Classic Language Learning Website Re-launches with a New UI and AI-Powered Voice Chat
New tech after 23 years and 4.5 million membersby Dan Yuen, February 19, 2024
My Language Exchange, the website that put "language exchange" into the mainstream consciousness over 23 years ago, has re-launched with a modern UI and an AI-powered voice chat. 
The new cleaner modern looking home page.
Voice chat with real-time, automatic speech recording and transcription / translation using AI.
According to the owner/developer and co-founder Dan Yuen, the features in the new voice chat reflect what he wished he had when he was working toward fluency in French while living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. "Listening comprehension was a big struggle of mine. So I wished I had a device that could record everything said by my native speaker partners without recording all the silence in between." "I also wished I had a bilingual friend with me who could instantly whisper into my ear something said by my partner that I didn’t quite catch. That would allow me to continue in the French conversation." Thanks partly to AI, his new voice chat does just that. In automatic mode, the voice recording is activated by speech. AI recognizes the speech in real time and provide text equivalents in both the language spoken and the learner’s native language. Producing speech bubbles of small audio files labeled by AI generated text, the conversation will be easy to review. A learner will never miss a sound bite and can easily find a sentence of interest to re-listen or ask her partner for help. The system supports over 100 languages. There is nothing to download or install. Aware of no other chat app that automatically records only the speech, Yuen is proud to say his website is uniquely able to help language learners achieve fluency. Unlike voice chat on other sites, Yuen’s is fully supported on practically all modern devices - mobile or not. For example, one can have a conversation on a phone with a partner on a laptop. Later, you can review that conversation on a desktop. Yuen’s voice chat is accessible and protects privacy at the same time. It is fully integrated with the web community so members can always be found via their profile and receive text or audio messages when they log in. When entering voice chat, members can choose to be visible to others and receive live messages or be invisible. For those seeking immediate practice, they can maintain a connection to voice chat while they browse the website. 
Users entering voice chat can choose between public or private mode.
For those seeking immediate practice, the system can notify them when they receive a voice chat message while they browse the website.
It is remarkable that My Language Exchange has thrived all these years, signing up over 4.5 million members since it launched in 2000. It is one of the longest running web properties out there. According to Yuen, when they launched, language exchange was little more than international dating. One website even allowed you to choose between dating and language exchange in your search. My Language Exchange was so innovative, it got mentioned in mainstream and technology focused media, including the now defunct print magazine Yahoo! Internet Life. Yuen credits its success to its focus on language learning. The site provides guidance and activities created by a language teacher specializing in language exchange. (To his knowledge, no other site offers this, even today.) This, and the enforcement of rules that disallow negative or disruptive behavior fosters a safe, supportive and fun environment that attracts and retains the more serious language learners. About My Language Exchange In 2000, Dan Yuen co-founded My Language Exchange with language teacher Helene Cormier, who has since ended all involvement to this project. With a formal method and activities provided by the co-founder teacher Helene Cormier, My Language Exchange was the first website to show the value of practising with ordinary native speakers to becoming fluent in one's target language. It got mentioned in the now defunct print magazine Yahoo! Internet Life, as well as other more mainstream media, like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In 2013, it partnered with the international homestay organization that was initially promoted by ex-US president Jimmy Carter: Friendship Force International. Along with FFI, Yuen was invited to speak at the Office of the Commisioner of Official Lanugages, an office that is responsible for protecting language rights in Canada and reports directly to the office of the Prime Minsiter of Canada. Read more about My Language Exchange here. |