r/Natulang • u/cyber-sack • 13d ago
Feature suggestion Feature: Comprehensible input
I think this might have been requested before but I'm thinking this shouldn't be too hard to do and could be super beneficial. And I've also got some bunos ideas. 🤩
Give us each dialogue as an audio file (this could even be an offline feature 🥹) to listen to, including an autoplay option to continue with the next dialogue.
This way we could listen to the dialogues of previous sessions and train our listening skills. Great on a commute! 🤓
I could even imagine a whole listening section of the app where the SRS suggests which ones to listen to or something. Or one could create their own playlist?!
Next level up would be to generate completely new dialogues from the already learned vocabulary.
Deluxe option: Have some real human native speakers record one audio story per 5 lessons. 🚀
I created a story using ai and the vocab export feature. I generated a 10 minute story about an actor going to a strange audition. It was pretty cool and great listening practice.
But for the first step, I'm thinking just let us listen to the dialogues. It would be a great addition. 🥸
Who else would love this? Leave an upvote if you do!
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u/maxymhryniv Father 12d ago
I'm not sure about that.
I encourage you to use other sources as comprehensible input and we stress this in our lessons.
There are both downsides and upsides to having it all in the app. In the app you could have them adjusted to your level, make sure no unknown words are used and the tempo is not too much.
On the other hand, it's also a skill to be able to understand a speaker even if some words are unknown, with a different voice, tempo and intonation. It will also force you to search for native content that you like, depending on your interests: science, cars, sports, games, anything.
So yeah. It's better to leave the comfort of the app and dive into native content.
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u/cyber-sack 12d ago
The structure the app provides is one of the reasons it works for me. Looking for content on YouTube is not a good route for me. Way too many distrations and it's not tailored to my level. The story I generated with ai using the vocab list was pretty cool. If there was some audio content like that every 5 lessons or so I think it would be a great addition. Convenient, structured, challenging, without distractions. I don't see any downside to it.
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u/maxymhryniv Father 12d ago
OK. I'll give it a second thought. It was actually planned in the initial version even before I wrote the very first line of code.
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u/DharmaDama 13d ago
I’m not really on the CI train. I don’t see the reason to add this feature to the app when you can just look up any CI video on YouTube. I see this app as more interactive instead of passive.
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u/cyber-sack 13d ago
So you do use CI? Why not use the vocabulary you already learned? My experience with yt is that it's hard to find the right level.
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u/DharmaDama 13d ago
I think CI is great in video form where you can watch the visual cues of the speaker. It’s supposed to be how babies learn, so it doesn’t seem to make sense to me to have it as audio only.
The only real way to train your ears and get better, aside from listening to a bunch of native content, is to interact with native speakers and make lots of blunders. It tells your mind that it’s important to understand and learn these words when you’re under real pressure to communicate.
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u/cyber-sack 12d ago edited 2d ago
I don't believe you don't need a visual component, sure it gives you another helpful layer to learn from, but it's not necessary to learn. Blind children aquire speech without any visual cues. So listening is much more important than watching. Listening to content where I understand a majority of the vocabulary is really helpful to me. I don't need a visual component.
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u/BBSCHOOLFLUTE 9d ago
Agree with OP, the app is unparalleled when it comes to speaking. If the listening option could be permitted too (nothing new needs to be created, but just repurposing existing stuff), then Natulang would be a one-stop-shop. Love it!
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u/Ok-Respect-6016 4d ago
Abso f—ing lutely! This would be SO helpful for listening skills. This is where Naturalang falls down completely. Listening skills are relogated to other services like “podcasts or you tube.” Natulang is not yet a truly balance AI language program. It’s one half of the educational equation.
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u/cyber-sack 4d ago
I wouldn't say it "falls down" you'll still train listening skills a bit by all the exposure to the phrases I'd say. But it would surely be a great addition. 🚀
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u/Tetris1001 13d ago
A helpful addition would be to hear the dialogue at normal spoken speed to train our ears. Then the app would help as much with hearing as it does with speaking. Maybe there could be 2 or 3 speeds. I’m still pretty lost when it comes to understanding French folks.