Question 1

What is StoryTime Language?

Accepted Answer

StoryTime Language is a language learning app that uses stories tailored to your proficiency level to help you improve your reading comprehension and vocabulary in a new language. The app provides an engaging, story-based approach to language learning, with options to generate stories over 130 supported languages.

Question 2

Who is StoryTime Language suitable for?

Accepted Answer

StoryTime Language is designed to support language learners of all ages, including children. Each story prompt submitted goes through an automated moderation check to help ensure that generated content is appropriate and avoids sensitive or unsuitable topics. This means that, typically, stories created within the app are suitable for younger audiences as well. However, as with any language tool, we encourage parents to explore the app with younger children and review stories together to maximize learning and enjoyment.

Question 3

How does StoryTime Language help me learn a new language?

Accepted Answer

By reading stories at your current language level, you’re exposed to natural sentence structures and vocabulary in context. This approach is based on the concept of “comprehensible input,” which encourages learning through content that is understandable but slightly challenging, helping you retain new words and grammar naturally.

Question 4

Can I use StoryTime Language if I am a complete beginner?

Accepted Answer

While StoryTime Language is ideal for those with a basic understanding of a language, beginners can still benefit from the app’s features. However, we recommend some prior knowledge for languages with complex scripts, such as Arabic or Chinese, as our app does not teach foundational elements like the alphabet. The app does have transliteration options to show the phonetic sounds of a non latin based character system.

Question 5

Is there a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Yes, StoryTime Language offers a 2-week free trial, so you can experience the app before committing to a subscription. After the trial period, you can continue for free by watching ads,  or you can subscribe to continue using the full range of features without limits.

Question 6

What languages are supported?

Accepted Answer

StoryTime Language currently supports over 130 languages, from popular options like Spanish, French, and Japanese to less commonly studied languages. You can select any of these languages as your target language, and the app will tailor stories to match your learning level. If we don't have a language you would like to use in the app, contact us to see if we can add it.

Question 7

What are options for seeing the translation into my native language?

Accepted Answer

There are several options for translation.  You can translate the whole story into another language with the translation icon at the top of the story.  You can toggle the translation icon to the right of any paragraph (or sentence) which will show the translated text in your native language.   On any word in the text you can tap and hold to get an instant translation of that word in context of how it is used in the story.

Question 8

Why does the accent sound wrong when I play the audio?

Accepted Answer

The audio playback actually comes from the android native TTS.  Some languages might not sound right until you install the desired language pack through your phones settings.  This can be found through Settings => System (Language, gestures, time, backup) => Languages & Input => Text-to-speech output => Language.  Select the languages you desire to learn and it should now utilize that speech engine when reading your stories out loud.

Question 9

How does story creation work?

Accepted Answer

With StoryTime Language, you can create your own stories by choosing a genre and either selecting from pre-generated prompts or crafting a custom prompt to target specific vocabulary or themes. The app will then generate a story based on your input at your proficiency level, offering a personalized learning experience.

Question 10

How does the app support vocabulary building?

Accepted Answer

When you come across unfamiliar words, you can tap and hold to see translations and save them for review. You can also export saved vocabulary to a flashcard app for continued practice, making it easier to retain and recall new words.  Future updates will add more fun tools to review vocabulary, or automatically include them in new stories.

Question 11

Can I use the app offline?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can access downloaded stories and your saved vocabulary offline. However, some features, like generating new stories, require an internet connection.

Question 12

What devices can I use StoryTime Language on?

Accepted Answer

StoryTime Language is currently available on Android and iOS devices, including phones and tablets.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)