© ROOT-NATION.com - Use of content is permitted with a backlink.
Learning a language is not easy. Trust me, I know: learning the language I am using right now to type this took me more than a decade, and I am still not perfect. And learning another one on top of that, in my 30s? Sounds unrealistic, to say the least.
I’ve tried all the apps that promised to magically make you fluent in a month. Do they work? Technically, they do teach you words and even some grammar, but the process is so slow that you forget what you learned at the same pace. In other words, I was not impressed.
Migaku does not promise to transform you into a native speaker in a week, but it does have a few bold claims I had to check. One of them was particularly important to me: it promised to make learning fun. And no matter how many apps tried to gamify the process, fun they were not. Especially Duo, with its nerve-wracking streaks. Enter Migaku, which takes a radically different approach.
So, what does Migaku do exactly?
The premise is simple and very true – the developers say that in order to learn a language, you have to enjoy the process and actually be interested in the information you’re getting on a daily basis. Topic-based lists of words and dull sentences about the weather are not it. That’s where Migaku comes in: with its tools built into the Chrome browser, it allows you to soak in words while watching your favorite show. It makes the process of saving the words you don’t know a breeze by automatically creating an Anki-style card with every possible bit of information needed.
By streamlining the process, it allows you to not break immersion and continue watching, remaining in the zone. It utilizes AI to explain the word in context. And when you save a word, it saves the audio, too, so that you can remember the original pronunciation – no AI voices required.
This ability to create custom cards and enjoy the content you like is what separates Migaku from everything else. No matter your level, you can visit your favorite website or YouTube channel and start learning immediately, without endless unskippable thematic lists of phrases.
Migaku supports several streaming platforms, including Disney+, Animelon, YouTube, and Netflix. The tool tracks words in shows and suggests when to learn new vocabulary. With a single button press, it captures the audio, sentence, and screenshot from the show while automatically adding definitions. And the built-in AI can even generate subtitles for you if there are none available. The feature is still new and doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s an incredible tool (and it’s much better than auto-generated subs).
Additionally, it estimates how much of an episode or webpage you comprehend, helping you decide if the content is suitable for your level.
To judge how it works, I decided to start learning French. I had always wanted to, after all. Migaku already has a convenient playlist of videos in French on YouTube, and with the help of the app on my iPad, I have been making slow but steady progress. My goal is not to learn grammar yet but to learn the most widespread words first. For that, Migaku is great. Just don’t expect it to teach you everything: it does not have any real way to teach you grammar, as it focuses on vocabulary. That said, to be more accurate, there are courses that teach grammar – just not for French yet. A French grammar course is planned. Also, it’s not that Migaku focuses only on vocabulary by design; it’s simply that they haven’t had the time and resources yet to develop a full French course like they did for Japanese, Korean, or Chinese.
Verdict
As a tool, Migaku has proven to be invaluable to me, but like everything, it’s not free. The base price is $10 per month, and there is a lifetime license you can get for $500. Yes, it’s $500 when not on sale, but they do run sales regularly, so you can look out for those. And it’s, admittedly, a lot. I cannot say whether it’s worth it for you, but to me, it’s a great tool. There’s still a long way to go, and I especially want a Firefox extension. Because there isn’t one, and I normally use Firefox, I have to use Chrome with a separate extension just for learning, which isn’t ideal. For Chrome users – which is the majority – this isn’t an issue. I also hope more functionality comes to iPads, which are ideal devices for learning. But even in this state, it’s a fascinating way to immerse yourself in a foreign language.
