Language Hero is a video chat app that provides real-life conversational language speaking practice

Content is configured to emulate real-life conversational flow on multiple user-driven topics over each 10 minute speaking session. Each content selection by a user results in a new set of popularity-weighted, context-appropriate selections for her/his partner.

Ideally, User A practices her/his study language with User B, a native speaker of that language. User B then practices his/her study language with User A, a native speaker of that language.

The App can also provide conversation between tutors and language students and to users with the same learning language.

Ideal language chat partners have the advantage of being able to take on alternating student and teacher roles, correcting each other’s pronunciation in the process.

Users select phrases, displayed as text over video, hear an audio clip of the selected phrase and then speak it. The User’s partner then selects and speaks a phrase. If the partner is a native speaker of the language being practiced they don’t hear a sound clip; if it’s their study language they do.

Content consists of pre-translated phrases. Users select from three complete or partial phrases. Partial phrases are completed through selection from image strips and word lists, in order to personalize conversations better, while glossing keywords.

Users practice for 10 minutes in one language; the app then automatically switches to a 10 minute session in the other language, (where two study languages are required).

A later version of this app will enable bot chat involving one user, where the role of User B is played by a bot, which can be configured for different topics and preferences.

Current Stack:

React Native Front End (to be replaced by Swift and Kotlin in the next 12 months)

Phoenix/Erlang/Elixir back end

Ember CMS leveraging Postgres DB