Element 1 is only 5 wpm. I recommend doing whatever you need to do to simply pass that element, which is using code at a crawl, and then *get on the air and use the code* to go faster.
I'm not out of touch with the reality of "beginner code" when I say it's very possible to learn code without writing a thing on paper, from Day #1. This is the way I teach code classes to groups, and have been for many years. No pencils and no paper allowed, starting with the first dit for an "e." They do learn this way, and quickly.
You don't need word recognition for "head copy," at all. You do if you want to copy 60 wpm. But at 10-15 wpm, not at all. You need only character recognition for this.
I we speak in personal conversation (vocally) and I s-p-e-l-l every single word I say to you instead of saying the whole words, you'll still understand everything I say. It will just be slower than normal conversation. But I can s-p-e-l-l out words and still "talk" at least 40 wpm.
Pre-licensing, I recommend everyone learn code with a partner, so you can practice not just "copying," but also sending, which is the other half of using code and equally important. It's vital to the learning process to actually have code "conversation," not just "copy," if you want to get good, fast, and efficient. You send, then the partner sends, then you reply, then he replies, etc. Like a "QSO," except it doesn't use radios -- just code oscillators and keys, or can be effectively done using nothing more than mouths and ears.
I used to walk to school with my code practice partner (Dave, who became WB2WND) back in eighth grade. We'd have a QSO as we were walking to school, and then back home -- about an hour of walking each day. We'd use "dit-dah talk." Just say the dits and dahs, like you were sending them. Exactly as effective as using oscillators and keys, and ramps up code speed and undeerstanding quickly.
ANYTHING like this is absolutely, positively more effective than "listening" to code, which is a passive exercise. USING it to converse with a partner is active. No comparison.
WB2WIK/6