💝 Coupling: Language Together Now Available
💝 Coupling: Language Together Now Available
Happy Valentine's Day! Learn a language with your partner today
After a long journey of exploration, countless ups and downs, and development that started in October 2020, I am thrilled to announce a euphoric milestone — not just for myself but hopefully for you too. Coupling, the language learning app designed to deepen the bond between you and your partner, has been reconstructed from the ground up. With a new home at couplingcafe.com, Coupling is now available on App Store and Google Play!
Also stop by to say hi on the Coupling Discord
🍃 What's Been Renovated At Coupling Cafe?
🍵 A Brand New Cafe Theme: You find yourself a traveler in the local cafe of a foreign country. The barista (your partner) waits behind the counter, ready to serve up language brews in a cozy setting. Will you stop by for a drink enough to transform into a language speaking regular?
📚 Personalized Vocabulary Packs: Browse our menu of hundreds of themed vocabulary packs to learn what's relevant to you. Place an order to your personal barista to "brew" these packs specifically for you. This personalized approach ensures you'll be coming back for more
🎨 Artisanal Learning Content: With clearer directions for partners and a little bit of AI juice, creating personalized sentences, vocabulary, and audio recordings has never been easier. Learning material isn't just accurate; it's customized to fit your life, interests, and the unique dialect and vernacular of your partner's region.
🎁 Surprises Await: We're not just faster and smoother; we're filled with surprises that await your discovery. Our updated visual design and seamless interactions are just the beginning.
⛰️ First Sip: The Story Behind Coupling
The idea of Coupling was born out of inspiration during a week-long wilderness trip with my partner, Heidi. We had just escaped heavy wildfire smoke at the top of a remote, unmarked Yosemite mountain pass at 12,000 feet, and battled thirst after our water supply dwindled climbing back out the range (foreshadowing to a drink theme).
As Heidi began teaching me Chinese words to pass the miles, I was like, wait: why had I been trying to learn Chinese on my own when I had the best teacher right beside me who was emotionally invested in my progress?
The idea for the name followed on shortly after, Coupling: symbolizing not just couples but also the melding of language (ling) and connection. Just as couplings are mechanical components that transmit power between two parts, Coupling is the conduit for language and understanding between you and your partner.
I asked around and listened to stories of many couples trying to learn languages from each other, all ending in failure or disaster. I felt I found a problem worth solving. Coupling doesn't aim to just solve language barriers; I want it to deepen understanding, lower cultural walls, and most importantly, make a fun activity that adds another layer to relationships.
📝 Insights Learned From the Webapp Prototype
Big thanks to everyone who tried out the early versions of Coupling and shared their thoughts. It really helped shape the direction today.
Here's what I learned. At first, I thought making things super easy for partners by having a library of ready-made content was the way to go. Then I pulled in the partner too much by pivoting towards live language mini-games. However, I've come to see that Coupling truly comes alive when we enable partners to take an active but asynchronous role.
Now, learners pick what they want to learn, prompting partners to craft content that's personalized and spot-on accurate. This shift sparked a sense of mutual investment. Learners dive in deeper, motivated by their partner's dedicated efforts, while partners are engaged by seeing the positive contributions to the learner's progress.
☕ What's Brewing?
I have so many things coming down the pipeline that I'm excited about. Here's what I have scribbled on my notebook:
💎 Bite-Sized Learning: Add levels, mini-boss challenges, and rewards to make learning like a game
🔨 Custom Vocabulary Packs: Create and personalize your own vocabulary packs from scratch
🎙️ Interactive Mini-Games: Add pronunciation tester and sentence arranging mini-games to help with speaking and grammar
📰 Activity Log: Keep tabs on your partner's learning journey with an easy-to-follow log
❓ Q&A Feature: Ask questions about words, asynchronously
📈 Enhanced Stats and Graphs: Get a dopamine fix seeing lines go up
📙 Dictionary Integrations: Conjugations, tenses, synonyms, antonyms, and frequency usage
🖌️ Cafe Renovations: More animations, theming, and art juice for the cafe
🍵 Give Coupling a Taste Test
I've been using the latest version with Heidi, diving into Cantonese while she picks up on advanced English and the latest slang. I'm at over 850 words and phrases in my deck with 21 hours of learning time, it's coming along!
I want to hear from you. Tell me what you love, what you’re struggling with, any bugs you’ve spotted, or what features you’d like to see. I want to make Coupling work for you. Join the Coupling Discord or email me kevin@learncoupling.com
Try out Coupling on App Store or Google Play and kick off an adventure with your partner where every word brings you closer. Happy Valentine's Day!
Big thank you to Xefjord for support since the beginning and assisting with creating hundreds of vocabulary packs!
