Why Practice Mode was built for deeper, durable vocabulary
Read Mode is designed to surround you with context. Practice Mode is the other half of the loop: a quick, low‑friction way to take a word and make it yours. In 30–60 seconds you explain, connect, or create with the word, which are tiny reps that produce big memory gains.
Harsha Kotla
CEO of WordMate
TL;DR
- •Flashcards help you recognize a word. Writing with it helps you own it.
- •Practice Mode uses user‑specific prompts that force “deep encoding,” not shallow repetition.
- •Psychology: semantic > phonetic > structural (Craik & Tulving) + self‑reference effect.
- •60 seconds per word is enough when you generate, connect, and apply the meaning.
Why writing helps you learn faster
Recognition is not mastery. It feels good to tap through flashcards, but the brain encodes best when you actively work with meaning. Short writing forces you to decide, "What does this really mean here? How does it connect to me?" That decision-making is where memory is born.
Practice Mode gives you that active moment without turning practice into a chore. One clean prompt, one minute of focus, immediate feedback.
What you actually do
1) Choose a wordlist (or stay on General). A word is surfaced instantly.
2) Optionally reveal the definition if you need a hint.
3) Respond to one precise prompt. Tap “New Prompt” to hit the word from another angle.
4) Press Grade to get quick feedback. Use the chat sidebar (@define, @example, @synonym) when you need support, then return to your own words.
The Psychology behind Practice Mode
Craik & Tulving showed that how you process a word matters more than how many times you see it. Thinking about meaning (semantic encoding) outperforms thinking about sound (phonetic) or appearance (structural).
There’s also the self‑reference effect: when you tie new information to your own life, recall jumps. Practice Mode bakes both ideas in by making you generate, connect, and apply meaning: classic “elaborative rehearsal.”
How to get the most from it
Keep it short but concrete (1–3 sentences). Specific beats long.
Hit “New Prompt” to build multiple pathways to the same word (own words → connection → story).
Use @define/@example for a nudge, then go back to your wording - that step is where the memory happens.
Read more about the Psychology aspect of Practice Mode here: Craik & Tulving
You are literally forcing deep processing. That’s why these tiny writing reps translate into massive memory gains.