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Designed for Progress, Built for Fun

Adina isn’t your average language learner. She’s an app geek, a self-described casual learner who wants her tools to be efficient, flexible, and fun. When she came across LingoLooper, it was the first app that didn’t feel like a chore. “It’s the only one that doesn’t feel like work,” she says.

She’s tried them all — Duolingo, Praktika, Talkpal, Pimsleur, even a customized mix of JapanesePod and grammar textbooks. LingoLooper, she says, is one of the best. “It feels like something made by people who really care.”

A Smart, Engaging Routine

Adina started learning Japanese in March and, within weeks, built a custom routine around LingoLooper. She uses the app to boost confidence, speed up her responses, and build vocabulary, while handling grammar elsewhere. Her method is thoughtful and layered: what she learns in her grammar tools, she applies and reinforces through real conversations in LingoLooper.

What really works for her is the flexibility: bite-sized loops throughout the day, natural conversations, and the freedom to drop in and out. "I usually do 1-2 conversations at a time. During the day I can get 2, 3, 4 loops in. It’s motivating."

She’s especially enthusiastic about relationship progression, bookmarking vocabulary, and earning top spot in the in-app league. But what she wants next is challenge:

“It would be fun to have real scenarios — like a job interview to pass, or losing your passport at the airport. Something where you can fail and try again. A challenge, a sense of achievement.”

Constructive, Thoughtful Feedback

Adina is excited by how fast the app is evolving, especially as someone who admires products that listen to their users. She values how often the LingoLooper team reaches out for feedback. But she’s also thoughtful about improvement areas:

  • Fluency confidence vs. accuracy: "Sometimes I say something grammatically wrong, but it still passes. A light warning or gentle feedback would help."
  • Bookmarking in Japanese: she appreciates it, but wishes it would capture the conjugation more precisely.
  • Cultural nuance: she noted that some Japanese avatars say formal goodbyes that can sound like “farewell forever.”
  • Typing mode: In places like a hospital or on transit, she'd like to practice by typing instead of speaking.

She also proposed a brilliant use case: role-playing specific people in her life. Before a trip to Japan, she wanted to simulate conversations with her sister’s friends and be able to share past experiences using past tense.

“If we could customize who we’re talking to — like practicing how to tell a story or prepare for a real-life situation — that would give the app a huge edge.”

Why She Stuck With It

While other apps gave her a false sense of progress or were too strict and exhausting, LingoLooper found a sweet spot. It’s fun, challenging (when it needs to be), and always evolving. Adina replaced Pimsleur with LingoLooper — and even set up a GPT to extract vocabulary from her transcripts into Anki.

“There’s a difference between someone trying to pass a language exam and someone who wants to have fun speaking. This app gets that.”

Her feedback is detailed, passionate, and practical. And she’s not just using the product — she’s shaping it.

“I admire the direction it’s going. The team actually listens. That’s rare.”