Readlang reviews?

[AmitS]

Hello y'all!
So again, like in my previous thread, I came across with another valuable resource (imo, from my initial impression), Readlang (thanks to Cavesa ).
From what I've seen from this tool, as you probably know, it contains a pop-up dictionary, which has the ability to well-translate complete sentences in one-click, and even has the option to do so when reading in any other website.
On the one hand, for my English learning, this tool may not be as useful to me, since my L1 Hebrew is currently in beta and not yet completed.
On the other hand, this tool would be effective to me in my French learning (if I set my L1 as English).

Anyways, what do you think about this resource? From your experience, is it good enough for reading (usually provide well-sufficient translations)?

I would love to see your opinions
Thanks in advance!

[aravinda]

This thread discusses Readlang and similar tools. You might find answers to some of your questions there. My apologies if you have already read it.
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... ang#p22128

[Stelle]

I find it very useful for Spanish and Italian, since there are full novels uploaded. It's not as useful for Filipino, which is in beta and doesn't have much in the uploaded library. Of course, it's still useful for reading Filipino websites, since you can use readlang anywhere online.

I don't think I would bother with premium membership. I don't honestly see much of a difference between free and premium, especially since I only use it for its extensive reading functions, and don't use the flashcards.

[Adrianslont]

Hi. I’ve been using the Readlang app for just over a month now and I’m enjoying it very much. The pop up definitions certainly make reading easier - I had little inclination to read paper based french and not a huge amount of inclination to read paper based Indonesian because I hate using a dictionary or dictionary app. The ease and speed of the lookup provides much greater momentum when reading.

And I’m also using the flashcards when I have short periods of free time. Between more reading and the flashcards I feel it is really building my vocabulary. And I like the text to speech when you highlight a word or use the flashcards.

I decided to get a premium account after a week or so of using it - I find it to be worth it and i am happy to support the developer because I think he has done a great job and the price is very reasonable. I think the need for unlimited phrase lookups will vary from language to language - certainly you need that function more in French than in Indonesian.

So, my review is after only one month but I can say I am impressed by it.

[MorkTheFiddle]

Does Readlang give options for using dictionaries other than Google Translate?

[Adrianslont]

Does Readlang give options for using dictionaries other than Google Translate?

Readlang seems to use Wordreference by default. It offers the ability to change the default dictionary to any other online dictionary in the Settings - but I just tried that and couldn’t make it work - not that I wanted to change it but I was prompted by your question. A mail to the developer might resolve that issue but I am happy with Wordreference.

[Andy E]

Ive just started using this as well but only for reading the news on Websites like BBC Mundo, El País and El Mundo. Since I use Word Reference all the time anyway I haven't bothered to attempt to change the dictionary used . Up until now I've been using the Google Translate Chrome Extension but this feels way smoother. I can't say the Premium version feels like it would give me anything more but I'm leaning towards it just to support the Developer.

[MorkTheFiddle]

Does Readlang give options for using dictionaries other than Google Translate?

Readlang seems to use Wordreference by default. It offers the ability to change the default dictionary to any other online dictionary in the Settings - but I just tried that and couldn’t make it work - not that I wanted to change it but I was prompted by your question. A mail to the developer might resolve that issue but I am happy with Wordreference.

Ive just started using this as well but only for reading the news on Websites like BBC Mundo, El País and El Mundo. Since I use Word Reference all the time anyway I haven't bothered to attempt to change the dictionary used . Up until now I've been using the Google Translate Chrome Extension but this feels way smoother. I can't say the Premium version feels like it would give me anything more but I'm leaning towards it just to support the Developer.

Thanks to both of you for your answers. Why I thought Readlang was using Google Translate I can't explain. So I don't need to contact the developer.
And, anyway, FWIW, the developer is on hiatus from Readlang in order to put food on his table.
I wish him well.

[Adrianslont]

Does Readlang give options for using dictionaries other than Google Translate?

Readlang seems to use Wordreference by default. It offers the ability to change the default dictionary to any other inline dictionary in the Settings - but I just tried that and couldn’t make it work - not that I wanted to change it but I was prompted by your question. A mail to the developer might resolve that issue but I am happy with Wordreference.

Ive just started using this as well but only for reading the news on Websites like BBC Mundo, El País and El Mundo. Since I use Word Reference all the time anyway I haven't bothered to attempt to change the dictionary used . Up until now I've been using the Google Translate Chrome Extension but this feels way smoother. I can't say the Premium version feels like it would give me anything more but I'm leaning towards it just to support the Developer.

Thanks to both of you for your answers. Why I thought Readlang was using Google Translate I can't explain. So I don't need to contact the developer.
And, anyway, FWIW, the developer is on hiatus from Readlang in order to put food on his table.
I wish him well.

Mork, I’ve been looking into this more and you may be correct about Google Translate. I found someone on a blog saying that Readlang uses GT for its “base translation” ie the inline translation that appears when you click/tap on words - but, when using Readlang on a computer you have an optional sidebar which simultaneously shows you a translation in WordReference (or for a handful of other languages there is a different, better online dictionary according to Readlang’s own blog). Thus, you actually have two dictionaries simultaneously - though the inline one is GT.

On a phone however, things are a little different - the sidebar cannot be always present because of the smaller screen. You can however toggle it in and out with a single tap.

Regarding the developer and his hiatus, I believe he is on hiatus from development but not maintainance - recently the TTS stopped working so I contacted him and he replied and fixed it promptly.

[Grassmanian]

Last year the developer, Steve Ridout, accepted a job at Duolingo. I believe he remains committed to maintaining Readlang, but he is not adding new features.

https://medium.com/@SteveRidout/i-m-joi ... 436df1b737

https://www.duolingo.com/comment/138277 ... g-Duolingo

https://twitter.com/Steve_Ridout/status ... 4931231744