On Tuesday, Google announced three new AI-powered experiments aimed at making language learning more personalized and practical. While still in the experimental phase, these tools hint at Google’s potential challenge to platforms like Duolingo, using its multimodal language model, Gemini.
The first experiment helps users quickly learn useful phrases in real-time scenarios. The second is designed to assist learners in speaking more naturally and informally, closer to how locals actually talk.
The third uses a device’s camera to teach new vocabulary based on the objects in the user’s environment.
Google notes that one of the most frustrating parts of learning a new language is when you find yourself in a situation where you need a specific phrase that you haven’t learned yet.
With the new “Tiny Lesson” experiment, you can describe a situation, such as “finding a lost passport,” to receive vocabulary and grammar tips tailored to the context. You can also get suggestions for responses like “I don’t know where I lost it” or “I want to report it to the police.”
The next experiment, “Slang Hang,” wants to help people sound less like a textbook when speaking a new language. Google says that when you learn a new language, you often learn to speak formally, which is why it’s experimenting with a way to teach people to speak more colloquially, and with local slang.