Make every word count.
Organise your own vocabulary, mark the core words and preview imports before committing them.
Study, practise missed words and prove readiness in a no-hints mastery check.
From setup to learning
A starting path for teachers. Review learner-facing material before using it in class.
- 01
Build the pathway
Add an activity, then organise words in levels, topics and sets. Choose which core words and sets count towards mastery.
- 02
Import and review
Import Word tables, Excel/CSV files or pasted tables using the preview, or add words in the set's word table.
- 03
Learn and check
Learners study flashcards, practise adaptively and take a no-hints mastery check to unlock the next topic.
A pathway built from your words
Import with confidence
Bring Word, spreadsheet or pasted tables into a preview, inspect mappings and choose how duplicates should be handled before import.
Practise what needs work
Adaptive Practice gives more attention to missed words. Blitz and Streak offer separate challenges; by default they do not count towards mastery.
Check before progressing
Only core words in gated sets determine the topic pass. The mastery check gives no hints and returns missed words for further practice.
What the activity brings
Multiple training modes
Learn flashcards, adaptive Practice, timed Blitz, Streak and Difficult words. A separate Mastery check assesses readiness.
Import with preview
Import .docx, .csv, .xlsx, .xls or .ods, or paste a table; preview and resolve duplicates before importing.
Teaching and reporting
Review word reports, class overview, topic heatmap and difficult vocabulary. Gradebook and completion support are included.
Know what is separate
Operation credits
No AI services, speech providers or per-attempt AI usage charges. The optional downloadable ChatGPT prompt is text for teachers to use themselves; Moodle does not send content to an AI provider. One-time plugin access is separate from usage: the canonical LMS Labs unlock is 50 credits, subject to a verified release and its live manifest. Optional admin activation is informational, not a feature gate.
Important boundary. There is no AI generation or metered AI usage in this activity. This guide is deliberately text-only: no public client screenshots or media are authorised.
Installation
Installation is an administrator action. Do not use a candidate attachment as a substitute for a verified release.
- 01
Obtain the release
Once a promoted release is available, complete the required access verification and obtain the verified ZIP from LMS Labs.
- 02
Install in Moodle
As a site administrator, go to Site administration → Plugins → Install plugins, upload the ZIP and follow Moodle’s validation and upgrade prompts.
- 03
Add to a course
Enable editing in a course and add Vocabulary Mastery as an activity. Configure it before opening it to learners.
Plugin location: /mod/vocabmastery/ (Moodle 5.1+: public/mod/vocabmastery/ when installing manually).
- Turn editing on in your Moodle course and add Vocabulary Mastery. Set its name and, if useful, the target and translation languages. Each activity setting has a help (?) icon.
- Set your mastery threshold (90% by default), progression mode (dual pathway by default) and gradebook or completion rules. Dual pathway unlocks the next topic in a level and the corresponding topic in the next level when a topic passes; linear, level pathway and open modes are also available.
- Open Import vocabulary. Upload Word (.docx) files on the Word documents tab, or upload .csv, .xlsx, .xls or .ods files or paste a table on the Excel / CSV / paste tab. Sample CSV and Excel files are available on that page.
- Review the validated preview and column mapping or Word sections. Choose a duplicate policy (skip, merge, import anyway or replace set), then import. Nothing is saved until you confirm. Alternatively, add levels, topics, sets and words manually in Manage vocabulary.
- Review each set's answer mode (fixed buttons, distractors from other words or typed answers), core versus optional words and whether the set counts towards mastery. Teachers can edit, reorder, search and bulk-manage words from the set's word table.
The downloadable ChatGPT prompt is an optional plain-text aid for preparing a table outside Moodle. The plugin makes no AI call; check any externally prepared table before importing it.
Administrators: keep Moodle cron running so stale sessions close and content edits trigger background progress, grade and completion recalculation. No additional plugin is required. The optional local_aiconfig integration supplies credentials only for the LMS Labs activation page; alternatively configure the Site ID and API key in this plugin's settings. Activation is informational and never required for teaching or learning.
Learners
Open the activity dashboard, pick an unlocked topic and use Learn flashcards to review (this mode does not change mastery). Use adaptive Practice to bring missed words back, or try timed Blitz, Streak and Difficult words retraining.
Take the no-hints Mastery check when ready. See your score and full answer review after the session; passing at the configured threshold unlocks the next topics according to the progression mode. Report a typo, wrong answer or translation problem on a word when needed.
Keyboard: 1–9 for answers, Enter to continue, Space to reveal a card and Esc to exit.
Teachers
Use Manage vocabulary to edit content and resolve learner word reports. Import additional lists or export content as CSV. Open Vocabulary reports for the class overview, learner detail, topic heatmap and difficult words; authorised teachers can export results or reset learner progress.
Reports respect Moodle separate groups. Grades can use the percentage of topics passed or average best mastery-check score. Completion can require a number of passed topics, all topics or an overall progress percentage. Previewing locked topics as a teacher does not write grades.
Declared in the supplied 1.0.1 ZIP: Moodle 4.4–5.2 (requires = 2024042200, supported = [404, 502]); PHP requirements follow the respective Moodle core branch. This describes the supplied package, not the availability of a promoted website release.
Actually tested for that ZIP: installation/upgrade validation and PHPUnit on Moodle 4.4.12+, 4.5.14+, 5.0.10, 5.1.7+ and 5.2.3+, using PHP 8.3.6 and PostgreSQL 16. Moodle 5.2.3+ also passed four Behat scenarios, including a JavaScript practice session and separate-groups reporting. Earlier builds had PHP 8.4 checks; this is not a claim that the supplied 1.0.1 ZIP was runtime-tested on PHP 8.4. MariaDB, MySQL, MS SQL Server and PHP 8.1/8.2 have not been runtime-verified in the supplied evidence.
The web interface supports phone browsers, but the Moodle mobile app is not supported. Only an English interface is shipped. Generic Word imports require vocabulary in tables with a header row. Regrading has not been load-tested at scale.
Matching, spaced review intervals, item audio/text-to-speech, print view and per-set teacher report progress are planned, not shipped features.
The next topic is still locked
Check whether the learner passed the mastery check (or met practice mastery if configured), the threshold and the selected progression mode. Only gated core words count towards passing.
A report shows no learners
In separate-groups mode, non-editing teachers only see their own groups. Check the learners' group membership and attempt permission.
Grades or reports look out of date after editing words
Check Moodle cron: recalculation of progress, grades and completion is queued as a background task after content changes.
Word import finds no sections, or a spreadsheet is refused
Use Word tables with a header row and check the preview. Spreadsheet imports are limited to 10,000 rows and 30 columns; split larger files. An unwanted repeated footer can be added to the admin setting “Lines to ignore in Word imports”.
Activation says “Unable to verify”
Check the LMS Labs Site ID and API key and outbound HTTPS connectivity to lms-labs.com. This optional status does not disable the activity.
Frequently asked questions
Does Vocabulary Mastery generate words or charge AI credits?
No. Import or enter your own words. Learning, imports and checks do not call an AI provider or debit AI usage credits.
Does it require LMS Labs activation to teach?
No. The site-admin-only activation page is an optional informational access check; an unactivated site can still use the activity. It is separate from obtaining the plugin through the website.
Can I teach languages other than German?
Yes. The plugin is language-neutral; the shipped interface is English only.
Do optional words block progression?
No. Only core words in sets marked to count towards mastery determine a topic pass.
Can learners use the Moodle mobile app?
Not inside the Moodle app. Use the activity in a phone browser instead.