For the past couple of weeks, I've been working on a language learning tool that lets you get immersed in a text in the language you're learning, while giving you all the tools you may need to understand it, and test your understanding with writing and speaking.
This is Immersion - a free, locally-saved language learning powerhouse that works with nearly any language you can think of, and gives you all the tools you need to really understand literature in that language.
It supports short stories, full books, PDFs, and even YouTube videos. It lets you use AI to support understanding, but without becoming a crutch. You can practice with flashcards, have the text read to you, and write essays to practice using the language you are learning.
I'm excited about Immersion, because I believe we have been handicapped in our language learning for too long. Some of the greatest minds of history learned languages this way, by reading a book in their target language, and practicing by writing and speaking. Additionally,
you will be learning with whatever content you actually want to read, not just a mass-produced lesson that teaches you how to say "Giraffes are tall" and moves on to the next random sentence.
Immersion has allowed me to read The "Interior Castle" by St. Teresa of Avila in the original Spanish and get help along the way to really understand what's going on in the text. I've started reading 1 John in the original Greek, and the letter from St. Ignatius to the Smyrneans.
I have read Latin texts, German short stories, and watched Hungarian videos with the aid of a transcript. All of this is infinitely more interesting than drilling single word flashcards or being stuck in "Nouns 3" on Duolingo for weeks on end.
I think apps like Duolingo have their place, particularly when you're just starting out with a language. But too often, we forget that the key to language learning is making sure that what you're learning,
