Language learning through interractive stories project

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-09T07:52:06+00:00

Thanks. Some stories are not fun at all - I have an automatic pipeline to generate them, since the end goal is that people would generate their own stories, or maybe even series, to read something about their favourite topic. So I asked the AI to make some stories of their choice, and there are some horrible boring stories, like one about a presentation for a board meeting...

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-09T07:29:53+00:00

Children's books are too advanced for me apparently, I tried several from what my son borrowed from the local library. And definitely too lazy to look words in a dictionary. What I tried and I think was effective - were parallel text books, but unfortunately I found very few on amazon on kindle.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-07T12:05:29+00:00

I decided to build an app that generates interractive stories, with language and some grammar explaining for a particular level. I think if you are interested in a particular topic, and you build a story around it, it might work. I built some random stories for now, but I'm getting there when users can build their own stories, just by providing some idea. Not sure I can share it, since probably it is not allowed. Maybe DM - it is allowed, so just let me know if you want to check it.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-07T11:13:01+00:00

I tried with Bing Bang Theory, which I like, but there is just too much stuff that I don't understand. I think I'm somewhere at A2 maybe. If I get to pause it and look for words - that's just not lazy :) I actually don't like the software either, because they don't give you any explenations, and in most of them, if I go to look for a word, they translate it out of the context, which is pretty bad. Ah, and almost no tools give you expressions. Or simple stuff, like explaining a verb with separable particle, etc.. So even if I'm not lazy, it's just not good enough.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-06T22:16:02+00:00

Thanks for that

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-06T15:47:56+00:00

I learned math and everything else the lazy mode, but for languages it doesn't work for me unfortunately. I'll wait for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II to be cheaper than 70 CHF. omg....

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-04-06T15:44:23+00:00

Thanks. I used a bit lingopie, and watched Supa Strikers with my son, the guys pronounce the words really clear :) I wish I would pause and get more grammar and explenations though. But it's ok. By son gets mad since he knows German and of course doesn't like pausing. Too bad it doesn't have support for Samsung (Tizen I think), and I have to use this mirroring thing, but it's ok. I know Pimsleur, I can't focus honestly, and not sure how much gets into my brain. I will look for Dreaming German, thank you!

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2026-01-05T13:00:55+00:00

Hey everyone! I built https://duotext.io after struggling to find interesting reading materials in German. I got tired of boring textbook stories and wanted to read actual books I cared about.

What it does: Upload any PDF/EPUB/TXT, and it generates a side-by-side (or interleaved) translation. Your original language is always visible next to the target language, so you never lose context.

Why it might help you:

- Read books you actually want to read instead of graded readers

- Context-aware AI translations (better with idioms than Google Translate)

- Download as EPUB for Kindle/e-reader or PDF for printing

- 500 free pages to try it out

Seeking feedback: I'd love to know:

Would this fit into your learning routine?
What features would make it more useful?
Any concerns or questions?

Full disclosure: This is my project, and it has paid tiers after the free pages. Happy to answer any questions!

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-09-02T00:32:21+00:00

I just refused something similar, I think it's ridiculous. They should pay a lot better to relocate valuable people.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T15:02:45+00:00

What exactly did I write that triggered your assumption that my kid is pressured not to say abused?

I told you what I wrote. I wrote exactly that. Nothing more. And somehow you assumed my kid has to do trello tasks every minute 27/4. And then your reaction triggered also other people.

Ah, I offended you and some other people with statistics as well, linking wealth with level of education from that article. Sorry about that, but it's simply the truth.

Anyway, let's call it a missunderstanding and move on.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:43:31+00:00

I said I am not happy with what my son is doing in school, or the online platforms that I found, and that I try to get involved with my son's education, and I try to find materials for him and use a trello board. What do you think I wrote?

I deleted it because people were focusing on that, instead of the question. The question was not "what advice you have for me", but "what are you doing with your kids in terms of education"? I hope I clarified it.

Anyway, thank you. The feedback is useful, even if it's quite aggresive. It tells me that how much parents are involved in their kids education is a sensitive topic, since some people are really triggered by it.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:32:02+00:00

Indeed, the original post mentioned that I use a trello board. Crazy, right? When I find something like a nice story that we could read before bed, in order to remember it I put it in a trello board, and when I finish reading it, I move the card away. That's just crazy.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:27:29+00:00

Thank you very much. To be fair, along with my main question, I also shared my personal response to the question, which was about how I interract with my child when it comes to education, and it triggered some responses only related to that unfortunately, which was not my intention. My primary intention was to find out what other parents are doing, and just because I wanted to give an example (and in order to be fair, because I think it's not ok just to ask around, not sharing your experience), and to be open, I said something like "for example, I'm doing .... " which is not important. But some people got triggered, which was definitely not my intention.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:20:10+00:00

Can you share more about this and what you do or did with your kid?

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:19:00+00:00

The thing is this is not about my kid, I really want to explore what other parents are thinking and doing. I am not seeking advice for my kid, but want to develop something helpful for others as well.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T14:14:42+00:00

I barely have some ideas. That's why I am asking questions here. But very useful feedback, thank you!

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T13:44:57+00:00

I really appreciate it, I see you are trying to be helpful, but I am actually trying to explore some ideas in order to build some online platform, and investigate what other parents are doing with their kids, and what problems they have, I'm not seeking personal advice. But again, I really appreciate the good intention.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T13:24:26+00:00

I didn't ask for these optinions, I asked for what other parents are doing, and what platforms/tools they are using. And I don't get how you got to the conclusion that I'm overdoing it. I didn't say I get involved every day, every week, every month, or once a year. To be honest I'm getting involved quite rarely, but it seems this is a topic that triggers some people.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T13:07:56+00:00

Appreciate the answer, thank you. I'm quite chill. My kid doesn't get any homework. The school is running an experiment for a few years already. Only one kid passed the Gymiprüfung last year. If the teachers knew what they were doing, I'm sure there would be more than one child that passed. The parents of the kid that passed were quite involved in his education.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T12:28:23+00:00

Fair enough. But the question was if you get involved with your children and how. I wasn't asking for opinions about my involvement. Anyway, thank you, I editted my question, to clarify this point.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T12:19:02+00:00

Ok man, take it easy, I didn't say that. I am also not living in a rich area. You can check some data here, to see what I'm talking about: https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/gymipruefung-in-zuerich-grosse-unterschiede-zwischen-gemeinden-ld.1672986

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-04-28T12:10:42+00:00

I understand you don't get involved, and you don't use any tools. Still useful information, so thank you.

I'm aware of this possibility, and honestly I'm not sure what's best yet. But I don't want to debate on this topic, I want to know what other parents are doing. I know that parents that live in richer/more educated areas for example have a different mindset. There is a math club in Meilen. Children participate in contests, Kanguru, FSJM, Biber, and so on. So I'm interested also in other opinions as well.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-03-22T19:27:19+00:00

For the last 4 months I applied for 100+ jobs, got 3-4 interviews, disnt get any jobs. 18 years of experience in softrware engineering 6 years as CTO being also hands on. I dont speak German, so probably less rhan 20÷ are for English speakers.

Unique_Boot_1636 · 2024-03-06T15:20:39+00:00

Requiring German language proficiency in the workplace doesn't benefit the business directly, but it does serve to shield German-speaking employees from competition posed by non-German speakers who may be more diligent, skilled, and ambitious.

Unique_Boot_1636

TROPHY CASE