Software Makes Effective Learning Fast and Enjoyable

While there are a multitude of language-learning websites and apps available, companies are constantly adding new innovations and integrating developing software to either improve existing ones or create better ones altogether. One startup dedicated to helping users develop language-learning skills is Memrise, which takes a somewhat less rigidly academic approach, so much so that its developers claim it “makes learning languages and vocab so full of joy and life that you’ll laugh out loud.” That is certainly a lofty claim for a learning app, but it seeks to do this in several ways. Read more »

Billions of people worldwide speak more than one language in some capacity, but not fluently, and many need or desire to learn another language for both personal and professional reasons.  This is a problem addressed by many companies, and a number of English-learning services apply technology to be more effective.  Nulu is one startup looking to help, serving as an interactive web platform that helps users learn languages.  There are many different ways to do this, but Nulu takes a different approach than most.  Simple dictation and repetition have shown to be effective, but Nulu takes that concept and modifies it to be more appealing and interesting in a way that can better keep the attention of the learner.  It offers new, interactive content every day in a way that is more engaging than any simple “hear and respond” system or any textbook. Read more »

There are two significant barriers for most people to traveling the world and seeing all that it has to offer: money and not knowing the languages native to the places you wish to visit.  Once you have enough money to travel, you have to determine whether you want to learn a new language or hire a guide.  Either choice may require an investment of time or money you may not wish to spend in that manner or, in the case of adding an additional person, it may fundamentally change the experience you were hoping to have.  Thanks to ECTACO there is now a third option!  If you want to visit Korea, you need not learn the language.  Instead, you just need to take the Partner EK900 Deluxe English-Korean Talking Electronic Dictionary with you! Read more »

Learning to speak a foreign language can be especially difficult for adults.  After all, adults have years, decades, of word associations to overcome when learning a foreign language.  With many other languages having different word orders and verb tenses that are not used in English, adult learners are not only tasked with learning a new language, but with thinking an entirely new way.  Fortunately, not every language is as difficult as learning Chinese and there are some great programs for those who want to rise to the challenge of learning a foreign language.  For learning German, there is arguably no better resource than Fluenz German 1+2+3. Read more »

Good language software may be very hard to find.  Even so, if you are visiting China there are many options for software that teaches you Chinese.  To learn Japanese, there is Jibbigo.  If you are planning a trip to the Orient, why not continue your trip through Asia and visit Russia?  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has opened up to tourists from the United States and the country has much to offer travelers there.  However, unlike traveling to Europe, visitors to Russia need to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Russian language.  For that, there is Russian Complete Edition software! Read more »

In an age of seamless global connectivity thanks to increasingly powerful network services, it seems that the last remaining communication obstacle is language. Aside from the actual costs, travel across the globe in a day is no longer a problem, while high quality, instant, audio-visual communication is quickly becoming a matter of clicking a button on a tablet or smartphone. Language, on the other hand, still limits how we communicate. Tourists and travelers often face a hard time communicating with others if the two do not speak a common language. Of course, there is always the good old pocket dictionary, but anyone who has ever tried to rely on that while on vacation knows that it’s hardly any help. Free online translation tools also have limited usage. They require a computing device, an Internet connection, and the ability to enter and read a language that you don’t speak!

Fortunately, if you don’t speak a word of French and are planning a trip to see the Mona Lisa, or if you regularly need simultaneous interpretation in a work setting, Jibbigo can make your life easier. Jibbigo is a speech-to-speech translation app that works on Android and iOS operated devices. To use the application, you simply record what you need to translate while pressing a record button. Jibbigo then says it back in the target language. The application is currently available in nine language pairs. Jibbigo can translate between English and Arabic (Iraqi dialect), Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Tagalog. It can also translate between German and Spanish.

Jibbigo uses advanced Speech Recognition Technology and has a vocabulary of over 40,000 words. The apps’ website states that it uses statistical machine translation and natural voice output using SVOX speech synthesis technology.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of Jibbigo is that it works offline without an Internet connection. It is self-contained and does not rely on cloud computing or other services that require a connection. This is especially useful for tourists who do not have access to Internet tech support or who do not want to get billed with massive roaming charges.

The app is founded on advanced scientific research in language at Mobile Technologies. Jibbigo and Mobile Technologies, in turn, continually collaborate with InterACT, the International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

The New York Times has praised the app as one of the most advanced on the market, and it has been featured in travel guides. The app is quite inexpensive, costing under $5 for most languages. For a few bucks, it might even be fun to just buy the app and test it out at home.

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