Feature request for improving flashcards on iPhone/iPad

Open Forum
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I am finding the flashcards portion of lingQ (on iPhone/iPad) to be a really cool and useful tool. Every day I take the train to go to work, and I now use this time in the morning to review the 100 daily words which are automatically sent to me.

However, there is one key feature which would absolutely make the flashcards more useful to me! This would be to have the ability to select the text which is displayed (primarily the word and the phrase on the reverse side of the flashcard). Adding this feature would make it possible to invoke the native iOS TTS capabilities (right within the flashcard), and this would be a huge advantage for me (and probably for other lingQ users). The main advantage of using the native iOS TTS is that it would be possible to configure the ‘dialect/accent’ which is to be used for the TTS pronunciation. For example, for learners of English it would be possible to choose between an American pronunciation vs. a British Pronunciation. In my case, it would make it possible for me to hear the European Portuguese (EP) pronunciation, rather than the Brazilian Portuguese (BP) pronunciation which is the default in lingQ. I am currently learning European Portuguese in preparation for a trip to Portugal next year, and want to initially concentrate on that flavor of Portuguese. However, I am finding that the BP and EP pronunciations are considerably different, so having access to the EP pronunciation in lingQ would be a big plus for me.

Please note that I have already tested the interworking between lingQ and the native iOS TTS. I have done this within the 'Lessons" portion of lingQ (where the text is already selectable), and have tested it on both iPhone and iPad. I have already described all the details and advantages in a previous forum post: Iphone/Ipad - Really Cool Tool For Practicing Language P...

So how about it? Would it be difficult to make the flashcard text selectable in an upcoming release of the lingQ application on iPhone/iPad? If not, then this feature would be really appreciated!

1 Like
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@pcolag - Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not sure we would be able to do this simply, as it requires a more major interface change regarding how flashcards are to be flipped over. We will keep this in mind as we continue improving the app.

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@alex - I initially also thought that this might cause a problem with the interface. However, after having done a few tests I am no longer sure. In the current version of lingQ on the iPhone/iPad, you need to ‘tap’ a card in order to flip it. If you just press down and hold, the card does not flip. The interesting thing is that the mechanism for selecting text is also ‘touch and hold’ (in addition to dragging the selection rectangle). So I am reasoning that selecting the text (via ‘touch and hold’) should not have the effect of flipping the card. Of course this needs to be tested out in practice (with the text made selectable), but it does seem to have the potential of working. Am I making sense?

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@pcolag - I see what you mean, and it is something that might be possible, but it’s not something that we’re looking at doing right now with the app.

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OK. In the meantime, I believe I’ve found an alternative solution on the iPhone/iPad. I’ve found an alternative iOS application (Flashcards Deluxe) which does include European Portuguese as part of its supported TTS languages and it seems to work quite well. What’s more, its also possible to have the TTS pronunciation go off when you flip the card (no need to select or press anything). However, it would have been nice to have this integrated in lingQ and not to have to use two different applications!

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