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Ciao! Thinking about resources to improve one's speaking skills, do you maybe know any site or app in which we can record our voices speaking one language so other people can hear it and, possibly, correct the pronounciation? Not only in italian, but in a wide range of languages as well? I'm starting to learn italian and I know so little of the language I don't risk engaging in convos to practice my speaking, so I'm trying to find other ways to do so...

Ciao! First of all, there's nothing bad in trying to speak despite being a starter: we all want to learn a language to communicate, so even if you were to try convos (esp. easiest ones), I can't see anything bad. You can learn new words while talking (you can ask for explanations of what you don't understand: that's a nice way of learning). But ofc, I also totally understand if you don't feel comfortable doing so: I'm generally not as well when I'm starting to learn a language.

So, to answer you: I think there must be some Discord server about it, but I'm not really sure: I haven't joined one yet, and I'm postponing that as for now I'm having too many things to do. There's this old post I made with a few links, I'm not sure if those servers are still up or what)

Then there's HelloTalk. I used to think about joining it, as it seems a nice app where you can share your language's knowledge with other students via messages, audios, videos... whatsoever, and get feedback.

The Tandem app, which I found related to the website Conversation Exchange (this latter one helps you with resources and finding some natives near where you live). Tandem though, only works online and connects you to wherever through audios and chats, probably same as HelloTalk, after a very fast look.

The Speaky app, which I think works almost the same way. It seems though that it doesn't really show you the level of the other speaker you're connecting with.

But all the apps are probably worth a better look: you'll find out by checking them personally which one might work best for you. Or you can try them.

There is also Language Exchange Community. but I think it's mostly a website? I haven't checked it too fondly, sorry.

I think also Italki might give the chance to share audios with other learners, without needing to pay teachers. But I'm not sure if you can join alone or with an invitation (I'm reading the latter).

Forvo can help with pronunciations: it has a good database of audios in different languages, but I'm not sure (i don't remember) if you can get a feedback once you record something there. Probably there's a separate section for learners though, but again Idk if they just give you audios or you can send some back (I think it should be that way though but). There's also Forvo kids (which please, don't get me wrong, but I personally found a pretty good idea: when we start learning a language we are just basically like kids learning, aren't we? It also has drawings/cards)

There's also Sayitaliano audio section + youtube channel and all the audio resources just in case, but if you wanna practice you can join Sayitaliano Telegram: I'm totally willing to help you out with audios there, so there's no problem to me. No matter the level of knowledge you have, you're welcome. Plus, there might be someone speaking another language too or we can sort out another way to chat if you want it to be more private, maybe through Instagram's audios (which are always open to everyone, and you can request me pronounciations there or elsewhere).

If anyone else knows of any other app or website that can be of help, please feel free to add them here. @langsandlit @lovelybluepanda @sciogli-lingua maybe you have something to say/add, dears? 🤍

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Please give me android app and YouTube channel suggestions for learning ASL. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I'm an absolute beginner so just the basics are good enough for now. Thank you!

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todays helpful tool: asb player, a free, open-source tool that lets you instantly record audio, subtitles, and their translation for your flashcards!

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I see posts all the time on languagelearning Reddit saying "I'm building a language learning app, what features would you like to see."

And while my niche interest means I'm always interested in specifically click-dictionary tools like LingQ, Idiom, Pleco, Redlang, Languagecrush... the reality is those apps already exist, and already are good enough for what they're used for. I even can set up a Reader app not intended for language learning, Moonreader Pro, to give me click definitions and read text aloud using text to speech. So more reader apps wouldn't really fill any missing need. Sure, a better designed reader app might have better dictionaries and some graded reading content with real person recorded audio, but it would just be offering some changes within an app niche which is already filled.

Then, I see a lot of app makers always go for making a beginner app. This niche is oversaturated to hell, and if you make an app here then it's unlikely to be successful if the language you make it for already has a course on Duolingo, Lingodeer, or Babbel. So while this may be a worthwhile endeavor if you want to make an app for a language with no other easy to find resources, it's not going to be anything special if you do it for languages already on the above 3 apps.

App makers consider making flashcard SRS type apps. There is potential appeal to this if they can make something offering unique better resources. But for many languages, Anki or Memrise or Clozemaster is going to have courses already which cover 2,000 words to 20,000 words in sentence format, with audio. User made courses on anki and memrise cover a plethora of niche needs, clozemaster has made updates to show some grammar info and a radio mode where you can listen to sentences (which are features I like a lot). There's also already specialty apps for learning Kanji for Japanese and hanzi for chinese, if a user doesn't like anki or memrise for studying characters, and those specialty apps work fairly well. Skritter for hanzi, WaniKani for japanese.

