Vocabulary Learning Workbook - Instruction Manual

Why This Workbook?

Learning a new language requires consistent vocabulary practice, but many vocabulary learning tools on the market today are either overcomplicated, require internet connectivity, or lack the flexibility that learners need. This Excel-based vocabulary learning tool was created to address these limitations by offering:

• Simplicity First: A straightforward, no-frills interface that focuses on what matters—learning vocabulary. No unnecessary features or overwhelming menus.

• Core Functionality: All the essential features you need for effective vocabulary learning in one place:
  • Easy word entry and management
  • Self-testing through randomized quizzes
  • Important word flagging system
  • Progress tracking over time
• Visual Dashboard: An at-a-glance visualization of your learning progress, including:
  • Total words learned
  • Word form distribution (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
  • Quiz performance metrics
  • Learning timeline

• Offline Access: Work entirely offline without requiring internet connectivity or third-party accounts.

• Full Control: Your vocabulary data stays on your device. No cloud services, no data sharing, no privacy concerns.

• Customized Language Forms: You can add additional notations (e.g. verb conjugation/plural form changes in some languages, preposition for verbs, etc.) flexibly to each word.

Getting Started: Access a Clean Workbook

If you’d like to start fresh with an empty workbook (without any sample vocabulary), you can download a clean version here.

Simply download the file, enable macros when prompted, and you’re ready to begin building your personalized vocabulary list.

Workbook Structure Overview

The workbook contains 8 worksheets, each serving a specific purpose. Some are designed for direct user interaction, while others operate behind the scenes to support the workbook’s functionality.

📝 User-Interactive Worksheets (You should use these)

1. add_words

Purpose: Your primary interface for adding new vocabulary entries to your collection.

How to Use:

• Enter the word in the “Word” field
• Enter the English definition in the “Definition” field
• Select the appropriate word form from the dropdown (n., v., adj./adv., prep., conj., Phr.)
• Click the “Add Word” button (macro-enabled) to save the entry
• The word will automatically be added to your vocab_list with a timestamp
• Remove entered words by entering its ID (not the row number in Excel!) in the “ID” field and click on the “Delete from Vocabulary” button
• Clean quiz/important word logs with the corresponding buttons

Important Notes:

• You must enable macros for the buttons to work
• The worksheet includes a helpful guide with supported word forms
• All entries are automatically timestamped when added

2. Dashboard

Purpose: Your main visualization hub for tracking learning progress and vocabulary statistics.

What You’ll See:

• Summary Statistics:
  • Total words in your vocabulary
  • Number of days tracked
  • Count of important words flagged
  • Date range of your learning journey
• Word Form Distribution:
  • Visual breakdown of vocabulary by type (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
  • Percentage and count for each word form
• Quiz Performance Metrics:
  • Quiz history and accuracy trends
  • Total questions answered
  • Correct answer counts

How to Use:

• Simply open this worksheet to view your progress
• The dashboard updates automatically based on your vocabulary entries and quiz results
• Adjust the start and end dates (if needed) to view statistics for specific time periods

User Interaction: View only—do not edit cells directly

3. vocab_list

Purpose: The master list of all vocabulary entries you’ve added.

What You’ll See:

• ID: Unique identifier for each word
• Word: The German word or phrase
• Definition: English translation
• Form: Grammatical category (n., v., adj./adv., etc.)
• Added On: Timestamp of when the word was added

How to Use:

• Browse your complete vocabulary collection
• Sort or filter words as needed
• Review entries for study purposes

Important: While you can view and sort this list, it’s recommended to add words through the add_words worksheet rather than entering them directly here to maintain proper formatting and functionality.

4. quiz

Purpose: A randomized quiz interface for testing your vocabulary knowledge.

How to Use:

• Use “Generate Quiz” button to create a quiz from randomly drawn words in your vocab list
• Test yourself by covering the definition column and trying to recall meanings. Reveal the answers with the “Show Answers” button
• Your quiz results can be recorded to track performance over time in the dashboard

What You’ll See:

• ID, Word, Definition, and Form columns for each quiz question
• Random entries from your vocabulary list

User Interaction: Interact only with the buttons on the right.

5. important_words

Purpose: A curated list of vocabulary words you’ve flagged as important or difficult.

What You’ll See:

• The same structure as vocab_list (ID, Word, Definition, Form, Added On)
• Only words you’ve specifically marked as “important”

How to Use:

• Review words that require extra attention
• Use this for focused study sessions
• Words can be added or removed from this list using the workbook’s macro functions

User Interaction: View and study—add/remove through macro buttons

⚙️ Backend Worksheets (Do not edit directly)

6. quiz_logs

Purpose: Stores historical quiz performance data for tracking learning progress.

Contains:

• Quiz Time: Timestamp of each quiz session
• Accuracy: Percentage score
• Total Questions: Number of questions in the quiz
• Correct Answers: Number of correct responses

Important: This worksheet feeds data to the Dashboard. Do not modify entries manually to ensure accurate progress tracking.

7. important_words_logs

Purpose: Maintains a history of changes to your important words list.

Contains:

• Time: When the word was added or removed
• WordID: Reference to the vocabulary entry
• Operation: Type of change (add/remove)

Important: This log helps maintain data integrity. Do not edit manually.

8. dashboard_utils

Purpose: Contains formulas, calculations, and data transformations that power the Dashboard visualizations.

Contains:

• Helper formulas for aggregating quiz statistics
• Data processing for word form distributions
• Date calculations and filters

Critical: This worksheet is the engine behind the Dashboard. Any manual edits here can break the entire dashboard functionality. Leave it untouched.

Best Practices

✅ Do:

• Add all new words through the add_words worksheet
• Regularly take quizzes to track your progress
• Review your Dashboard to stay motivated
• Flag challenging words as “important” for focused review
• Enable macros to use the full functionality of the workbook

❌ Don’t:

• Edit backend worksheets (quiz_logs, important_words_logs, dashboard_utils) directly
• Manually enter data into vocab_list—use the add_words interface instead
• Delete or rename worksheets
• Disable macros unless necessary for security reasons

Troubleshooting

Problem: Buttons don’t work

• Solution: Ensure macros are enabled. Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings and select “Enable all macros”

TBA - Under active maintenance

Getting Help

For questions about enabling macros in Excel, visit: Microsoft Support - Enable or Disable Macros

Happy Learning!