Blog
Notes on building Kotobia, language learning research, and what we're shipping next.
AI language tutors, compared against real tutoring
Every app claims an AI tutor now. A rubric built from what good human tutors do, applied honestly to Speak, Duolingo Max, TalkPal, Langua, and Kotobia.
Anki speaking practice: run FSRS on your speech
Your mature Anki deck reads fine and speaks poorly. What treating spoken production as a review event looks like, with FSRS-6 parity and .apkg import.
How to practice speaking French, alone, every day
A realistic daily routine for French speaking practice without a partner: what counts as production, a 20 minute shape, and drilling your own mistakes.
How to actually learn to speak French
You passed French class and still freeze. Why written and spoken French are two different codes, and a daily plan that trains the one school never graded.
Duolingo alternatives that actually teach speaking
Long streak, still can't hold a conversation? An honest look at Speak, TalkPal, Babbel, Pimsleur, human tutors, and Kotobia, including where each falls short.
Voice-first language learning: how Kotobia works
How Kotobia gets you speaking: spaced repetition to learn words, an AI voice tutor that uses your exact deck, a story course, and drills from your mistakes.
How to actually learn to speak Spanish
You can read Spanish but freeze when you speak. Here is why that happens, and a realistic plan to fix it with spaced repetition and daily speaking practice.
Why flashcards alone won't make you fluent
Flashcards build recognition, not the reflex to speak. Here is where spaced repetition stops working, and why fluency needs spoken output with real feedback.
How to practice speaking a language without a partner
No conversation partner? Here is how to get daily speaking practice on your own, the kind of feedback you actually need, and where an AI voice tutor fits in.