reorder.coffee

Which languages does the app target?

The app is currently available for the following language pairs and domains: English-Japanese (legal texts), English-Chinese (documents from the United Nations), English-German (European Parliament documents), and English-Spanish (European Parliament documents).

How good should my reading skills be before using the app?

We recommend having the equivalent of about two years of college-level instruction.

Is it possible to look up words in a dictionary?

Yes. On the review screen, tap to highlight a word, and you will see the standard iOS 'Look Up' screen. From there, you can look up a word in one of the built-in dictionaries (tap 'Manage Dictionaries' to install, if necessary) or on the Internet by tapping 'Search Web'.

Is it possible to have words read aloud on the review screen?

Yes. You can enable the text-to-speech option system-wide in iOS. On your iPhone, go to Settings->General->Accessibility->Speech and enable 'Speak Selection'. Now, inside reorder.coffee, whenever you select text on the review screen, a 'Speak' button will appear along with 'Look Up'.

What do I need in order to install and use the app?

You need an iPhone running iOS 11.2 or later and about 50 mb of free storage. An Internet connection is not needed for running the app.

What are good strategies for playing the game?

When you first start out, we recommend trying to reorder your native language first and then trying to reorder the second language. Once you get the hang of it, you can scan the phrases in both languages and start reordering as you see phrases to form. Eventually, you want to get to the point where you feel as comfortable reordering your second language as your first language (see below).

When will I know that I've 'completed' the app?

Since the app is designed for learners already at the intermediate level, the app does not have artificial 'levels' like most language-learning apps, which are largely designed for beginners (which is not a bad thing, but reorder.coffee fills in the space for learners that have advanced beyond such apps). Instead, the app relies on a large bank of real-world sentences (13,000-15,000 sentences, depending on the language pair) that are randomly presented. Once you feel as comfortable reordering your second language as your first language, you will have graduated.