Observe the world
English: one piece at a time
Not sliced as "letters / phonics / tenses / articles" — that's a textbook's table of contents. These are sliced by "what you actually have to master to be done with this piece", and every one targets something Chinese speakers reliably get stuck on.
These prompts only exist in 简体中文 for now.
How to use this
This set teaches rather than interrogates: it guides you instead of pressing until you have nothing left to say. When you're stuck it first asks which layer you're stuck at (never heard of it / know it but not why / know why but can't use it), then decides what to give. Only after guiding you twice will it spell it out — and then it asks you to say it back in your own words.
**Not sliced by the textbook's table of contents.** "The 26 letters" is not about reciting the alphabet; it's about the handful of things you actually have to master before that piece is done — and that list is the answer key. Topic choice targets first-language interference: Chinese marks no tense, has no articles, and its pinyin is a one-to-one sound system. Those three facts dig the deepest holes.
How to start
- Pick one, open it, copy the prompt.
- Paste it into a brand-new conversation, say nothing, and wait for its first question.
- Say things out loud rather than only in your head. The speaking one runs entirely in English — you may ask for help in Chinese, but it keeps count.
Four commands you can call out at any time
跳过move to the next scene now换个说法explain this bit again from another angle直说吧spell the answer out, then make me say it back复盘jump to the wrap-up and print the review card
Three traps
- Don't read the answer key at the end first. **The speaking one is the exception** — it has no answer key, only a scoring rubric, and that rubric is meant to be read first: if you don't know what's being looked at, you don't know what to practise.
- Don't let it write your sentences. Cut it off when it offers you a whole line — a ghostwritten sentence is one you still won't be able to produce next time.
- When it starts praising you, point it back to the "don't praise me" rule. Guiding is not coddling.
Starting from zero: the letters, then phonics. Can read and write but freeze when speaking: go straight to the speaking one and find out which dimension is weakest. Keep being told your writing sounds off: the perfect tense and the articles. The speaking one is worth repeating, with a different topic each time.