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Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

talk.quazel.com

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Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#271

It really looks cool. But, why it doesn't have English? Or meybe if it does have, why isn't showed first? People who use language learning apps are focused in learning English most of the time. Still those who speak fluently are trying to improve their speaking and listening. And the first language which appeared for me was Brazilian Portuguese which is my mother language. [Edit] I was trying the Brazilian Portuguese…

Yeah. I been looking for a few months for services to improve my English in a cheap/free way. Until now some Discord channels have been my solution to practice conversation, but it would be nice to have this kind of service to speak anytime about any topic.

Have you tried playing online multiplayer games? I found I was able to learn how to “think” in another language much better when I was under pressure to communicate something quickly in real time. It’s easy to fall into the trap of always translating to/from your native language which isn’t the end of the world when you’re reading or writing but it makes for pretty awkward and stilted conversations.

Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on just a few exchanges in Dutch (I'm a native speaker), I'd say it's pretty good. The conversation sounds pretty natural (albeit shallow). Maybe the quality differs per language?

Dutch is a sister language of English so I’m not surprised

Believe me, if I the syntax in Dutch would keep, get you a very strange result. (This is a literal translation of a correct Dutch sentence.)

Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was guessing about about 15,000 hours I just think it has to be a lot time. I'm sure speaking helps most people who study languages simply by exposing them to more input more frequently then they would otherwise be exposed to. I just don't think it is as efficient as focusing on listening first. It will lead to having an accent, grammer issues and pauses to think about how to say things. That being said good luck f…

I think there's some merit to your argument, that there's some minimal level of understanding that's required before speaking becomes meaningful, but that your time estimate is off by two orders of magnitude. Working in Sweden, where tech companies speak English internally, I've been able to follow the language learning journeys of quite a few people (including some using the strategy "don't bother"), and the people…

Yes I also believe my estimate is off. Regardless you should have a good understanding of the language before speaking it so you won't fall into the issues of adapting new words and grammer to your current one. You also should have it be exposed to you through experience vs try to memorize definitions or you'll have to pause frequently to remember how to say things.

But that may not be that realistic for most at least not without a accommodating and capable tutor.

Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dutch is a sister language of English so I’m not surprised

Believe me, if I the syntax in Dutch would keep, get you a very strange result. (This is a literal translation of a correct Dutch sentence.)

Translation or transliteration?

Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like an opportunity to build a business?

Yes, there are also millions of lonely elderly who would love to speak to someone.

I led the entire engineering org for one such YC company that eventually became a unicorn: Papa (https://papa.com)

It would shock you how many elderly are so desperately lonely, and more so how a simple phone call would pick up their spirits. Pretty crazy.

Re: Show HN: Get conversational practice in over 20 languages by talking to an AI

#280
I've been really looking for something like this! Every language learning app I've tried bored the hell out of me because of the lack of actual conversational practice.

What would be cool is if this eventually could work in a way that incorporates both languages (ex. Spanglish) and gradually shifts into the full foreign language over time.

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