App Profile: Langotalk-AI Language Learning

bsdrawkcab

Rating: 5/5

I don’t often write app reviews, but Langotalk is so impressive after using it for a couple of days that I feel compelled to come here. I’m someone not really getting much out of Duolingo anymore but am still only charitably in the early-intermediate phase with Swedish, and my language courses at school are paused for the summer. I was looking for something where I could continue practice speaking and grammar, and the app over-delivers. The potentially open-ended conversations, the near-instant feedback on each thing I’ve said, and the way I’m invited into less open-ended lessons around the things I need to work on are all amazing. Today I could even write into a prompt that I would simply like more practice wish more advanced but still common Swedish verbs, and a customized and perfectly on-point lesson plan and multimodal flash cards were generated. I think back to how much time spent in other language classes painstakingly building flash cards and generating my own study materials and I can’t believe how effortless this is and how much better of a result it produces. Also the app is well-polished with graceful animations, an understandable layout, and in general it feels like it was crafted by developers who know and care about the iOS platform. I’m going to be using this all summer and expect it will do almost as much for me as my usual coursework and class time. It’s wild to have a personalized and patient robot tutor.

BichonDad1

Rating: 5/5

I’m learning Chinese and this app is really good. It really challenges me to learn the key language that I need to use to describe everyday life. Chinese is a difficult language for many reasons. Among them is the need to use the correct “tone” for every syllable. Also, Chinese has several consonants that don’t exist in western languages. When using the app, it often misunderstands me due to my mispronunciation. This then leads the AI to drive the conversation into an illogical direction. It would be extremely useful to have the ability to get a “do over” when this happens. Without such a feature, my chats/lessons often get diverted into an irrelevant and frustrating direction. The “do over” button would also allow me to immediately work on my faulty pronunciation which would give me immediate reinforcement of what I’m saying incorrectly and how to fix it.

smoophie

Rating: 5/5

I don’t say this lightly- this is exactly the Spanish teacher that I have always been looking for. I’m that person who rarely pays for apps. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever paid for an app. I still have an iPhone SE from 2020, and I drive a 2008 Toyota. You get the idea. I am willing to pay for quality, but I’m a bit hesitant to spend money on the latest new thing. It was the free trial that got me with this app. Wow. I have been learning Spanish on and off for 10 years in classroom settings, but what I struggle with most is conversation. Still not being able to freely express myself after all this time often discourages me from continuing to learn Spanish. Plus, it’s a vicious cycle- because you don’t know all the words and grammar you need, you don’t speak, but because you don’t speak, you don’t get better at conversation. So that’s why this app feels like my fairy godmother, knight in shining armor, and rocket ship all in one. It’s well worth the money, and as long as you devote yourself to practicing, you will improve at conversation (at least, if you are at intermediate level or above). This is absolutely the best method I’ve found for learning a language outside of living in a country where they speak your target language.