Areas where there is room for more apps and a need for more apps:

Grammar guides. It's considered a "boring" part of language learning, and maybe that's why so few apps teach it. You can occasionally find a memrise or anki user made course addressing grammar, but aside from bunpro for Japanese I have not seen many apps purposely aim to teach most of the necessary grammar points for X level of ability in a given language. Lingodeer aims to teach some grammar, but like duolingo it teaches a pathetically small amount. So more apps which have goals of actually covering all grammar points in Beginner language use A1 A2 (HSK 1-4, etc), and ideally Intermediate language use B1 B2, would serve a need that other apps aren't covering much.

Parallel texts, graded readers, with audio, for Intermediate Learners (B1 level at least). Do you see a pattern? That most apps are catered to beginners only, unless it's a flashcard app? Yeah. Now again, in this area many tools can be used to serve this need. I can make most eReader apps do this if I put in a lot of my own work finding my own graded reader, my own audio or use text to speech, and finding a click dictionary. LingQ serves this need and I have heard has pre-made content that goes up from beginner to Intermediate, but also that content is not equally good quality for all languages. Just like how duolingo has good stories for some languages and not others. Apps fitting this niche like du Chinese work great for their specialized languages but not for others, so there is some need for more apps overall which cover this kind of content up into Intermediate language learning levels.

And finally, the most useful app a person could make? Well in my opinion, it would be an app somewhat like Duolingo or Lingodeer. But it would make sure to actually cover grammar points and words in A1, A2, B1 (and in a dream world also B2 content) and the other languages equivalents. Almost no apps have actual lessons made for B1 levels or above, and B1 is when learners start to be able to learn by simply reading, listening, speaking, writing IN the language. Most apps cover A1 content, maybe up to A2 if lucky, then dedicated learners have to come up with some way to bridge the gap from that beginner zone into Intermediate so they can start trying to read, watch shows, listen to audios, and having conversations about topics beyond tourist stuff/basic info. I would also personally love if such an app had a way to skip levels/test out of levels, so beginners could start the app and keep going while other learners could start wherever their last things learned had left them. I'd also personally love if the app had dense lessons, as in covered a lot of words/grammar points per lesson. I know this could be a negative to some people so it would be fine to not do that, but I know for me anki/memrise/clozemaster type apps cover so much content in a short amount of time compared to apps like Duolingo which cover so little information per minute. That demotivates me, that so little information is learned per time. And since currently such apps like duolingo only tend to go up to A2 beginner information maximum, it feels like it takes a year or more to cover beginner level material that could be covered so much faster. Meanwhile after that year or more, the app is finished and leaves you with no Intermediate level information so you are still going to need to self study some more to get to a point of comfortably being able to read or watch things. Duolingo and Lingodeer also tend to teach 2000 or less words in an entire course (some of duolingos best courses like Spanish may contain 3000 words). 2000 common words is the minimum to try breaking into B1 type activities, and duolingo lingodeer etc don't particularly teach the most common words... just 1000-3000 words generally. For a learner trying to speed through A1 and A2 material so they can get to Intermediate study, it's more efficient to get a Teach Yourself book with audio (usually has 2000 useful words and teaches some grammar) or a textbook for A1 and A2 that includes enough vocab, and work through the books. The books will take maybe 3-6 months each (or less if you do them faster), and by the end you'd have covered more information than duolingo in a typical years use, be prepared for an A2 type test, and be as close to B1 as you can be so when you start studying at the Intermediate level you have less gaps in knowledge (less lacking of some grammar points, less lack of vocabulary).

There's so few apps that actually cover B1 level (or even some of A2 level). So many apps label some content "intermediate" that is A2 kind of content, not B1 kind of content (this happens especially with languages like Chinese and Japanese, I've seen apps labeled intermediate graded reader apps for chinese with stories that only contain 300 characters... when 1000 characters would be more realistic intermediate level). So many apps already make themselves in similar structure to duolingo, lingodeer, babbel. If any of those similar-apps actually covered the information those apps lacks? That new app would fill an unmet need and become the Go To app for the languages it covered. If the app made sure it covered all grammar AT beginner A1 A2 levels, covered grammar at B1, covered all words in the usual A1 A2 B1 type language tests (which to a degree overlaps with most common words but not entirely), then their app would be the best. It would be all people would need as a main study material to pass real fluency tests, to get to B level intermediate where some countries require for going to school or working in said country. It would cover enough material for people to transition to a formal class or book later if needed, to transition to immersion in the language and using the language directly at the end of app usage. Which is what learners need to get to, if they're going to learn a language enough to use it beyond a trip or surface level introduction.

