Changelog
What is new in VocaFlare? Follow every update.
Learn English from TV series: ready word and phrase packs
- A new section built from television. We take the whole dialogue of a season, pull out the words and phrases, then rank them by how often the season says each one. First show is Community, 25 episodes.
- Phrasal verbs and idioms sit in the list next to the words. That is what a series teaches and a word list cannot: both halves are known separately, the pair is not.
- Three download sizes, and the sizes are not arbitrary: each one is a frequency threshold. Said at least 10 times is 149 cards, at least 5 times is 430 cards, everything is 895 cards. Beginner level words are out of all three, the level lists carry those.
- The packs import straight into the app. Every card arrives with its meaning and an example sentence already filled in.
- The ranking follows how often you hear it, so the list opens with what the show is about to say next.
Your own word lists, and words you add yourself
- My words is now one place that holds every word you study. Lists sit on top of it as filters, so a word can belong to several lists at once and removing it from a list never deletes it.
- Add a word by hand. Type it and the dictionary fills in the meaning and an example for you, which you can edit before saving.
- Bring your words from Anki. Export your deck as a text file and import it; duplicates are matched against what you already have instead of piling up.
- Words you save from chats no longer crowd the deck. There is a daily limit on them, and ones you never studied are cleared out after a while.
- Your words load faster and survive better. They are now kept row by row in a real database on your device rather than as one large blob.
- Speech scoring got fairer for Greek and other non-Latin scripts. A correct answer is no longer marked wrong because the recogniser guessed the wrong language, and the corrector no longer invents words you did not say.
Word review grew: a levelled catalogue of 8,640 words
- Review now ships with a ready word catalogue: 8,640 English words tagged by CEFR level, each with an example sentence and its meaning in your language. No need to chat first, you have words to study from day one.
- Words match your level. At B2 you get B2 words, and neighbouring levels step in once yours runs out.
- Phrases are studied on the same screen. Pick your source from the top right: Catalogue, Phrases or My chats. One place for review.
- The daily free review limit is gone. Study as much as you like.
- Each card shows the word's level and part of speech, in your language.
- The speak button no longer stacks: pressing again cuts the current audio and starts over.
The app, where the words are
- Every word page now shows the word inside a lesson: the tutor asks for a sentence, you answer out loud, the tutor answers back.
- It sits right under the meaning rather than at the foot of the page, because a lookup is usually over before anyone scrolls.
- On phones the app link is a slim line at the bottom of the screen instead of a panel that slides over what you were reading.
The level you pick is the level you get
- Lowering your level in Settings used to snap back to the old one on the next sync. The level you pick now stays.
- Your choice follows you across devices. The most recent deliberate change wins, wherever you made it.
- Retaking the placement test applies its result as is, even when the test places you lower than before.
Free English word lists, now the whole list
- The CEFR word lists on the site, A1 to C2, now put all 8,640 words on the page with their meaning in your language. They used to arrive twenty at a time.
- A search box above each list filters it as you type, and a letter bar jumps you to any part of the alphabet.
- Every word has its own page: what it means, its part of speech, its level, an example sentence, and other words from the same level.
- New lists by letter count, from three letters to twelve, next to the five letter guessing game.
- Every level is still a free PDF in your language, ready to print.
- The lists moved to a tidier address (/en/english/words). Old links redirect, so nothing you saved breaks.
- The five letter guessing game closed. Its address now opens the full five letter word list, which is the same words and a lot more of them.
Spy: one of you does not know the word
- New game mode next to Quiz Arena. Everyone at the table gets the same word, except one player: the spy sees nothing.
- Each round you write a single sentence in the language you are learning. Enough to show you know the word, not enough to hand it to the spy.
- Then everyone votes. Vote for the real spy and you score. A caught spy gets one guess at the word and can take the points back.
- Two players are enough to start. Bot players fill the table and are marked as bots, so a round never waits for a full lobby.
- Writing in another language or using the word itself costs you the round, so the sentence has to be your own work.
- Share the 6 character code or send the invite link. Friends join without adding each other first.
Quiz Arena: race your friends live
- New Quiz Arena: create a lobby, share the 6 character code, and play with 2 to 6 people at once. You do not need to be friends, the code is enough.
- Everyone sees the same question at the same time. Answering faster earns more points, and the standings appear after every question.
- Mixed levels stay fair: a beginner who gets the question right scores more than an advanced player who answers just as fast.
- Questions are in the language you are learning, on the topic you pick: daily life, travel, food, work, technology and more.
- Invite friends with one tap and they get a notification. The XP you earn goes straight to your account.
Audio stories: listen to English on the go
- New 'Audio stories' section: classic short stories by O. Henry, Poe, Twain and more, read slowly and clearly for English learners. Pick by level and listen.
- Stories keep playing in the background: with the screen locked, on a walk, on your commute. Playback controls live on the lock screen.
- Download stories and listen offline. Resume where you left off, with 15-second skip forward and back.
- Pro members listen ad-free and get a comprehension quiz tailored to their level when a story ends.
Write to us right from the app
- New 'Write to us' section in Settings: send your questions, issues, and ideas without leaving the app. Your message reaches us with your account, and our reply arrives as a notification.
