Why We Drill Phrases, Not Rules
Traditional language apps spend much of their time teaching about the language—grammar explanations, vocabulary lists, badge-chasing. DrillPhrases flips that script. We focus on the smallest unit that carries real meaning in conversation: the phrase.
1 · Phrases bundle grammar, vocabulary, and rhythm
A single phrase (“I’d like a coffee, please”) packs word order, conjugation, and polite tone into one reusable chunk. Learn it intact and you use it intact—no mental assembly required.
2 · The Tight Practice Loop
- Prompt · You see or hear a phrase.
- Recall / Produce · You write, say, or translate it from memory.
- Reveal · One click shows the correct answer.
- Self-grade · Mark it right or wrong—honestly.
- Next · Instant new phrase; no menus, no downtime.
Each loop is a deliberate rep of active recall, proven to beat passive review. The speed keeps your brain under mild pressure—enough to strengthen memory without drifting into boredom.
3 · Four Modes, Same Loop
- Writing · Type the phrase in the target language.
- Reading · See the foreign text, recall the meaning.
- Listening · Hear the phrase, identify what was said.
- Speaking · Say the phrase aloud, then check yourself.
Switching modes hits the phrase from every angle—orthography, sound, comprehension, and production—cementing it faster than single-skill drills.
4 · Honest Self-grading > Gamification
No hearts to lose, no xp to farm. You decide if you nailed it. That keeps the feedback loop honest and pushes weak spots back into the rotation when they need work.
5 · Roadmap: From Random to Smart
Version 1 surfaces phrases at random for maximum variety. Upcoming releases will weight the queue by past performance, so phrases you struggle with appear more often—spaced-repetition without the clutter.
Bottom line: Practice phrases in rapid, honest loops and fluency follows. Open the drill, take a breath, and start the next rep.
About the Phrase Set
The drills run on a small, hand-picked list of high-frequency phrases. Each row in the data file looks like this:
uuid,foreign,translit,english
94bde068-… ,Ciao,CHOW,Hello
…
- uuid – an internal ID
- foreign – the phrase in the target language
- translit – pronunciation guide (when useful)
- english – quick meaning
Right now the set is deliberately small—greetings, directions, restaurant basics—so you can cycle through it quickly and build recall. More phrases (and more languages) will be added in batches; when they land, they’ll appear automatically in the drills.
If you’d like to suggest phrases you think belong in the “must-know” starter deck, let us know via the contact page.