When we think of a language-learning app, Duolingo and its famous green owl have become the one that comes to mind. However, this tool has many limitations, and while its gamified style may motivate us to use it for a while, the lack of examples or more realistic conversations can end up tiring us out, especially for those of us looking for something more practical.
This website, which has received positive reviews from many users on the Hacker News forum, works like Duolingo, but with YouTube videos. These videos can include movie clips, newscasts, and many other types of videos. These videos teach you how to use writing and listening exercises, but with real-life examples.
FluentSubs lets you practice languages with exercises based on real-world content, using accurate video transcripts and translations . It uses advanced artificial intelligence models to generate high-quality transcripts.
It also features a smart vocabulary builder that allows you to save key words and phrases, as well as obtain detailed sentence analysis. To reinforce learning, it offers spaced repetition cards with phrases automatically extracted from the videos. It supports more than 25 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese.
Thus, we have an alternative to the green owl app, with which we can sometimes end up developing a toxic relationship, due to the (yes, funny) ways in which Duolingo makes the user feel bad for skipping a class or practice, losing their streak.
For those who are bored of Duolingo
As its creator explains on his blog, FluentSubs doesn't think Duolingo is a bad option, but indicates that it wanted to develop FluentSubs to cover the limitations it presents when it comes to giving us exercises.
"You don't learn how to have a real conversation or understand people speaking at a normal speed. You rarely see how grammar works in context. That's why tools like FluentSubs exist: to help bridge that gap," Peter Evers writes in a post.
FluentSubs features a feature that combines short, structured exercises with real-world content, such as news and interviews, allowing us to practice more authentically, with intelligent subtitles and translations. According to its creator, FluentSubs stands out because it trains listening comprehension in a real-life context, helping students recognize words in natural speech, where sounds blend and change due to phenomena such as resilication.
The exercises are available in several languages and will continue to be expanded. It's a good option for those who have tried Duolingo before but want to continue learning in a more entertaining way that's closer to real-life language use.
FluentSubs offers free access to one video per day, and a paid plan for unlimited learning.