But maybe that's why no such app exists. If an app did get you past A2, you'd know enough to start self studying while using the language somewhat comfortably, know enough to transition to Intermediate classes if you need any particular certification. But if you learn the language enough to use it, then you will go USE it instead of spending more time grinding on an app. Is that why apps only cover beginner material? So you can never learn enough to start learning on your own with some comfortability? But at the same time... plenty of people use anki and memrise well into 20,000 words/sentences, so there's Intermediate and advanced learners who would keep doing lessons on apps and reviews.

If the goal of your app is really to get people to LEARN the language, then eventually you need to offer Intermediate material and help learners get to that point. Duolingo was supposed to be made to fill a niche of schools failing to teach enough for people to use a language they study. Well it doesn't. It teaches some A1, sometimes some A2, but its never enough on its own to make someone able to use a language to enough of a degree to read/write/speak/listen to general things. It may help motivate people to start learning so later they find their own more in depth study materials and make their own progress into Intermediate. But at present it does not teach enough information to take people into the Intermediate range. (*with their most in depth courses with extra words like Spanish, French, that also have cognates for some other language speakers, it may help people get to A2 enough they're willing to attempt to try reading/listening/chatting with people enough to learn from those activities until they're B1, but duolingos content itself doesn't take people to Intermediate level).

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has anyone heard of Flowlingo?

because that app is so underrated and simply amazing for real life target language content practice! let me know if you're interested and ill make an in depth post!

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Clozemaster is a great vocabulary builder app if you’re learning a language. It also has grammar exercises for some languages.

There’s even Latin. So dope.

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How I study Chinese and take notes with Du Chinese app

1. First, I find a story I’m interested in on the app. Recently I was working through a passage about procrastination. There are short stories, conversations, history, culture and current event topics available on the app. 

2. Then I write down each sentence from the story in my notebook and mark the tones if I can’t remember them off the top of my head. I just indicate the tone with a tone mark above the character.

3. Circle any new vocabulary words and write the pinyin for them. I try not to write too many new words down because it’s easier for me to learn vocabulary in the context of a full sentence.

4. Write any phrase translations in English or Korean. Korean is often faster and some words sound very similar to Chinese. 

5. Then, I write the sentences again 2 more times without tone marks or translations. I try to see if I can write the sentence from my memory without checking the app screen. I read the sentences out loud often and repeat after the audio clip to work on my pronunciation.

6. After that, I make a short vocabulary word list on the side of the page with the character, pinyin and translation.

7. If I have time, I might take the vocabulary words and add them to Quizlet or write complex, new characters in my grid notebook so I can practice stroke order.

Du Chinese app

If you’d like to check out Du Chinese, use my code LINDIE10 on the desktop website to get 10% discount on an app subscription! I use Du Chinese for Chinese reading content. I like that there’s HSK levels indicated, audio, and translations for every story.

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About another app: Bunpo

I decided to search for new apps, thinking it can help me get back to studying japanese on my own when I found Bunpo.

I don't know if I have mentioned this but... if anyone ever reads this, I do not recommend studying on your own, I created this blog as a journal, to keep myself motivated. I do not have serious plans, like doing the JLPT test or moving to Japan, so if you're actually considering those things... do classes / go to school to learn properly:)

That being said...

I came across Bunpo recently and thought it is a pretty good app. Very simple UI, easy to find content in its categories. It does require you to pay to review your words, but I guess you can ignore that tab and do your own reviewing system...

This app reminds me a bit of Coban, which I also like but... has some bugs. Both follow a similar structure of reading about the subject and then doing a quick test. Veeeery different from Duolingo, which has a more complex interface, full of illustrations and sounds BUT does not give you proper information and you just go with the flow, not understanding grammar or where the heck you are (beginner, intermediate, idk?).

The app does not provide pictures like Busuu does, but it's still quite useful, especially if you prefer to navigate through specific categories rather than follow a sequence of unlockable lessons.

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bon matin! c’est tôt pour moi, hmm? today I’ll be sharing some online resources for learning french ranging from vocab lists to full on courses! i hope you find these useful - the internet really is precious when learning languages! <3

⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchtoday.com

this website threatens to put me out of business and I couldn’t be more delighted! vocab lists galore, free lessons, tips to work on your pronunciation, articles on french culture and even stories and poetry. i haven’t looked at everything available on there, but from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty useful!

⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchpod101.com

this is a free course you can take, with options for absolute beginners and those already a little familiar with the language. it looks to be good for conversational french and is an easy, no nonsense starting point for beginners, who i know from experience are often easily overwhelmed.

