Anki add-on: Language Turbo

Language Turbo This add-on was built to add functionality to Anki that I wanted but could not get out of the box. It is based on the Language Jones Anki pipeline , and my goal was to build a more refined and customizable version of that workflow. I highly recommend watching that video, because it helped me get much more out of Anki. The basic idea is that an especially effective way to study vocabulary is to use semantic images for prompting and partial phonetic priming to strengthen recall of the target word. In practice, that means using cards structured roughly like this: Front Prompt in your L1 Semantic image: an image that represents part of the meaning of the prompt. For example, if the prompt is "sun," the semantic image might be a picture of the sun. Back Target L2 output: written in the target language, either in transliteration or native script depending on your goals Phonetic priming image: an image of something that sounds like the target word in another language you know, or that helps trigger the sound in some other way. For example, if the target word is sol (Spanish for "sun"), a phonetic priming image might be a soul rising from a grave, or the sole of a shoe. This add-on is designed to improve that system in two main ways: Automatic answer timing. It lets you define and refine a delay function that predicts how long it takes you to produce an answer based on the length of the target response, then automatically flips the card. This speeds up review and reduces the tendency to zone out or think too long. The goal is to tune the timing right to the edge of what you can answer comfortably, so the experience better mimics real second-language communication, where you do not have unlimited time to conjugate verbs or search for vocabulary. A third spelling/orthography step. At first, the target-language orthography can remain hidden, giving you time to produce or spell the answer mentally before the written form appears. This is especially useful for languages like French, English, and Tibetan, where reading and spelling require memorizing many word forms that are not fully transparent from pronunciation alone. This reveal timing is controlled by a separate tunable delay function. When the orthography appears, the audio can play again. I also added support for a sign-language field that appears when the orthography is revealed. This can be useful if you want to learn signs from the corresponding sign language and reinforce learning through motor memory in addition to auditory and visual memory. There is also support for a separate spelling-pronunciation audio field. If present, that audio will play when the orthography is revealed instead of replaying the original pronunciation. I originally built this for Tibetan, which, like English and French, has an older orthography that often differs significantly from modern pronunciation. That means learning to read and write can sometimes feel like learning a second layer of the language. However, I made the spelling-oriented parts optional, so the workflow can also be used for more phonetic languages like Spanish, where spelling memorization is less demanding. The auto-flip feature can also be disabled if you do not want it. The add-on also makes it easier to manage card tags directly during review, without going into the editor. These tags can be used for things like dialects, separate timing profiles, or distinctions such as parts of speech that are not obvious from the L1 prompt alone. As an example of how I use the tags, in Tibetan, nouns can be generally classified into 4 types: Honorific, High Honorific, Humilific, and Normal. So I have assigned particular colors to Honorific, High Honorific, and Humilific to make it easier for me to differentiate them, since English treats respect and politeness in a very different way. I also have audio from speakers speaking significantly different dialects. I have added a tag for each dialect and changed the background color for each, and also made each of them their own timing profile since spelling and recitation times vary across the dialects. If you are studying multiple languages, you can just mark which language by a tag and change the timing profile without changing the background color, and if your languages are separated, but if you have multiple variants of the same languages or of different languages in the same deck, then I recommend using background color to differentiate them. Important Notes This add-on requires a specific note type. It depends on specific fields and custom JavaScript in the card templates. To use it properly, you should download this blank deck and use the Language Turbo card type for any cards you want this add-on to control. I do not currently have a reliable migration method. You may be able to export your cards as CSV and re-import them into the new note type, but I have not tested that thoroughly. If you find a good migration method, let me know. This add-on does not work on iPhone. It may work on Android, but I have not confirmed that. I did make sure the note type preserves most of the core card functionality even without the add-on, so the cards are still perfectly usable when you only have your phone with you. This took a lot of work to build, but for me it has been worth it. It has cut my review time per card by about half while also improving review quality. Here are some example decks to show how I use this add-on: Tibetan days of the week Fly -- Anu Also, if you use a lot of GIFs like I do, I recommend using this other Anki add-on that fixes broken GIF links, which can sometimes happen if you copy and paste a lot of GIFs from the web. Note this was entiraly vibe coded. If you have any questions, you can email me at Orangeflash99@gmail.com