Introduction

Welcome to the guide for Idiom. Ideally, an application is designed in such a way that users don't need a tutorial, video, or a text-heavy guide to show them how to use it. If they do, that may be a sign that the app is not very user-friendly. Nonetheless, as an application becomes more complex and offers increasingly more features, it may be helpful to have a quick reference to show what features exist and where they can be found. Additionally, there may be a wider range of ways different users engage with the app, and a guide can show people how others are using different features in ways that hadn't previously occurred to them.

Like the program itself, this guide is a living document and will grow and change alongside Idiom. At the moment, the current set of features doesn't really require a guide, as the app is still quite simple. However, I still thought it would be useful to have a fallback in case how everything works seems clear to me, but somebody else can't make something work as intended.

What is Idiom?

Idiom is an app where users can create, store, and practice vocabulary cards for foreign languages. The idea came from two basic impulses. First, physical vocab cards can be tedious to make, hard to organize, and storing them can become messy. Idiom makes this easier and less messy. Second, an app can mimic many of the exercises which can be done with physical cards and offer some additional exercises on top of these.

Of course, there may be advantages to handwriting physical cards and sorting them manually. And I am sure there are some exercises which can't be easily done in a digital environment. Idiom simply offers either an alternative way of practicing vocabulary or a complement to what learners already do.

The Current State

So far, storing vocabulary and creating vocab card exercises is all there is. But I am developing other features to help turn this into a 'foreign language self-study suite' where users can create and save their own material and will work well as a complement to formal study or contact with authentic material like texts and audio.

Follow the guide to get started. Or if it all seems obvious, just jump right in.