⁎⁺˳✧༚ coffee break french

this is one I’m not quite as familiar with but has come to me highly recommended. it’s a podcast that covers the basics as well as providing dialogues and example role plays. give it a try and let me know how you find it!

⁎⁺˳✧༚ innerfrench (chaîne de YouTube)

this is a really interesting channel! you get to learn french through a variety of different topical discussions and he speaks slowly enough for you to get most of what he’s saying even if you’re a relative beginner, which can make you feel super smart :)

bien, c’est tout! i hope these recs are alright, and I hope we meet again soon~ a bientôt!

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Spotify Playlists

LGBT PLAYLISTS

Trans Masc

Trans Fem

Non-binary

Agender

Bigender

Pangender

Genderfluid

Gay

Lesbian

Bi

Pan

Aromantic

Asexual

MENTAL ILLNESS PLAYLISTS

Borderline Personality Disorder

ADHD

Eating Disorder

Addiction

FANDOM PLAYLISTS

Denki Kaminari Kinnie 

Ji-Yeong Kinnie

Sae-Byeok Kinnie

MBTI PLAYLISTS

ENFJ

ENFP

ENTJ

ENTP

ESFJ

ESFP

ESTJ

ESTP

INFJ

INFP

INTJ

INTP

ISFJ

ISFP

ISTJ

ISTP

ENNEAGRAM PLAYLISTS

1w9

1w2

2w1

2w3

3w2

3w4

4w3

4w5

5w4

5w6

6w5

6w7

7w6

7w8

8w7

8w9

9w8

9w1

please feel free to request playlists

check out my account for more playlists. this playlist masterpost will no longer be updated.

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So at the request of my house mate, I wanted to do a sort of 'guide' to Stardew Valley. This is compatible with version 1.5 of the game, and unless future versions add a whole ton more stuff like how 1.5 added Ginger Island I probably won't do more than just small updates to this post as needed and maybe it's own post. Big updates like Ginger Island will probably get their own separate posts, but even with that like how I've played the game over time really hasn't changed.

Without further ado, there's some stuff under the cut and it's gonna get long so you've been warned!

To start off, I do play this modded. With the exception of one mod (A Bigger Standard Farm) if you're stuck on a console that doesn't let you mod these shouldn't be relevant, however. Some of it is just reskins, some of it changes game mechanics (making farming, fishing, ect easier), but if you're stuck playing the vanilla version of the game you can still do all the same things but your farm layout will likely have to be different from mine because I have a bigger farm specifically to accommodate everything I want to put in.

No matter how you're planning on doing this, however, using the Stardew Valley Planner can be really helpful if you're into super planning out your farm in advance.

Personally I grab a total of 12 coops and 8 barns - enough space for 2 of each of the coop animals (Chicken, Void Chicken, Duck, Rabbit, Dinosaur, Golden Chicken) and the barn animals sans sheep (Cow, Goat, Pig, Ostrich). Leave some space for crop growth, as I like to plant only the crops that don't regrow outside and save the regrowing ones for inside the greenhouse once I unlock it as well as the fruit trees. And of course some space for fish ponds, because those are a great resource.

I also highly recommend going over to the Stardew Valley Wiki and putting together a list of things, especially if you're achievement chasing. My list currently contains the following;

How many of each monster I need to beat for the Adventurer's Guild quests

All the shippable items for the Ship All The Things achievement

All the minerals and artifacts that can be donated to the museum

All the fish with information such as what season(s), location(s) and time(s) they can be caught

All the recipes you can cook

All the craftable items

How to get all the Stardrops

And yeah it's quite big, but it really does make all the difference to have that on hand. There are ways you can access these things in game, of course, and most of them are from the main menu but those things just show you something is missing with a ??? instead of telling you what that item is so you can look up on the Wiki how to obtain it.

Compiling your own list of these things, along with anything else you might need, can be really helpful to keeping things organized for achievement hunting and help you visualize how close you are to those goals. I keep mine in a notepad, and watching the bar shrink as I take stuff off the list is so, so satisfying!

Once you're all set up, the first week or so is kinda 'scripted' in a way to help you get accustomed to the game but after that it's up to you to make your way through Stardew Valley!

