alt Hacker NewsShow HN: I made a simple web app to help kids learn a new language
Hey there!
Out of the necessity to teach my son a new language, I developed an app just for him. After months of use and realizing how effective it was, I decided to make it available to the public. Now, I’m looking for your support, feedback, and possibly help in reaching potential customers.
Take a look and let me know your thoughts!
Thank you!
Comments
It's unclear on first impression of the landing page what your unique value prop is.
You say this: " Voiczy transforms language learning into an exciting adventure." and then you ask me to click a free trial button.
I think that deserves some kind of visual, either screenshots, illustrations, or demo video right next to that blurb.
Your Demo button shows a video play button, but when I click it i'm greeted with a 2-step settings process after which i'm presented with another "Start Demo" button, followed by your own pop up to "Give Microphone Access" which I click and then it pops up a system dialog for access.
Thats a 6-step funnel just to see what this is actually about.
Just say "No" to "Free" trials that require a credit card on file.
Congrats on shipping! I'm curious to know if kids in this demographic (2-6) see any extra benefits to something structured like this versus just watching cartoons in their target language? I've met plenty of people that have told me something like "Oh, I learned English from just watching Scooby Doo as a kid". They then went on to study English more formally in school when they were older, but they really claim they just learned from passively watching hours of cartoons on their own as a 3-6 year old, since that's what they had in their country of origin.
Attempted to try the demo, it requested microphone access which I denied, then the page was stuck. The only option to move forward was tapping on the chat icon, and then it wanted my email address and I wrote "no thank you" which it seemed to accept but not process.
It looks like your app only wants people to do things a certain way, and if the user doesn't, then too bad?
Tried the demo, looks similar to the Rosetta Stone method. Very nice execution. We also make a language app.
My 8yo son uses Duolingo every day, to study Spanish. Is voiczy likely to be more effective or efficient?
You could edit the title to start with 'Show HN:' instead of 'Launch:' so it shows up in the feedbacky places of the site, more info here https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html
Simple!?!? Ha!
This is a very polished to be called simple although simple is subjective. I've been developing language learning tools as a hobby during my programming journey, so it's great fun to try new stuff.
Problems...
I opened this in Hews2 Chrome browser and it got stuck on the "say the word" part. You might want to add a skip button there.
The sound effect audio is about twice the volume of the narrator audio.
Overall, it's great looking and engaging, even for an adult.
Questions I would like to ask but I understand if you don't want to answer.
I tried the Finnish language. Was that an AI voice? I just can't tell anymore.
What stack did you develop the front end with? How did you like it?