I love the new written portion of the course!

Good job on the new written portion of the course! It really does add a lot to my German learning to not only hear, speak and read, but also to write in German! (I don't know enough yet to write this in German, though ... working on that!)

I was halfway through Platinum and wondering what I would do next when I finish in another couple of months. Now I know. I find writing is a very useful way of enforcing vocabulary. I used to do it sometimes anyway as I went through the lessons so I think this is a real good feature. It would be even nicer to get some points for it. How about 5 points every time for completing a phrase? (I know, I'm just like a kid, but it worked for me in 3rd grade and it still works for me now.)

I agree, Byron, that we should get some points for doing the written/typed portion of the course. When it first came out, I went all the way back to lesson 1 to do all the writing lessons. I've spent many hours doing them, but have received no points. Silly, I know, but any small motivation is useful. It is a great review and really strengthens some areas where I was weak. In English, I am quite a "grammar nazi" and see how silly people look when they make stupid grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm not talking about people learning English as a second language but those that are native speakers that don't know their own language. That's why I appreciate the German written feature so much; because if I'm going to learn this language, I want to do it thoroughly and correctly.

Personally, I think it would be more motivating to get credit for every test and every recording taken. I don't game the system and do just the things that give me points, but it would be nice to get credit for every phrase taken in the practice, hear it, know it, and write it. It would be nice to have a steady point flow. I start a lesson, get early points, and then spent many hours completing the tests before I can earn any more points. I would like to see a more constant and steady sense of progress..