π A Complete Tour of Coupling Cafe
A step-by-step guide to transform your language learning journey with your partner
π Hello from Coupling Cafe, where language learning transforms from a solo task into an adventure shared with your favorite person. Together, learning becomes powerful.
In case you missed it, an early public version ofΒ Coupling was released last weekΒ onΒ App StoreΒ andΒ Google Play!
Polished onboarding is still being built out so until we that gets set up,Β let this guide to be your comprehensive tour of the cafe.
π 1. Invite Your Partner to The Cafe
π§βπ€βπ§ By inviting your partner, you open the door to tailored vocabulary packs, personalized sentences, and high quality audio recordings. This is language learning, made-to-order just for you.
πͺ By learning together, you're not just memorizing words on your own; you're building a shared language. This shared language becomes a secret code between you two, adding a new layer to your bond.
We make it super easy for partners to help, with an intuitive UI and an assistive AI. Once you're both at the cafe, we can create our firstΒ Brew.
π΅ 2. Crafting Your First Brew
AΒ BrewΒ is a personalized vocabulary pack, a blend of words and phrases that matter to you and your partner. Complete with translation, personalized sentences, and even audio recordings.
π« Learner Orders a Brew
About half of you reading are the learning half of the duo. The first thing you should do isΒ order a Brew from your Barista, meaning request your partner to build a vocabulary pack for you.
Select from hundreds of Brews on our shelves. You get to choose the content of your Brew based on your tastes and what's relevant to you.Β Find a Brew you like then place an order for your Brew
After you've ordered a Brew, you can further customize it by adding or removing words. This makes learning engaging as you're more likely to remember words that you actually care about.
Find a comfy table and wait for your Barista to call your name. In the meantime, we have aΒ Starter DeckΒ for you to sample. Most languages come with 50 or so basic essential words and phrases, ready to go.
π Barista Crafts the Brew
Now to the teaching Baristas out there, your role is pivotal. Once your customer has ordered a Brew, you'll get a notification and see their Brew order on the shelf.Β Tap on the Brew:
See all the words that your partner has requested to learn:
Tap on a word. You'll be guided through setting translations, making sentences, recording audio, and selecting images for each wordβdon't worry, our AI is here to assist you every step of the way.
π¬ Select a Translation
Your main task is to provide a translation for each word, with AI-generated suggestions to help. You can also add notes for additional context:
ποΈ Record Audio
Recording your wonderful voice offers a clear, native pronunciation for your partner, significantly improving their listening and speaking skills. If you choose not to provide one, Coupling will fall back to text-to-speech audio. After recording, you can play it back, re-record, or continue on:
π° Make a Sentence
Creating sentences provides context on how each word is used, turning basic vocabulary learning into a more immersive experience. These sentences will be used inΒ fill-in-the-blankΒ games, enhancing the learning process.
The AI offers basic suggestions. It's your chance to personalize a sentence just for your partner.
If it happens that the translated sentence you createdΒ does not contain the original word, you'll be asked to tap the parts that relate. This helps create thatΒ fill-in-the-blankΒ game:
πΌοΈ Pick an Image
Selecting an image to accompany each word helps create strong visual associations, making it easier for your partner to remember and recall vocabulary. We have a library of tens of thousands of icons to choose from:
Once your Brew is complete, send it back to your learner to enjoy and savor:
π΅ 3. Tasting the Powerful Learning System
The Daily Grind is your daily language learning routine where you'll learn by taking Sips -- individual words and phrases -- brewed by your Barista.
π When you open your first Daily Grind, you'll be introduced to a new word. Take a Sip and keep it flowing:
Later that Sip will come up again, its firstΒ repetition! This time, you'll be tested on your memory. π€ Take a second, and whether you can remember or not, tapΒ Reveal Meaning:
In Coupling, youΒ self-grade yourself: TapΒ Try AgainΒ if you couldn't recall, or tapΒ GoodΒ if you were able to remember it. You can even tapΒ Too EasyΒ if you totally know it and don't feel you need to Sip this word as often.
πΒ And it's okay if you didn't remember it! It's all about repetitions and getting through quickly.
The Sip will come up once more this session, now prompting you for theΒ reverse, training both recognition and recall:
Go through the same process. If you were able to remember again, then you've cleared that Sip for the day! Else, you'll go through more repetitions to strengthen your memory.
π Completing your Daily Grind rewards you with stamps, redeemable for Beans to create more Sips. During our grand opening, enjoy free Sips on the house!
βοΈ The Spaced Repetition Life Hack
π Coupling's learning method usesΒ Spaced Repetition System , a proven technique used by polyglots and medical students to maximize memory retention of hundreds or thousands of terms.
Click here to read a highly recommended comic on the matter.
With this system,Β the more you learn a word, the less you have to review it. And the more you struggle with a word, the system will schedule more repetitions to lock it down.
In the buttons, you saw time intervals like "1 day" or "4 days". This tells you when you'll see the card again. These time intervals exponentially increase if you can continue to remember the word, and they'll slowly decrease if you start to have trouble recalling:
Algorithmically, you'll be scheduled to review a word right as you're about to forget them. It's how the top language learners can reliably memorize and retain thousands of words π§
π² Mature and Mastered
If a Sip has less than 18 days between repetitions, we call that SipΒ Learning.
If a Sip has more than 18 days between repetitions, we call that SipΒ Mature.
At 6 months, we call itΒ Mastered!
β 4. Adding More Sips
You can also add any words and phrase you want, independent of a Brew. Head over to theΒ DeckΒ screen, click the β Plus icon in the top right corner, and then you can add any word or phrase you want you or your partner to learn:
After adding a Sip, you can attach additional notes or audio recordings. Just make sure to hitΒ SaveΒ on those audio recordings.
π¬ 5. Join the Community Discord
We're super active on theΒ Discord. There, you can directly provide feedback, feature requests, bug reports. Or email me atΒ kevo@couplingcafe.com
You can even see what I'm actively working on at this moment:
Become a core part of guiding Coupling to be the perfect language learning app for you.
π Stop On By the Cafe
Once you get your first Brews and Sips going, you'll be bouncing words back and forth between each other. It's a rewarding process that'll produce lots of fun and laughter.
Make it a habit to do your Daily Grinds, paired with your daily cup of tea or coffee. Take a few Sips per day and see your language skills compound over time. I hope to see you stop on by at the cafe!