Google presented a new tool that allows you to learn English for free for cell phones with the Android operating system. This feature allows you to improve your foreign language skills through short sessions of between three and five minutes , offering real-time feedback.
The function is activated when you use the search engine to make translations into English. During these interactive sessions, you will face questions from everyday life to practice using words in real situations. Google will analyze your pronunciation and provide you with example sentences where you could apply those words.
This approach to learning a language through the Google app is similar to what the Duolingo company has offered for years . The tool also includes a calendar to schedule your practice sessions and a log of the words you have learned or practiced, with a color-coding system to evaluate your pronunciation.
To offer personalized feedback, Google has collaborated with teachers and English teaching specialists. The tool uses authentic contexts and relies on repetition to increase learning retention . Users will receive feedback on the correctness and understanding of their answers.
If you come across an unknown word or phrase , you can translate it individually. Google takes into account the relationship between words and sentences to avoid out-of-context translations, as some words can have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used.
A notable feature of this tool is semantic analysis, in which Google uses its LaMDA and PaLM models to determine whether an answer makes sense in a given context. This is combined with an encoding architecture to compare user input to a set of accepted responses.
Artificial intelligence applied to languages
“A primary goal of conversation is to clearly communicate intent. Therefore, we designed a feature that visually communicates to the learner whether their answer was relevant to the context and whether a peer would understand it ,” Google mentioned in its blog. “We had to carefully balance this technology to focus on clarity of intent rather than correctness of syntax,” the company acknowledged.
In practice activities, Google relies on its artificial intelligence to create content. The tool uses its models language to adjust the complexity of the session and adapt to the user’s level.
The technology giant recruited linguists to produce a teaching experience that combines the advances of this technology with real learning techniques. English practice will be available for users in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, India and Indonesia .
This feature will be integrated into the Google app on Android over the next few days, so you’ll just need to keep it updated. The technology company promised to expand it to more countries in the future, although it did not commit to a specific date.
