Adding a keyboard for another script
The thing standing between most people and reading practice is not the reading — it is that their computer cannot type the script yet. Here is how to fix that on each device, and what typing each script actually involves once you have.
Windows
Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language, then pick the language and install it. Switch keyboards with Windows key + Space; the current one shows in the taskbar.
- Thai uses the Kedmanee layout — every key is a letter, with nothing to convert. The on-screen keyboard (Windows key + Ctrl + O) is a good crutch while you learn the positions.
- Japanese — install Microsoft IME. Type the sound in roman letters and it becomes kana as you go; Space converts kana to kanji, Enter accepts.
- Chinese — install Microsoft Pinyin. Type pinyin without tone marks, then choose the character with the number keys or take the first with Space.
- Vietnamese — Windows' own input is poor; install Unikey and choose Telex. Then aa gives â, aw gives ă, and s f r x j after a vowel add the six tones.
macOS
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit… → +, choose the language and its input method. Switch with Control + Space, and tick "Show Input menu in menu bar" while you are there.
- Thai — pick Thai; the layout is direct, so a printed chart helps at first.
- Japanese — pick Japanese and use Romaji input. Control + J forces hiragana, Control + K katakana.
- Chinese — pick Chinese, Simplified → Pinyin – Simplified.
- Vietnamese — pick Vietnamese → Telex (or VNI if you prefer numbers for tones).
iPhone and iPad
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard…, then choose the language and, where asked, the layout. Switch with the globe key; hold it to pick from a list.
- Thai — the letters sit across two pages; the ไทย ๑๒๓ key swaps between them.
- Japanese — choose Romaji for a qwerty keyboard, or Kana for the flick keypad.
- Chinese — Pinyin – QWERTY. Add Handwriting too: you can draw a character you have seen but cannot spell, which is exactly the situation a learner is in.
- Vietnamese — Telex, or QWERTY with hold-for-accents if you prefer.
Android
Settings → System → Languages & input → On-screen keyboard → Gboard → Languages → Add keyboard. Switch with the globe key or by holding the space bar.
- Thai — ไทย; the ?๑๒ key reaches the second page of letters.
- Japanese — 日本語, then QWERTY for roman letters or 12 keys for flick input.
- Chinese — 中文 (简体) Pinyin, plus Handwriting if you want to draw characters.
- Vietnamese — Tiếng Việt → Telex.
What the games do about it
Every game accepts input methods properly: Japanese and Chinese candidates are taken when you confirm them, and Vietnamese Telex sequences are given a moment to finish so that typing a then w counts as one ă rather than two guesses. Turn Hints on and every character carries its romanisation, which doubles as a note of what to type — for Vietnamese the hint is the Telex spelling itself.
And if the keyboard is a battle today, the Study Room and flash cards need no typing at all.