English Typing Game: Practice With New York and Romanized Station Names

Two Ways to Switch to English Mode

You can change languages from the line selection screen or the top of the game screen. Pick a New York line and English station names appear by default, since the local language there is already English; pick Seoul or another Korean line and switch to English mode, and you get names transliterated into romanized spelling. You can switch languages mid-game too, so you can keep practicing the same line in different ways back to back.

Both cases count as English typing practice, but the character of the words you type differs. New York station names often feature Street, Avenue, and ordinal numbers like 42nd, while Korean lines’ romanized names are mostly proper nouns carrying over Korean pronunciation, so you end up practicing unfamiliar spelling combinations.

Just switching the language turns the same line into completely different practice material, so it’s worth typing one line in several languages in turn. Going back and forth between a naturally English line like New York and a romanized line lets you build up different skills English typing needs at once. Setting your language ahead of time on the line selection screen lets you jump straight into practicing the spelling you want the moment the game starts.

Typing New York’s Numbered Station Names

New York lines have many station names that combine a place name with a number, like Times Square–42nd Street or Grand Central–42nd Street. You need to type numbers and ordinal suffixes (nd, rd, th) accurately, so it becomes practice moving back and forth between number keys and letter keys. Many station names also join two place names with a hyphen, so the letter count you have to type in one go naturally grows. Approaching a name like this by splitting it mentally into a front and back half helps cut down on moments where your hands freeze up mid-way.

There are also names like 5th Avenue and Bedford Avenue with Avenue attached, and names like Canal Street that end in Street. These words come up repeatedly, so after typing them a few times, their spelling starts to stick. Try several lines and you can get to the point where words like Avenue and Street come almost automatically.

Moving between number keys and letter keys is a combination that’s hard to practice much in sentence typing. Finish New York lines a few times and the motion of attaching an ordinal suffix after a number gets more and more natural.

Learning Real Spelling Habits Through Abbreviation Judging

In English mode, abbreviations like Street and St, Avenue and Av, and 42nd and 42 are all accepted as the same answer. These abbreviations are common on real maps and signage too, so this judging approach helps you learn both the full spelling and the shortened form. Both are used in everyday life, so either way you type, you still get the benefit of learning real-world spelling conventions. The first few times, we’d recommend practicing the full spelling to get the formal form into your eyes first.

At first, try typing the full spelling exactly as shown on screen, and once you’re comfortable, you can step up your speed by typing the abbreviation instead. Both forms are counted correct, so the game flow doesn’t break no matter which one you choose. This abbreviation judging applies under the same standard not just on New York lines but on any English-spelled station name elsewhere.

Since mixing abbreviations and full spelling still gets the same judging, feel free to type whichever comes naturally and pick up your speed. If you also want to learn the real spelling, though, it helps to look back at the full spelling shown on screen once you finish.

• Street counts as correct even abbreviated to St
• Avenue counts as correct even abbreviated to Av
• Ordinal suffixes like 42nd count as correct even shortened to 42

Practicing Pronunciation Spelling With Korean Lines’ Romanization

Switch Seoul Line 2 to English mode and City Hall gives a translated name, Hongik University is a translated name too, while Euljiro 1-ga is a romanized spelling carrying over the pronunciation. Both kinds of names appear together, so you get broad exposure to romanized spelling overall. Translated names help you learn English words themselves, while pronunciation-based romanizations help you learn romanization conventions. Keeping the two apart in your mind makes it easier to guess which kind of spelling you’re looking at the next time you run into an unfamiliar station name.

A long Korean name like Dongdaemun History & Culture Park is sometimes spelled out even longer in English, as Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. A name like this takes longer to type, which helps you practice remembering spelling in broken-up chunks. Breaking a word into pieces to remember it cuts down on typos compared to trying to memorize the whole thing at once. If this station name slowed you down after finishing, try picking the same line again next time and focus specifically on that stretch.

Since translated names and pronunciation-based romanizations are mixed together, it matters more to read exactly what’s on screen and type it accurately than to try to predict which style the next station will use.

