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I've been building a language learning app which uses AI voice chat to let people practice. Would that be something interesting for you to try out? It's all sti

I've been building a language learning app which uses AI voice chat to let people practice. Would that be something interesting for you to try out? It's all still rough, but we've been learning Japanese with it and its pretty cool.

written-beyond 19d ago
I want to, I have like a 2000+ day streak on Duolingo and I know I can only gain fluency once I start speaking it more.
- ramijames 19d ago
  We (me and my teens) used Duolingo for a few years and.. didn't really get that far in actually being able to speak. It's kind of mind-blowing that they are the market leaders. In retrospect, I think of it more like an addictive language game and not really a good way to actually learn to speak. If you're really interested, shoot me an email.
  - SoftTalker 19d ago
    Latest in a long line of scams for learning a language. Goes back to cassette tapes and records. The only good way is the natural way: immerse yourself in it.
    - lIl-IIIl 19d ago
      Some cassette tapes work very well. Pimsleur for example. You can use it as supplement or do it standalone on your commute before a trip and end up with good pronunciation, vocab and a conversational skills.
    - ramijames 18d ago
      While in general I do agree with you (it's how I learned Italian, Hebrew, and Thai) being on the ground for a year is cost-prohibitive for me right now, and unreasonable for kids under 16. What I've been building, with the help of a few language teachers, is our best guess at a really good way of learning new languages from the comfort of your home. It's not ever going to be perfect, but it is pretty good (at least so far in testing within our small group), and very cost-effective. If you're interested in funding it, I'm happy to go live in Japan for a year :)
geraldwhen 19d ago
Ai pitch accent is not correct with most TTS systems for Japanese. I’ve tried many.

written-beyond 19d ago

I want to, I have like a 2000+ day streak on Duolingo and I know I can only gain fluency once I start speaking it more.

ramijames 19d ago
We (me and my teens) used Duolingo for a few years and.. didn't really get that far in actually being able to speak. It's kind of mind-blowing that they are the market leaders. In retrospect, I think of it more like an addictive language game and not really a good way to actually learn to speak. If you're really interested, shoot me an email.
- SoftTalker 19d ago
  Latest in a long line of scams for learning a language. Goes back to cassette tapes and records. The only good way is the natural way: immerse yourself in it.
  - lIl-IIIl 19d ago
    Some cassette tapes work very well. Pimsleur for example. You can use it as supplement or do it standalone on your commute before a trip and end up with good pronunciation, vocab and a conversational skills.
  - ramijames 18d ago
    While in general I do agree with you (it's how I learned Italian, Hebrew, and Thai) being on the ground for a year is cost-prohibitive for me right now, and unreasonable for kids under 16. What I've been building, with the help of a few language teachers, is our best guess at a really good way of learning new languages from the comfort of your home. It's not ever going to be perfect, but it is pretty good (at least so far in testing within our small group), and very cost-effective. If you're interested in funding it, I'm happy to go live in Japan for a year :)

geraldwhen 19d ago

Ai pitch accent is not correct with most TTS systems for Japanese. I’ve tried many.