logoalt Hacker News

Show HN: I made a simple web app to help kids learn a new language

47 pointsby rioppondalis10/11/202443 commentsview on HN

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

ugh12310/11/2024

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.

show 2 replies
wantsanagent10/11/2024

Just say "No" to "Free" trials that require a credit card on file.

show 1 reply
leke10/12/2024

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?

show 1 reply
mtalantikite10/11/2024

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.

show 1 reply
namaria10/14/2024

Voicze doesn't really read as 'voice easy'. I thought it was supposed to be some slavic sound before hearing the fake podcast thing. (Btw massive red flag the podcast, the fake claims of buzz etc).

When you select gendered languages as 'native language' the text says son, not child.

The Italian text is borderline nonsense. It technically translates to the correct English but it isn't even close to how an Italian person would say that.

The Portuguese version also gets derailed from one sentence to the other.

In both cases, first sentence makes sense, the second jumps to plural and you're left wondering who it's referring to. Again, technically makes sense, but it's not idiomatic and sorta confusing for native speakers.

After reading languages I dominate botched like that I would lose all trust in this app's ability to teach anyone a new language.

show 1 reply
olayanjuidris10/13/2024

I like your product a lot, I think a lot of people would need this , have you tried reaching out to schools , they will be a good customer acquisition strategy for you . Also I run an Enterpreneural newsletter of 3k+ audience where we share founders stories , tools and growth hacks . I might feature your product to our audience if you can skip the queue here. https://tally.so/r/w88BpO

show 1 reply
meowster10/11/2024

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?

show 2 replies
2024user10/12/2024

Does "simple" now mean polished and corporate looking?

The fake AI podcast really lowers my trust in you though.

show 2 replies
davidzweig10/11/2024

Tried the demo, looks similar to the Rosetta Stone method. Very nice execution. We also make a language app.

show 1 reply
rahimnathwani10/11/2024

My 8yo son uses Duolingo every day, to study Spanish. Is voiczy likely to be more effective or efficient?

show 2 replies
nancy_le10/14/2024

I love your idea. But I'm also wondering how you see Voiczy fitting into a child's overall educational journey? Are there any plans to integrate with schools or educational institutions?

show 1 reply
ryanb_010/11/2024

How does it work for adults?

show 1 reply
ziaee-ashkan10/13/2024

yo the website looks awesome and I am a huge fan of the idea myself. however what advantages does it provide compared to apps like Duolingo?

show 1 reply
blueeon10/11/2024

any unique features?

show 1 reply
pvg10/11/2024

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

show 1 reply