ReadMe

The Fluent Forever English (General American) Pronunciation Trainer

Hello! Thank you for purchasing the Fluent Forever English (General American)
Pronunciation Trainer. To get started, there are four important steps to follow. Please make
sure you read through this ReadMe file in its completion and follow the steps before
studying.

Get started

1. Read Me First (Seriously!)

Start by reading through this ReadMe file in full. It will help you to understand the setup
process.

2. Install Anki

Install Anki, if you don’t have it yet. Go here: http://ankisrs.net to download Anki and install it
on your computer.

Note: It is very important that you install the official version linked to above. If you install a
different version, there is a good chance our materials won't work with it. We also
recommend that you set this up on a laptop or computer first. Then you can sync it to your
mobile device (a video on how to do that is included on the page mentioned in step four).

Step by Step Guide To Install Anki

1. Go to the link http://ankisrs.net and click on the button “Download”.
2. Click on the tab to select which operating system you have; “Windows”, “Mac” or
“Linux/BSD” and click the download button.

3. A pop-up will appear asking you to save the file on your computer. Click "Save File". The
installer will download to your desktop or downloads folder.

4. Once the download is complete, double click on the installer to run it. A pop-up will prompt
you to install Anki. Click install. Anki will be installed to your computer.

3. Install the Deck

Go to the folder “English (GA) [v3.0]” and click on "Install The Deck". There are two folders.
I. New Users Use This Deck: Use this if you’re a new user of the English (General
American) Pronunciation Trainer and do not have any version of the English (General
American) Pronunciation Trainer.
 Step by step Guide to Install the Deck
1. Open the folder “New Users Use This Deck”.

2. To install the deck, begin by double clicking on the file “English (General
American) Pronunciation Trainer [version 3.0].apkg” and it’ll automatically
open Anki and install itself.

3. When the installation has successfully completed, you’ll see a note: "655
cards imported!”.

II. Old Users Update With This Deck: Use this if you are an old user of the English
(General American) Pronunciation Trainer and have already been using version 2.03
or earlier. We recommend this to ensure that your flashcards work properly.

Step by step Guide to Update the Deck

1. Open folder “Old Users Update With This Deck”.
 2. To update the deck, all you need to do is double click on the file “English
(General American) Pronunciation Trainer [version 3.0].apkg” and it will begin
updating your existing deck.

3. In the Decks window in Anki, go to the "Tools" menu up top, then select
"Empty Cards...". Then click the "Delete Cards" button.

4. Pronunciation Trainer Resources

Go to https://fluent-forever.com/pronunciation-trainers/english-general-american-
pronunciation-trainer-resources/ to begin studying by first watching the essential videos and
reading the step by step guide on how to use Anki. Here you will find three main things:

i. All of the videos you’ll need to get started.

Please note that the videos are essential to making this thing work well, so
watch them before using the trainer. Seriously. If you just rush in and start playing
with the flashcards, the trainers won’t work nearly as well and you’re going to feel
overwhelmed and frustrated.

ii. More detailed instructions for folks who aren’t very familiar with Anki.

iii. Bug reports.

If a bug or mistake in the cards shows up, I’ll be posting it at the bottom of the page
linked above, so that you can figure out what it is and how to fix it (and find out if I
haven’t caught it yet!). If you catch a bug or mistake that I haven’t caught, send it to
help@fluent-forever.com and we’ll address it ASAP.
FAQ
I’ve installed Anki and the deck, what now?
Now that you’ve successfully installed Anki and the deck, you can start studying English
(General American) by firstly going to the English (General American) Pronunciation Trainer
Resources page. Here you will find essential videos and a step by step guide of how to use
Anki in order to begin studying. Remember it is important to watch the videos first as this will
give you the foundation you need to study using the Fluent Forever method.

How do I study the Pronunciation Trainer in Anki?

To begin studying, open Anki. The Decks window will display the main deck called “English
(General American) Pronunciation”. You will also see the two sub-decks including “1. English
(GA) Spelling Rules and Examples” and “2. English (GA) Minimal Pairs”.

Next, select the main deck. By clicking the main deck, you will be studying cards from both
sub-decks. Therefore, you do not need to study the sub-decks separately.

What is the Optional Spelling Tests Version?

When installing the deck, you might have noticed a folder called “Optional Spelling Tests
Version”.

This is an optional version of the deck that asks you to actually type in words to test your
spelling, rather than just spelling out the words in your head. It’s discussed in the videos on
the English (General American) Pronunciation Trainer Resources page.
If you would like to have this feature in your deck, please open the folder “Optional Spelling
Tests Version” in whichever folder suitable to you; “New Users Use This Deck” or “Old Users
Update With This Deck” and click the file “English (General American) Pronunciation Trainer
with Spelling Tests [version 3.0].apkg” to install.

Note, this version can be installed at a later time.

I’m having trouble installing Anki or the deck, where can I get help?
If you are having difficulties installing Anki or the deck, you can either post the problem on
the forum at https://fluent-forever.com/forums/forum/anki-troubleshooting/ or send us an
email at help@fluent-forever.com. Please include as much detail as possible and
screenshots of the issue.

How do I make sure I have the latest version?

