Google recently dropped Google Translate Practice. This feature lets you practice listening and speaking. It’s available for French, Spanish, German, or Portuguese.

Ever since I went to Porto on Thanksgiving 2023, I’ve been trying to learn Portuguese. But with no one to talk to, it’s been slow going.

Can Google help?

My AI Conversation Partner

I started with a simple dialogue in a restaurant. This is one of the most common places to use a foreign language.

Google had me ask about the specials of the day and order a beef and rice dish. Portuguese food is so good – I wish I could actually eat it!

The dialogue was helpful, but a little too scripted. Google had me ask questions which might not actually come up. I prefer the more free-flowing conversations on Duolingo Max, Duolingo’s new AI conversation feature.

Testing Listening Mode

Next, I tried Listening mode.

Google runs through common conversations like ordering in a restaurant or asking for directions. It had me select words as I heard them to practice listening.

This exercise was really helpful. The dialogues were realistic and went at a good pace.

Listening comprehension is something I don’t practice enough. It can be harder than speaking.

I ran through various exercises, like meeting someone on a plane or getting directions to my hotel. I would have liked to see more scenarios. But for a beta feature, Listening was pretty impressive.

“What If Google Does It?”

Novice investors love to ask this question.

In this case, Google did do it. It created an AI practice mode that competes with Duolingo Max and gave it away for free.

But since Google isn’t tightly focused on this problem, Duolingo Max remains a much better product. 

Duolingo Max has more languages, more scenarios, and more natural conversations. I’ve been using Max a ton lately, and it’s really helped me speak better Portuguese and Japanese.

If you’re competing with a giant, you can beat them through intense focus on a narrow problem.

Wrap-Up

Overall, I give Google Translate Practice a B+.

If Google added more unstructured conversations and additional languages, I’d bump that up to an A. But for a beta product, it’s impressive.

If you want to learn a language, give Practice a try. It’s fun, easy to use, and best of all, free!

Have you tried Google Translate Practice?

More on tech: 

Using AI to Snag Cheap Flights: Google Flights AI

Grok Companions — Elon’s AI Girlfriend?

Gemini Beats Grok and GPT 5.2 In a Head-to-Head Test

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