Week 12: Symbols and AltGr

This week you work with symbols. Many marks that are not letters or numbers are typed with AltGr. AltGr is the right Alt key on the right side of the keyboard, and you press it with your right thumb. You are not learning new letters this week. Instead, you learn which key combines with AltGr to produce each symbol. Press AltGr first, then the key.

What you will learn

Symbols typed with AltGr:

• {: AltGr + 7
• [: AltGr + 8
• ]: AltGr + 9
• }: AltGr + 0
• #: AltGr + 3
• @: AltGr + f
• €: AltGr + e
• ~: AltGr + w
• \: AltGr + /

Hold AltGr with your right thumb, then press the key with its finger. For example, to type @, hold AltGr with your right thumb and press f with your left pinky. The finger assignments for the letter and number keys stay the same this week.

Technique tips

• Always press AltGr with your right thumb. Keep the thumb near its position so it does not drift away from the key.
• Press AltGr first, then the letter or number key. Pressing them in order gives a cleaner result than pressing both at the same moment.
• The symbol keys sit outside the home row. After each symbol, bring your fingers back to the home row.
• The keys for {, [ and ] come from the number row: 7, 8 and 9. Keep the finger movement short.
• Look at the screen to check each symbol. Do not hunt for symbols on the keyboard.

Lessons

1. Lesson 1 (10-15 minutes): Learn the new symbols. Watch the keyboard demo, follow the AltGr thumb and the key finger, and type each symbol once.
2. Lesson 2 (10-15 minutes): Practice. Type short lines that use these symbols, such as simple code snippets and Turkish notes, and return your fingers to the home row after each symbol.
3. Lesson 3 (10-15 minutes): Review and take the 2-minute test. Look at which symbol caused mistakes and practice only those symbols again.

This week’s goal

Your targets are 28 WPM and 94% accuracy. Finishing the lessons earns 1 star. Reaching the accuracy target earns 2 stars, and reaching the speed target in the closing test earns 3 stars. Symbols feel slow at first. Focus on pressing AltGr and the key in the right order, and the speed will follow once that order feels automatic.