Type-to-Learn for Keybr is a browser extension designed for English language learners who want to enhance their learning experience on keybr.com. This tool provides subtle, on-the-fly translations of the English words you are typing into your native language. The goal is to help you build vocabulary and strengthen the connection between a word's meaning and its physical spelling through muscle memory, turning your typing practice into a powerful language learning session.
The core idea behind this extension is to leverage muscle memory for language acquisition. However, it's crucial to understand the primary risk: the translation crutch.
Your brain is smart and lazy; it will always seek the easiest path. If the translation is too easy to read, you risk falling into a pattern of:
- Reading the translation in your native language.
- Treating the English word as a mere sequence of characters to be typed.
This is not learning. This is transcription. The goal of this tool is to force you to engage with the English word first and use the translation only as a last resort.
To use this tool effectively, you must make the translations difficult to read. The default settings are a starting point, but you should adjust them in config.js to a point where the translation is almost invisible to you.
Your goal is to make looking at the translation a conscious, deliberate effort. If you find yourself effortlessly reading the translations, you are using the tool incorrectly and hindering your own progress.
- Force Recall: Always attempt to recall the meaning of the English word first.
- Use as a Check: Only glance at the translation to confirm your understanding, not to get the meaning initially.
- Minimize Reliance: The more you have to strain to see the translation, the more you will be forced to rely on your own memory, which is the entire point.
This tool is not a shortcut. It is a device to make your practice more efficient, but only if used with discipline.
- Subtle, On-the-Fly Translations: Get instant translations for the words you're typing, displayed in a non-intrusive way.
- Configurable: Easily change the target language, font size, and positioning of the translations to suit your preferences.
- Lightweight and Fast: The extension is designed to be as efficient as possible, with minimal impact on browser performance.
- Clone this repository or download the source code.
- Open your Chrome or Chromium-based browser and navigate to
chrome://extensions. - Enable "Developer mode" in the top right corner.
- Click "Load unpacked" and select the directory where you saved the extension files.
- Navigate to keybr.com and start a typing lesson. The translations will appear above the words.
To configure the extension, you can modify the config.js file. This allows you to set the target language for translations, as well as adjust the font size and vertical position of the translation text.