Show HN: I made a tool to learn languages from human content instead of chatbots

1 points by jamager 6 hours ago

Hello, I am the author of The Hard Way Guide (ShowHN'ed back in 2023), a practical handbook on language learning based on Second Language Acquisition research.

My follow up project [1] is a note-taking + SRS tool that emphasizes active learning over passive consumption through the creation of personalized materials.

Naturally, I named it The Hard Way App :)

*Core functionality:*

  * Upload/import content from books, web pages, podcasts, YouTube, etc. 
  * Highlight any text to generate flashcards with native pronunciations (no TTS), contextual examples, translations, etc.
  * Trim and extract audio clips within the editor for SRS flashcards.
  * Spaced repetition engine optimized for language acquisition patterns and sustainable backlog size.
  * Offline-first with SQLite storage; materials stay exclusively on your device.

The app handles the mechanical aspects (content augmentation, audio manipulation, scheduling, etc.), but leaves the cognitive work to you.

There is minimal AI, most notably DeepL + OpenAI 4o-mini for translations; mined data comes from various sources.

I don't have a demo per se, but the tutorial has a couple of quick videos [2], [3] showing the most relevant features.

If active learning resonates with you, I'd love for you to give The Hard Way App a try and let me know what do you think.

It is currently in Beta, so apologies in advance for any rough edges!

[1] https://thehardway.app

[2] https://thehardway.app/tutorial/#flashcard-gen-demo

[3] https://thehardway.app/tutorial#audio-trimming-demo