As for the mods I use, this is my personal list;

A Bigger Standard Map

Ace's Buildings Expanded Tilesheets

Ace's Simple Sheds

Adjustable Price Hikes

All Professions

Animal Sitter

Auto Animal Doors

Auto Fish

Automate

Better Ranching

Bigger Backpack

Buy Recipes

Cleaner Barns and Coops

Content Patcher*

Deluxe Grabber

Expanded Preconditions Utility*

Experience Bars

Fish Ponds Rebalanced

Friends Forever

Generic Mod Config Menu*

Grass Groth Adjuster

Json Assets*

Mizu's Flowers

Medieval Buildings

Multifunction Greenhouse

No Crows

No Fence Decay

NPC Map Locations

Self Service

Shop Tile Framework*

Skip Fishing Minigame

Skull Cavern Elevator

Space Core*

Stardew Hack*

Stardew Valley Bundle Tooltips

Statues as Obelisks

Tilled Soil Decay

Time Freeze

Walk Through Trellis

Wear More Rings

Winter Grass

Ones marked with the * are mods that other mods need, so just in the process of installing the rest you'll end up with those too. And of course you'll need SMAPI, which you can find on Nexus Mods or just Google and download straight from them!

Next time I'll have a screenshot of the map as it starts, and after that I'll be running one week of Stardew Valley per post ^^

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Happy 2021! New year, new semester which means a new bundle! This time I made a Demon Slayer Bundle! I tried my best to capture high quality screenshots since my internet has been lagging for a bit. But I hope you all still enjoy this bundle, and many more still come! Best of luck to everyone this upcoming year!

Bundle Includes:

15 Notebook Covers

15 Sticky notes

5 thin tabs 

6 Tab PDF file Notebook

As always this bundle is free! Any feedback/comments are always appreciated! 

Please do not steal, and/or claim these items as your own!

DOWNLOAD HERE

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to reach out!

                   Please REBLOG/LIKE if you download it

Stay happy everyone ♡

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FREE DIGITAL NOTEBOOK

You can get this digital notebook by clicking here.

The notebook includes 4 hyperlinked tabs, a hyperlinked index page and 4 page layouts: 2 types of lined paper, grid and dotted paper.

It’s available in three colors: pink, blue and green.

And it’s completely free.

I hope you like it. I’d love it if you tag me in any posts of you using this notebook here or on instagram @ your_studyfriend

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One of my favorite ways to prepare for a new semester is creating my little notion page for the semester.

Each semester my notion has:

• class hubs

• a master-list

• various filters of my master-list

The class hubs are so helpful (when I’m too lazy to dig through canvas) during the semester! It’s a nice way to have all the information I need all in one place. Last semester it was extremely helpful to have the zoom links there to cut fumbling time and made it possible to go to class when canvas crashed!

The master-list I use is HEAVILY and almost entirely based on Janice Studies’ master-list from one of their notion set-up videos! I shared it with my boyfriend and brother…happy to report both of them found it very useful.

I’ve seen a lot of people using google sheets but I love using notion because there’s just so many ways you can customize and organize everything! But, the general idea is still the same: put all assignments and deadlines in now so you don’t have to worry about it later!

Finally I copy the master-list all around my notion (which I also got from Janice Studies). This helps me see really clearly what I have due when and focus on what needs to be done. I love using the “on or before today” and “within a week” filter so that I can stay ahead of my work and see my progress!

That was a lot of writing. I hope I didn’t bore anyone some of you found my little guide helpful! Make sure to check out Janice Studies, their content has changed my notion game forever. Let me know if you have any questions :)

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for this month, i only made notes bcos these are the ones i’ve been using a lot recently! these ones are based on some of the stationeries found in animal crossing!

[if you’d like these for your personal use, it’s available for free on my gumroad!]

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Hello everyone!! I hope ya’ll are staying safe, and healthy since ya know 2020 been a complete shit show adsfghjhdkf

Anyways with exams being around the corner (and finally some free time on my hand) I decided to make some free printable sheets for ya’ll! I hope you’ll find them useful, and yes you can print them out! They’re PDF files so if digital notetaking is more up your ally they can be used on any app that can take in PDF documents! 

PLEASE DON’T CLAIM THESE PRINTABLES AS YOUR OWN!

Any feedback/comments are always appreciated! You are also more than welcome to tag me on any of my social medias of you using my designs! It keeps me motivated and happy to see other people enjoy the stuff I make °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°  ( insta+tik tok: jolly.psd )

DOWNLOAD HERE!

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to reach out!

Please REBLOG/LIKE if you download it

Stay happy everyone ♡

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Akatsuki no Yona Goodnotes Sticky Note Bundle

I decided to make some cute sticky notes! I got inspo after seeing cute notes using Goodnotes but wanted some anime incorporated so I made a set with Yona and the bunch ❤️

PACK INCLUDES

2 goals list

2 to do lists

2 yona grid notes

2 regular notes

All of these files are PNG format and free! Please like/reblog if you are planning on or using!!

The files are in a public Google Drive folder so you can access and download it if you have the app on your device <3

link here