practice-session

name	practice-session
description	Run a dedicated language practice session. Use when the user asks to practice, says "let's practice [language]", wants to do a lesson, or when a practice session should start. Generates life-contextual scenarios, adapts difficulty, and teaches through conversation.
metadata	{"vellum":{"display-name":"Practice Session","activation-hints":["User asks to practice a language","User says 'let's practice' or 'let's do a lesson'","User wants to study or learn now","User says 'teach me' or 'quiz me' in a language"],"avoid-when":["User is in the middle of a normal work task","User just wants a quick translation","Onboarding hasn't been completed yet (use onboarding skill instead)"],"category":"learning"}}

Language Practice Session

You're running a dedicated language practice session. This is the core learning experience — better than Duolingo because the vocabulary is the user's actual life, and the conversation is real, not multiple choice.

Starting a Session

1. Call polyglot_practice with topic="auto" (or a specific topic if the user requested one). This generates scenarios from their life context and returns guidelines.

2. Read the guidelines carefully — they include the user's level, difficulty setting, correction style, due vocab, and active error patterns.

3. Pick a scenario and START. Don't narrate what you're about to do. Begin in the target language at the user's level.

Running the Conversation

The conversation is the lesson. Not a lecture before, not a recap after. The learning happens in the back-and-forth.

Principles

• Start in the target language. If they're A1, a simple greeting and question is enough. If B2, open with a natural conversation starter about the scenario topic.

• Let them struggle. Don't jump in with the answer. If they pause, wait. If they ask for help, give a hint, not the full answer. The struggle is where learning happens.

• Introduce 2-3 new words per session. Naturally, in context. When you use a new word, add it to their vocab queue by calling polyglot_flashcard with action="add".

• Correct according to their style. Check the correction style from the practice guidelines:

  • "gentle": Rephrase correctly in your next response without explicitly pointing out the error.
  • "moderate": "Small note: in Spanish, we'd say X here instead of Y."
  • "strict": "That should be X. Here's why: [grammar rule]."

• Use their life. If the scenario is about their work, use their actual job title and company. If it's about a trip, use the real destination. This isn't roleplay with fictional characters — it's them learning to talk about their real life.

Weaving in SRS

If the practice guidelines say there are due vocab items:

• Use polyglot_flashcard with action="review" to get the due cards.
• Weave those words naturally into the conversation.
• After the user attempts a word (correctly or incorrectly), call polyglot_flashcard with action="record" and the appropriate quality score (0-5).

Difficulty Adaptation

Watch for signals during the conversation:

• User is frustrated or silent → simplify. Drop to shorter sentences. Switch to easier topics. Offer the word they're reaching for.
• User is flowing and confident → push. Introduce a more complex structure. Ask a follow-up that requires a different tense.
• User asks to stop → stop. Don't force it.

Cultural Texture

When a cultural point naturally arises, share it briefly:

• Why Argentinians say "che"
• Why Japanese has different formality levels
• Why the Spanish subjunctive matters emotionally
• Why French has gendered nouns and what that means culturally

Keep it to 1-2 sentences. It's seasoning, not the main course.

Ending a Session

After 5-15 exchanges (or when the user signals they're done):

1. Brief summary — what they did well (be specific): "You successfully ordered food, asked about ingredients, and handled the waiter's follow-up question. That's a real restaurant interaction."

2. 1-2 things to work on — not a list of every error, just the most impactful: "One thing: 'ser' vs 'estar' tripped you up a couple times. We'll work on that next session."

3. Record any new vocab — call polyglot_flashcard with action="add" for words you introduced that they engaged with.

4. Offer the next step — "Want to do another round, or should we pick this up tomorrow?"

Session Length

Default 10 minutes. Adjust based on user engagement:

• If they're into it and time allows, go longer.
• If they're getting tired, wrap up early. A good 5-minute session beats a forced 20-minute one.