.