Why It’s Judged Regardless of Case

English mode compares your input after converting it to lowercase, so it’s counted correct regardless of upper- or lowercase letters. Proper nouns technically follow a rule of capitalizing the first letter, but in a situation where you’re focused on typing speed, you don’t need to worry about that rule at all. This alone takes a lot of pressure off, especially if you’re not yet comfortable with an English keyboard.

That said, if you also want to learn accurate spelling, it helps to build the habit of matching upper- and lowercase letters exactly as shown on screen. It doesn’t affect scoring, but it does help you remember how real maps and signs actually spell things. You could start by typing in lowercase quickly to build speed, then move on to matching capitalization once you’re comfortable.

Since you don’t have to worry about case, it’s better early on to focus on getting the spelling itself right rather than speed. Once you’re comfortable, typing with matching case as well lets you work on spelling and speed together.

Why Difficulty Rises: More Letters to Type

In English mode, the same station often requires more letters than in Korean, which is why it feels harder. Station names with ordinals or compound words in particular take longer to type per word. It’s worth keeping in mind that even a short line can take longer to finish in English mode than in Korean mode. Rather than racing against the clock, focus first on typing the spelling accurately — speed naturally follows once you’re comfortable.

A line’s own difficulty standard (Beginner: 20 stations or fewer, Intermediate: 21–35, Advanced: 36 or more) is set by station count, but your hands stay busier on the same line in English mode. If it’s your first time trying English mode, start with a line that has fewer stations to get the flow down first. Once you’re used to it, move to a line with more stations and practice keeping your focus over a longer stretch too.

If you retry in English mode a line you’ve already finished in Korean mode, you already know the station order, so you can focus purely on spelling, which takes a lot of pressure off.

Checking Your English Typing Habits Through Records

Time, typing speed (KPM), typo count, and your best record per line appear on the finish screen after you finish. If typos keep happening at a certain spot in English mode, that can be a sign that a particular word’s spelling hasn’t sunk in yet. If you keep getting the same spot wrong, it also helps to type just that word by itself a few times.

Practice the same line repeatedly in either romanized or English mode and you can watch your best record improve, letting you confirm your own progress. Records are saved only to that browser and aren’t sent to a server. If your speed isn’t rising steadily but your typo count is dropping, take that as a sign your accuracy is improving. As records build up across several lines, you’ll naturally start to see which spelling style you’re faster at.

Compare your records between New York lines and romanized Korean lines separately, and you can gauge which kind of spelling you’re more comfortable with. Set whichever one has more typos as your next practice target.

• Time (to 0.1 seconds)
• Typing speed (KPM) and typo count
• Best record per line

Alternating Between New York and Korean Lines

Stick to New York lines only, and you’ll get comfortable with numbered addresses but practice general proper-noun spelling relatively less. Go the other way and practice only Korean lines’ romanization, and you won’t run into ordinals or words like Avenue and Street very often. Getting too comfortable with just one type makes unfamiliar station names catch you off guard when you actually meet them, so it’s better to practice in a balanced way.

Alternating between the two types exposes you evenly to different kinds of English words. Practice numbered addresses on a New York line today, for example, and switch to a Seoul line in English mode next time to practice romanized spelling. You don’t have to stick to the same order every time — feel free to pick whichever line interests you that day. What matters is staying in the habit of going back and forth between the two, without leaning too heavily on one.

Rather than trying to finish several lines all at once, going back and forth between each line briefly but consistently helps you keep both kinds of word sense sharp.

Keeping Up Your English Typing Practice

Once your record stabilizes on one line, move to another and meet new words. Switching Tokyo, Osaka, or Taipei lines to English mode gives you romanized spellings different from their local languages too, which widens your options. Getting broad exposure to romanized spelling across several countries builds not just your English typing skill but your sense of reading unfamiliar proper nouns as well.

After finishing, check your record on screen, and if a certain station name kept causing typos, it also helps to recall it and write it out by hand. Practicing an English typing game through station names lets you build up spelling and speed in a different way from sentence practice. Keep going back and forth between several lines and, at some point, even a brand-new station name won’t feel too unfamiliar. Build a habit of finishing even one line a day, even briefly, and you can raise both your English typing speed and accuracy together.

Go broadly through lines from several countries in English mode, and you’ll get used to different spelling conventions, so you can type confidently even the first time you meet a new station name.