We went hands-on with Google Translate's Duolingo rival ahead of its launch (APK teardown)
This feature is effectively Google's take on Duolingo and lets you practice a desired language.
The feature currently lets you practice French or Spanish in a variety of preset scenarios, but you can also create your own lessons.
Earlier this year, we discovered evidence that Google was working on a new Practice feature in Google Translate. This would allow people to (surprise) practice a desired language. Now, we've managed to activate the feature and go hands-on with it.
Telegram user Mehrad spotted the Practice option in their Google Translate app. We weren't able to see the feature initially, but we managed to enable it after digging into the latest version of the app (version 9.14.71.788519780.3-release). Check out the screenshots below and the video above.
The first screen confirms that the Practice feature is in beta and creates personalized lessons. However, the screen also mentions that this is a 'trial period' with 'early and unlimited access.' This suggests that Google will eventually charge people to use the feature. It's unclear whether this would be a standalone fee or bundled in with the company's AI subscriptions.
The second screenshot also confirms that you can display the UI language in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. However, you can only practice in French or Spanish right now. Once you've picked your desired language to practice, you can then choose your level of proficiency (Just Starting, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced). However, the Just Starting level is greyed out at the moment.
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Google Translate then lets you choose from a variety of scenarios to practice (see the fourth and fifth screenshots). The listed scenarios include food and drink, greetings and introductions, and asking for directions. These scenarios are further divided into subtopics. For example, 'asking for directions' includes subtopics like getting lost near the hotel, finding a specific restaurant, and locating the train station.
Not happy with these scenarios? Then you can tap Create your own practice scenario to come up with a brand-new plan. You can simply use a text prompt to describe your custom scenario, although Google Translate also offers suggestions like 'Ask for a vegetarian food option' and 'Passing immigration.' You can also choose whether this scenario is a listening or speaking session.
What else to know about Google Translate's Practice feature?
The app will then quiz you in a round-based format. You can also adjust the difficulty after each listening round. It's worth noting that this Practice feature keeps track of your specified goals and words learned. It also offers daily activities, ostensibly to keep you coming back (much like Duolingo).
Finally, we spotted a settings page where you can change your proficiency level and language after the fact. This page also has an option to delete your practice history.
Either way, our teardown shows that Google's take on Duolingo is effectively ready for release. Furthermore, the fact that a Telegram user spotted this in their app suggests that Google is already testing this in a limited fashion.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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