MISSION MORSE
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// TEACHING METHOD

How to learn Morse code — the Mission Morse method.

An approach grounded in two methods proven by CW operators since the 1930s — Koch and Farnsworth — combined with 5 learning styles that adapt to how your brain encodes information.

1. The Koch method — learning by ear

German neuropsychologist Ludwig Koch (1936) showed Morse is learned best at full speed (12-15 wpm) from the start, by ear, without going through visual code reading. The brain then encodes the di-daa rhythm as a global sound rather than a sequence of symbols to count.

Mission Morse applies this logic: every letter is heard before it is seen, and the Sprint quiz forces you to recognise the sound without thinking. It feels frustrating at first — three days in, you recognise E, T, A automatically, like a musical note.

2. Farnsworth timing — real fast letters, fake slow gaps

Donald Farnsworth (1959) fixed a flaw in pure Koch: at full 5 wpm you learn a false rhythm that has to be unlearned later. The fix is to keep letters fast (effective speed e.g. 18 wpm) while extending the gaps between letters to give the brain time to identify (overall speed e.g. 8 wpm).

Mission Morse uses an adjustable Farnsworth timing. Default is 12 wpm character / 8 wpm overall — the sweet spot for beginners. You can push to 20 wpm in Settings.

3. Five learning styles

Cognitive-science research shows no single "optimal" style exists — every brain encodes differently. Mission Morse therefore offers five parallel routes to the same information:

Visual

You see the signal's shape, you read the code, you hear the rhythm. The complete method.

Pure audio

No glyph, no symbol. You learn letters by their sound, like a real radio operator.

Mnemonic

Each letter becomes a mental image. Encode by association, then test the recall.

Rhythmic

Sing the rhythm and hold the key. The duration decides whether it's a dot or a dash.

Narrative

New letters appear inside an agent's message. Decode the story to clear the step.

4. The 13 steps — the entire alphabet

Rather than learning A, B, C in alphabetical order (which ignores usage frequency), we follow the Koch progression: 2 new letters per step, chosen for their French/English frequency and code simplicity.

  1. STEP 01
    Letters E + T
    Example words: ET, TE, TET, ETE
  2. STEP 02
    Letters A + I
    Example words: AI, TAI, ETAT, TETE
  3. STEP 03
    Letters M + N
    Example words: MAIN, AIME, AMEN, MENTI
  4. STEP 04
    Letters O + S
    Example words: MOTS, SAIT, MOINS, MAISON
  5. STEP 05
    Letters R + K
    Example words: RAME, TIRE, MERS, MARIE
  6. STEP 06
    Letters U + D
    Example words: DUR, DAME, MIDI, DOUTE
  7. STEP 07
    Letters W + G
    Example words: GANT, GROS, GARE, WAGON
  8. STEP 08
    Letters H + L
    Example words: HALL, MALIN, LIRE, SALLE
  9. STEP 09
    Letters F + P
    Example words: FORT, PORT, PAIR, FILM
  10. STEP 10
    Letters J + B
    Example words: BAIN, JOUR, BORD, ARBRE
  11. STEP 11
    Letters X + C
    Example words: COTE, TAXI, CIRE, CARRE
  12. STEP 12
    Letters Y + Z
    Example words: YEUX, GAZ, ZONE, RAYON
  13. STEP 13
    Letters Q + V
    Example words: VITE, QUAI, VRAI, QUOI