People always learned this way
You’ve done this before
Ages 0 to 5
No rules, no tests, no flashcards, and it worked.
Friends, every season
Seoul, the 2000s
A generation of K-pop idols learned English from one sitcom, subtitles first, then none.
Words before lessons
Flanders, 2020
Belgian ten-year-olds know hundreds of English words before their first lesson, from games and TV.
The book flood
Fiji, 1980
Classes given storybooks learned English twice as fast as classes drilled in grammar.
A novel at a time
Budapest, 1944
Kató Lomb began each of sixteen languages with a novel she couldn’t read yet.
English at sea
At sea, 1878
Joseph Conrad learned English at sea in his twenties, then wrote Heart of Darkness in it.
It’s not too late
The Netherlands, 1978
Adults learning Dutch outpaced young children all year, and teenagers were fastest.
Ten meetings
Webb, 2007
Meet a word about ten times in context and it’s yours.
Read while you listen
Webb & Chang, 2015
Hear a story while you read it and you learn more of its words, and keep them.
49 studies agree
Jeon & Day, 2016
Read a lot in a language and you get better at it, every time it’s measured.
Eight months old
Saffran, Aslin & Newport, 1996
Babies pick the words out of a made-up language after two minutes of hearing it.
How diplomats learn
Foreign Service Institute
Full days in a class of a few: Spanish in 30 weeks, Japanese in 88.
Grammar comes second
Tomasello, 2003
Children build grammar from the sentences they hear, not from rules.
216 books in 93 languages
Browse the library →
Level 7김치통 안의 느린 변화
KoreanExplainer
냉장고에서 막 꺼낸 김치통을 열면, 먼저 차가운 냄새가 올라오고 붉은 양념 아래에서 작은 기포가 보이기도 한다.
Level 6誤った世紀の手紙
JapaneseDark academia
水奈は、東京にある私立の霜京古典学院で博士論文を書きながら、黒瀬教授の蔵書を整理していた。
Level 5Del olivar a la botella
SpanishTravel and food
En Andalucía, el aceite de oliva empieza mucho antes de llegar a la cocina.
Level 8Il suono del Parmigiano Reggiano
ItalianTravel and food
Nelle latterie del Parmigiano Reggiano, il lavoro è cominciato con il latte munto la sera precedente.
Level 2Die Urlaubstabelle
GermanHumor
Am Samstag sitzt Familie Kern in ihrer Wohnung in Stuttgart um den Küchentisch.
Level 5Une année dans les vignes de Bourgogne
FrenchExplainer
Prenez une bouteille de Bourgogne et regardez le nom du village sur la bouteille.
Level 6A letra no papel
PortugueseHistorical fiction
Na noite de Novembro, Mariana subiu a Rua do Poço Escuro com os sapatos molhados e a saia presa numa mão.
Level 7福建山里的一片茶叶
ChineseExplainer
一杯福建绿茶和一杯福建红茶放在一起，差别很容易看见。
Level 2الهاتف الذي يرن
ArabicThriller
لماذا كان الرجل ينظر إلى الساعة كل عشر ثوان؟
Level 2Ang Tunog ng Makina
FilipinoComing of age
Labinlimang taong gulang si Nico, at buong tag-init siyang kasama ni Tito Berto sa bangka.
Level 2छत की कुर्सी
HindiMystery
लखनऊ के एक छोटे शादी भवन में रफ़ीक रात का सुरक्षा कर्मचारी था।
Level 3Teh yang Dibutuhkan
IndonesianCozy fantasy
Hujan turun di jalan kecil di Yogyakarta, dan warung Bu Ningsih hampir kosong.
aloglot
/ˈæl.ə.ɡlɑt/AL-uh-glot
- 1n.noun A person who speaks a language other than their mother tongue.
- 2adj.adjective Speaking a non-native language.
- 3n.noun You!
Origin
French alloglotte, from Greek ἄλλος “other” and γλῶσσα “tongue”.
Compare to polyglot “speaker of many languages”.
Why stories, not flashcards?
You’ll want to study
Books about whatever you’re into
Books at every level, help a tap away
Alo, a patient AI speaking partner
It actually works
Knowing phrases beats memorizing rules
Key words keep coming back in context
Reading, listening, speaking, AND writing
It fits with a class
Extra practice anytime, judgment free
Grammar lessons become instinct
Turn this week’s lesson into a story