Updates To Our App!

Noteworthy stuff to check out now!

Title Icon
June 23, 2021

New Features Headed Your Way!

Is that you, lovely language learners?

Are you ready for some new features from your favorite friendly neighborhood language app? We think you are!

Some updates are coming to your next review session in the form of three possible helpful “flashes” that will appear on your screen.

(And yes, we just dropped two superhero references…you’re welcome.)

Know that if you check the “Don’t show this again” box, you will never see that particular type of flash in future review sessions. So, if you are at a point where your review sessions make sense to you, ticking that box is something you want to do.

Let’s kick it off!

Minimal pair flash

This flash will appear right before you see the first “repeating” flashcard during your review session. These are flashcards you created during your Ear Training exercises (users with advanced pronunciation won’t see these). We want you to know that this flashcard will appear at least once (if not more) in your review session.

Here’s an excerpt from Gabe’s book that explains the concept:

Rock and lock are classic members of a special group of words known as minimal pairs. These are pairs of words that differ by only one sound, and every language is full of them...These pairs get right to the heart of the hearing problem in a language, and practicing them with feedback provides the best way to train our ears and rewire our brains...When you use minimal pair testing at the beginning of your language journey, you’ll learn much faster in the long run. You’ll have an easier time remembering new words because they no longer sound foreign. You’ll also understand native speakers better because your ears are in sync with their speech. Instead of wasting your time correcting bad pronunciation habits, you’ll be able to spend your time-consuming language at breakneck speed.

Incorrect answer flash

Do you mark some of your flashcards as “wrong?”

If you don’t remember what was on the back of the flashcard, you should definitely mark it wrong. It’s how our Spaced Repetition System learns...and grows to become Skynet.

Kidding!

But for real, the first time you mark a flashcard as wrong, you will see a message letting you know that. The flashcard will then reappear again until you get it right.

Revisited section flash

After you go through all the flashcards in your review session once, you will reach a point in your session where you will see some flashcards again. There will be those you marked as “incorrect” during the session, and the “repeating” minimal pair flashcards.

This message lets you know that there won’t be any new cards, and that you are on the final leg of your review session. In other words, you’re that awesome...but that was a given.

That’s it for now. Enjoy these new features, and we will...


June 16, 2021

1.0.40 Update

Well, hello there, faithful users! Welcome to a new edition of what’s happening in the fantastic world of Fluent Forever.

Time to buckle up!

New features

Streamlining daily tasks

We listened to you, and now navigating between your daily tasks is about to get a whole lot easier!

Let’s say you complete a task or even part of a task, like finishing a Basics of Spelling task within a Pronunciation lesson. You will get an alert that will allow you to do two things:

  • Quickly go back to the home screen to start your next task.
  • Continue with what you were doing (finishing the Pronunciation lesson, for example).

With this, you get to stay focused on the task at hand without having to guess when you have completed it. Virtual high-five!

Check it out in the app now!

Advanced image search

An essential part of “The Method” is personalizing the images you select for your flashcards. So, you might wonder how we could make this more awesome. Well, allow us to pop that “wonder” balloon for you.

We’ve now made it easier for you to engage in the advanced image search (when the first seven image results are a big blah). When you click on the “Find More” option when choosing images for your flashcards, then toggle between English and your target language, the app will automatically search the translation of the word instead of requiring you to type it in.

Say goodbye to the big blah.

This feature works for all of the 625 words (not the sentences, however), pronunciation flashcards made during the Basics of Spelling lessons, and words created via “See it? Learn it!” (as long as we have the translation available).

Want to see the fun search results between your target language and English? Check it out in the app! You know you want to.

As Gabe mentions in his book...

Images come from websites in your target language, and so they can tell you precisely how a word is used. The Russian word “devushka” means “girl.” Simple enough, right?

Nope!

Searching in your target language will tell you a much more nuanced (and weird) story. Nearly every “devushka” [in Russian] is a close-up chest shot of an 18-year-old girl in a bikini. You look at this, and you think, “Hm!”

And this “Hm!” is exactly what we’re after. It’s the moment you realize that Russian words aren’t just funny-sounding English words. They’re “Russian” words, and Russian words wear less clothing than you might expect (especially given the cold climate).

These “Hm!” moments get seared into your brain because they’re interesting. So, while you might be a bit disturbed by the sexual overtones in “devushka,” you’ll certainly remember them.

When you research a word [in your target language], you’re playing a “Spot the Differences” game. You’re looking for the difference between what you expect to see and what you actually see.

That game is a lot of fun; the Internet is full of weird, funny pictures in all sorts of languages. What does a German grandmother look like? What’s a Hindi cake? Take ten to 20 seconds to play (and then move on to the next word – before you get sucked in for an hour!)

Add more words from a sentence to your deck

Have you ever reviewed a flashcard and thought, “Wow, I’d also like to learn this other word from this sentence?” Well, we are so glad you did!

Now, during review sessions, you can easily create more flashcards for words that appear in sentences that you fancy. Click on the three dots (...) menu and select the new option “Add more from this sentence.” You will be prompted to pick which word you’d like to create new flashcards for, and then be able to create those flashcards immediately...like magic.

After you are done, you will be taken right back to your review session so you can pick up where you left off...like double magic.

Smashed bugs

It’s summer, and that means bugs...except here at Fluent Forever. That’s because we are always on the lookout for them, and we caught and smashed a noteworthy one for this release.

This time around, the bug was related to the Ear Training tasks in the Pronunciation lessons. Previously, the last pair of sounds would play a second time after the cards were added to your deck. That won’t occur anymore.

Big smash!

Language progress

Do you want to stay in the loop on how our work on other languages is coming along? Simply click here to check things out.

That’s it for now. We appreciate you all. Stay awesome!


May 18, 2021

Dutch Has Arrived!

Welcome, Fluent Forever users! Ready to find out what news we have in store for you this time?

New features

Dutch is now out!

Check it out by tapping on the Settings page. Then, select “Change Language” and choose Dutch. Rest assured that all data and progress in any other language(s) you are studying will not be lost, and you can easily switch back to the language of your choice at any time.

Alert to enhance your daily review session

Reviewing fewer than ten cards isn’t the best language learning experience. So, if your scheduled daily review session is going to feature fewer than ten flashcards, we will let you know and encourage you to create more flashcards first.

What’s coming next

Task flow improvements

Not sure if you’ve completed a daily task? Want to easily go back to your home screen after you finish a task so you can start on your next one? We’ve got all that covered in an upcoming release!

Language progress

Interested in the finer details of how our work on other languages is coming along? Click here to check out all our progress to date.