The latest version published is always listed on the English (General American)
Pronunciation Trainer Resources page. The version of the pronunciation trainer that came
with this ReadMe file is version 3.0. We email you the latest version every time a new
version is released.

If you don’t have the latest version, please check your email for the download of the latest
version, or email customer support at help@fluent-forever.com to receive the latest version.

Another method to check the version of your pronunciation trainer is to look inside your Anki
deck. This method is only possible if you have installed a pronunciation trainer that is version
3.0 or above. There is an additional hidden card in your deck, which helps you check the
version that you have.

To locate this card, click on the “Browse” button on the top of the Decks window.
In the search box at the top of the browser type “version”. A card will appear in the search
results with the details of the pronunciation trainer version. Note, this card is hidden and
suspended so it will not appear when you are studying.

The sounds or spellings appearing on my deck are too easy, how can I
skip these particular cards?
If you are an intermediate or advanced student and have come across a sound or spelling
that is extremely familiar to you, your easiest course of action is to study like anyone else,
but hit the “Suspend Note” button (type an exclamation point, ‘!’) whenever you encounter a
card that’s extremely easy for you, so that you won’t get quizzed on it again.

Alternatively, you can skim through the Browser by clicking on “browse” on top of the deck
window.
The browser window will open. Click on “English (General American) Pronunciation” on the
left side, select all the cards that seem like they’d be easy for you, and click the ‘Suspend’
button up top, to take them out of the deck in advance.

I found a mistake/bug! What do I do?

Again, if you encounter problems, either email it over or post it to the forum at https://fluent-
forever.com/forums/forum/anki-troubleshooting/. Include screenshots if possible (if you need
an image upload service, use Imgur.com), and be as detailed as you can! If the forum won’t
cooperate or if you have something you’d prefer to send in private, send an email over to
help@fluent-forever.com.

Is there a faster way to reach my fluency goals, when compared with this
Pronunciation Trainer?
I’m not aware of any faster routes through pronunciation than this trainer. That said, I am
aware of a couple of routes that are faster routes through the rest of the language.

One option is fairly impractical (and expensive) for most: once you’re done with
pronunciation, enroll in a full immersion program like the ones at Middlebury College. Spend
7-8 weeks entirely in your target language, and you’re going to be having comfortable
conversations at the end, regardless of your learning approach.

You can check out websites such as iTalki.com to get more speaking practice. There are
also other websites that have English flashcard deck resources which are highly
recommended.

Another option is more portable. We’re making a new app that replaces Anki. It has a (much)
faster learning curve, it’s really enjoyable to use, and it allows you to learn faster than the
standard Fluent Forever + Anki or Fluent Forever + Leitner Box methods. We’re really, really
proud of it. Check out more info here: http://indiegogo.fluent-forever.com
Are the Fluent Forever Pronunciation Trainers the same as the Fluent
Forever App?

Nope, they're different!

The Fluent Forever Pronunciation Trainers are a set of videos and audio-visual flashcards.
To use them, you watch some videos on YouTube, then you download a flashcard app
called Anki, load our pronunciation trainer flashcards into Anki, and start studying. After 2-3
weeks, you'll have a solid foundation in the sound system of your target language, both in
terms of ear training and in terms of the spelling system. After that, you can go create
flashcards on your own within Anki, as described within the Fluent Forever book. We began
creating these trainers in 2013, and finished in late 2017.
The Fluent Forever App is a much bigger project that we're currently working on. Many of
our users have had trouble learning how to use Anki, or have found that parts of the
flashcard creation process were overly tedious. Instead of spending all of their time exploring
their new language, they were getting stuck, spending their time struggling with flashcard
creation.

In response, we decided to make our own mobile app that could automate the entire Fluent
Forever method, so that a student could focus all of their time on exploring their target
language, while the app created flashcards automatically, based upon that student's
choices. While the Fluent Forever App DOES teach pronunciation in the first few weeks,
that's only a small part of what it can do. It's designed to take you all the way to fluency,
teaching you vocabulary and grammar from 1,875 sentences we're making, and letting every
user of the app share their original content with every other user of the app. Within the next
year or two, this will become the largest database of easily learnable sentences in the
world. We began this project in late 2017, and we should have a final version ready by
August of 2018. If you'd like to get early, discounted access, join our Indiegogo
campaign: http://indiegogo.fluent-forever.com

I’ve also created a video to explain the differences here: https://youtu.be/o67Xn09_R-c

I’ve completed the pronunciation trainer, what do I do next?

If you have completed the pronunciation

trainer deck you will no longer see any daily
cards to review in Anki. If you’re still having
problems with pronunciation, you could try
Rhinospike.com for help. There are also
other websites that have English flashcard
deck resources which are highly
recommended, such as the English
alphabet, English IPA and other useful
goodies.

The next step in becoming fluent in English

is to learn a set of extremely common,
simple words using pictures, not translations.
There are 625 basics words that are
commonly used. You can purchase the
Wordlist for English at the shop and begin
creating cards to study. There’s also the
option of using ready-made decks of English vocabulary, or checking out a English
frequency dictionary.
You can read more about this stage of the Fluent Forever method in Chapter 4 of the Fluent
Forever Book entitled “Word Play and the Symphony of a Word”. If you don’t already have
the book, you can purchase the physical copy online or purchase the audiobook version at
our shop.