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Over the last two decades, Google Translate has been a go-to tool for many to understand words and phrases, but soon, it may also be able to teach you a language from scratch.
Google has yet to announce this feature, but Android Authority was able to activate a long-rumored Practice feature hidden within the latest version of the app. The publication first reported on the existence of this tool in April, but this is the first time it has been seen in action.
The site played around with elements of the AI-led features within Translate, captured in the screen recording below. Google's messaging in the app says the features are in beta.
Screenshots show that Google Translate will use AI to create personalized lessons. You can select the language you want to learn. English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese are currently supported, but only French and Spanish are working, according to Android Authority.
You're then asked whether you have Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced levels of knowledge, and it shows you scenarios to choose from for practice, such as work basics or ways to describe a job. You can also put together your own scenarios with a prompt.
This may be helpful if you’re about to go on a trip, and you want a tailored crash course in a language. For example, you could specify that you're going skiing, so you want to learn terminology before you hit the slopes. After you’ve completed a lesson, you’re asked whether you want to tweak the difficulty for future lessons to make it easier or harder.
Android Authority also noticed that the app mentions a “trial period," which suggests it will launch for free but may one day cost money, perhaps as part of a top-end Google Gemini package. (As ever with leaked information, take this with a grain of salt. There's no guarantee Google will ever release it.)
In April, Google began testing other language-learning tools using AI within its Labs projects, but none of these were affiliated with the official Translate apps. They were smaller games using AI to test your knowledge of a language, rather than teaching you from scratch.
AI appears to have a major role in the future of language learning. Earlier this year, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn announced a move toward becoming an “AI-first” company.
At the time, von Ahn said, "We’ll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle." After backlash from Duolingo users, von Ahn reversed his stance. He has since told the Financial Times he didn’t “expect the amount of blowback.”
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