- In voice mode your chosen speech speed is now applied consistently on every sentence; the backup voice that kicks in at busy times also speaks at your chosen speed.
- New Profile tab: your name, level, streak, XP and words on one screen; progress, friends and history live here, with Settings behind the gear icon.
Review your mistakes after the test
- When the daily test ends, the questions you got wrong are now listed one by one; tap any of them to see why, with a clear explanation and example sentences.
- Finishing the test or word review now offers a next step: practice your mistakes or reviewed words by chatting with your tutor, or jump into the daily or paragraph test.
- Word capture from chat now only adds words in the language you are learning; stray words from other languages no longer enter your deck.
Invite a friend to practice
- You can now invite a friend straight into a practice room. They get a notification, and the room opens the moment they join.
- A word of the day waits in your notification bar every morning. Turn it off any time in Settings.
- The home screen widget is resizable now, and shows your upcoming words when you make it bigger.
- In the level test you can skip a question with “I don’t know” instead of guessing.
- The friend list loads fast even with many friends, and now has a search box.
Smoother voice chat
- Voice chat wait times are shorter; your turn comes faster.
- Tap to jump in instantly while the tutor is speaking or thinking.
- Your message bubble appears the moment you stop talking.
Steadier voice chat and a fresh look
- Silent or unclear recordings no longer slip into the chat as phantom messages. The app gently asks you to say it again, with a short vibration.
- When you speak in your own language, your words now stay exactly as you said them instead of being translated into the language you are learning.
- Tutor corrections now follow the flow of the conversation. Natural short replies are no longer flagged.
- The chat screen got cleaner. The top area is smaller, leaving more room for your messages.
- A new, warmer typeface across the app: Nunito.
- The welcome screen checkbox now always shows on iOS, and the daily reminder permission asks again at the right time.
- Sign in with Apple is here. One tap on iOS, with the option to hide your email.
- The login screen got a refresh. A cleaner look, with email sign-in behind a single button that expands when you need it.
- Tutors now sound more human: natural reactions, small hesitations, and everyday spoken contractions.
- Adding and removing friends and answering requests now updates the list instantly.
- Error messages and confirmations now use the app's own design.
Sharper speaking practice and smarter review
- In listen-and-repeat, your speech is now highlighted word by word so you can see exactly which words came through clearly and which to try again
- When the tutor spots a grammar slip, it now adds a short tip in your own language explaining the rule, not just the corrected sentence
- Word review got smarter: each word is now scheduled for the moment you are about to forget it, and you can rate a word Again, Hard, Good, or Easy
- Teachers can now see at a glance who has gone quiet, and which tutors their students practice with most
Lessons that listen back
- After some lessons we now ask a quick, tap-only 'how did it feel?' so you can tell us what was fun without typing a word
- Your tutor gently adjusts how it speaks based on how your recent lessons felt, easing up when things get tough and adding a little more when you are breezing through
- Schools can now see engagement and return-intent for each student in the dashboard, right next to XP
Leaderboard gets clearer
- Global leaderboard now shows everyone's real name instead of a generic label
- Leaderboard rows now show a flag for the language each learner is studying
- Pending friend requests now show a count badge right on the add-friend button
- Fixed the leaderboard showing 'no one earned XP yet' even when someone was on the board
- Softer wording on the guest save-your-progress banner
- Learning path layout polish: no more big empty space above the first task, and task labels no longer crowd the paragraph test card
Lessons that fit your level, and your own scenarios
- Conversations now adapt to your level: beginners get short, simple sentences and it scales up as you do
- Take a level test in each language you learn, right from settings
- Warm-up quizzes now show a hint when the blank could take more than one word, and accept any answer that truly fits
- Finish a level test and see your result
- Organizations can add their own role-play scenarios: describe an idea and we build a coherent scenario for your learners
- Review cards now speak: tap the speaker to hear the word in your tutor's voice
- Gentle home-screen nudge for guests: link your account so your progress survives even if you delete the app
- 'Already have an account? Log in' link on the welcome screen: existing users can skip onboarding and sign in directly
- Fix: logging into your account no longer sends you back to onboarding; returning users go straight to the home screen
- Voice preview when picking a tutor: tap a tutor and they greet you in their own voice, in the language you're learning
- Leaderboard now has global and class rankings: see where you stand among everyone, and compete within your class if you're in one
- Paragraph test: we generate a level-appropriate text from your collected words, then ask mixed questions about it (comprehension, fill-in-the-blank, inference)
The XP system, explained, plus this week's updates
- Speaking practice: every message you send earns 10 XP
- Task completion: finishing a task on your path by speaking earns 25 XP
- Warm-up quiz rounds: a correct answer earns 10 XP on the first try, 5 XP if you opened a hint, 2 XP on a retry; the total is added when the round ends, and extra practice rounds keep earning XP
- Daily test: 5 XP per correct answer
- Limits: at most 100 XP per action and 1000 XP per day
- Warm-ups now mix different exercise types in the same round
- Learning paths now progress separately per language
- Tutor conversations now sound more casual and closer to spoken language