Starting a blog that covers my work as a software developer has been on my mind for a while. I'm doubly excited right now because I'm starting today this blog and a venture.
I am building a mobile app code-named 4N Chat and I will document this journey here.
I've always found learning foreign languages interesting. That is despite the fact that I have no talent for it (poor memory and a bad ear -- or two) and the first foreign language I studied was a mandated one. I grew up in communist Poland and kids back then had to study Russian (the only value I got out of that experience was understanding the importance of motivation; yeah, I don't know much Russian).
Those were days before the internet and the powerful computers that fit in our pockets. There are now a lot of software-based tools that help language learners. Having said that, I think there is some disappointment that software has not made learning a language easier. Perhaps the expectations were unrealistic. Learning a language still requires dedication and a long-term effort.
What has made a big difference is the availability of recordings of native speakers and the ability to replay these recordings easily. That is a simple but powerful tool. There are, of course, many applications out there that do much more than that. However, I am not sure how much value there is in that additional functionality.
A key to learning a language is to use it. It is an obvious statement, but surprisingly many learners do little of it. They acknowledge the importance of using a language in a conversation, but they usually think they are not ready to do it yet. This attitude greatly slows down language acquisition and often makes people give up.
Technology has definitely made it easier to talk to native speakers. There are apps out there that connect you with people who can provide language tutoring and exchange. For example, there is iTalki, a platform that has been around since Skype's boom years (so yeah, they have been around a while); from the newcomers, an interesting one is preply.
Some of these platforms have had a decent level of success. None of them, however, have become an obvious choice for language learners. Worse, many language learners don't use any of these platforms in a significant way.
That raises a few questions. Are these language tutoring and exchange platforms not effective? Are they cost prohibitive? Are they like veggies (that some of us choose not to get enough of)?
Well, I think I have the answer (I know that sounds arrogant). That is why I'm building 4n Chat. The answer is nuanced, though, so I won't try to answer it here, or at least not in this post (it might emerge eventually through the blog posts). Ultimately, the best way to explain is to create the app and put it in the hands of users.
For those of you who are interested in the technical aspects of this app, I will be using React Native, Firebase and Nestjs. I will release the app on both iOS and Android.
So, that is the venture in front of me (or an adventure, as some of my former co-workers have described it). I'm super excited to bring an idea of mine to life.