Learning Languages with Readlang and Podclub

Readlang by Steve Ridout is a free site which helps you learn foreign languages by reading and translating words you don’t know. You simply import text from any website, click on words you don’t know in order to translate them into another language, and save these words so you can review them later. It  uses a “spaced repetition flashcard system to make sure you remember the words” that you’ve clicked on and has a feature to open a dictionary in a side panel if you want to look up more information on the word(s). You can read the blog to see the latest updates, such as export word lists to Anki and translations of phrases rather than just individual words.

Lately I’ve been using the transcripts from Podclub podcasts since I always prefer to have text plus audio. I imported the text of the latest episode of the Spanish podcast A mi aire, and I’m translating words into English. Readlang now lets you synchronize Youtube videos with transcriptions so you can listen and read at the same time. Finally, there is a Chrome extension called Web Reader that will translate any word you click on directly on the page rather than importing text into your account. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone to create this!

Check out Readlang’s current features and send your feedback to Steve so he knows what new features to add.