Google is launching a new feature in its search platform, poised to challenge the popular language learning app Duolingo. This tool is designed to facilitate English language practice and improvement, targeting a wide audience of language learners.
"We are excited to announce a new feature of Google Search that helps people practice speaking and improve their language skills," Google said in a blog post.
This new feature is set to roll out gradually in the next few days, initially becoming available to Android users in specific regions, including Argentina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Google's expansion plan includes incorporating more countries and languages in the near future.
A man walks past the logo of the US multinational technology company Google during the VivaTech trade fair ( Viva Technology), on May 24, 2018 in Paris.
Google Interactive Platform for Practicing English
The primary function of this feature is to offer users an interactive platform for practicing spoken English. Learners are presented with real-world prompts and encouraged to form their own spoken responses using a provided vocabulary word.
These practice sessions are designed to be short, spanning 3 to 5 minutes, ensuring they are convenient to fit into a busy schedule. Participants receive personalized feedback, allowing for continuous improvement.
Additionally, users have the option to receive daily reminders, promoting consistent practice. The tool is tailored to work harmoniously with other language learning resources and services as a supplementary aid to personal tutoring, mobile applications, and formal classes.
Google envisions it as an additional tool in the arsenal of language learners, providing diverse options for honing their language skills.
Google's development of this feature involved collaboration with linguists, teachers, and ESL/EFL pedagogy experts. The objective was to create a practice experience that is not only effective but also motivates learners.
Providing real-time, personalized feedback is a crucial aspect of effective language learning. Google's system analyzes user responses and offers suggestions and corrections promptly.
Semantic feedback evaluates whether the response is relevant to the question and if it is likely to be understood in a conversation. Grammar feedback provides insights into potential grammatical improvements.
Moreover, a set of example answers is provided at varying levels of language complexity, offering concrete suggestions for alternative responses.
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Deep Aligner
One technical challenge Google overcame in creating this feature was enabling contextual translation. During practice sessions, users can tap on any word they don't understand to see its translation within the context of the sentence.
That required the development of a novel deep learning model known as Deep Aligner, which was created in collaboration with the Google Translate team. The model aligns language pairs, significantly improving the quality of word alignments in comparison to existing approaches.
This model is integrated into Google's translation APIs, resulting in notable enhancements such as improved formatting for translated PDFs and websites in Chrome, refined translation of YouTube captions, and an elevated performance of Google Cloud's translation API.
"Google Search is already a valuable tool for language learners, providing translations, definitions, and other resources to improve vocabulary. Now, learners translating to or from English on their Android phones will find a new English speaking practice experience with personalized feedback," the company said in a statement.
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