We wanted to make lesson videos, translations and script conversions more prominent when they exist so we have just pushed a significant change to the layout of the lesson page. You will see that we have replaced the tabbed window on the right hand side of that page with a set of “accordion” tabs. These tabs allow us to show more different options, when they exist, than we were able to before. We have also made the Video, Translation and Script tabs show first so that users will see right away if these resources are present for a lesson. We felt these great resources, where they exist, were too hidden before and we want to encourage more users to use them and more providers to provide them. We hope you like the change!
You will also notice that we have add two tabs at the left, one for Standard View and the other for Quick LingQ View. We think this makes it clearer how to toggle back and forth between these two views.
With this update there were also a number of small changes made to the Speak page. One common request was for a filter to filter by 1 on 1 and group conversations. This has now been added for you. As well, you will now notice that conversations that you have signed up for or are full continue to show in the list. We felt it was a little confusing to have them disappear on you! Finally, you are now able to invite friends to join a conversation you are already signed up for. Previously you could only do this at the time you signed up. Now, if you click on the conversation title in your My Conversations list, and click the Start/Invite Friends button, you have the option to invite your friends. Of course, you must have “friended” other members already who are studying the language of the conversation in order for your invite list to show up.
Here are a few other enhancements and bug fixes that were also completed:
Lesson ratings now show in the lesson description in the Library
Phrase capture for Asian languages is once again working properly
You can control how yellow LingQ popups are opened - hover or click - on the Settings page
You can control how the main language switch and the task popups on the Lessons and My Lessons page are opened on the Settings page.
As usual, let us know how you like these changes and if you encounter any problems.
Thank you for these improvements. Very nice.
One suggestion: It would be nice to have the number of votes after the lesson rating. It makes a difference if one person rates a lesson as poor the average of 20 rates is poor. By the way, I can vote for audio and lesson quality. Do you simply add these two votes?
I have an issue with the new layout, I really don’t want to see the translation of the lesson I’m on. But everytime I open a lesson, it is right next to my lesson, and I have to exit it (usually not before seeing part of the translation, which I feel takes away from my learning). Which is quite tedious, since I do it on every lesson. Is there a way you could make all of the accordian tabs including the translation tab closed by default? That would make a world of difference to me And it would still be there for people who want it. I think it would be better this way since I and I’m sure many other people liked using Lingq even when that new feature wasn’t there Anyways, everything else I like, thanks!
Bear in mind that one of our main objectives here is to make it easier for newcomers to understand what is going on at LingQ. At the same time we do not want to reduce the pleasure of the learning experience of our established users. Please keep the feedback coming and I am sure that we will evolve a system that works well for all.
Oh, I take that back! I love the new changes. I can “Quick LingQ” without having to scroll down the entire page. The Quick LingQ is in one area. If there are only four or five unknown words in a long text, that cute little box allows for a quick preview of unknown words, eliminating the need to “hunt for the blue unknown.” This makes it great for getting the lingQing over and done. Also, there is the option to lingQ in the standard view. Awesome, and thank you.
@Kannibalisch: I understand your concern. Probably the “Tasks and Forum” tab should open when someone open a lesson. That would solve your problem.
Be aware that people often not aware that there is a translation or a video. Therefore it is helpful to show this when someone starts with a lesson.
And by the way, you’ll not find translations for advanced lessons.
@VeraI - Yes, number of reviews would be a nice add on. We will look at what we can do there. The lesson rating is an average of the two ratings in the rating popup.
@Kannibalisch - We’re sorry that the translation bothers you. We want to make sure people realize the translation or video, scripts etc exist which was usually not the case with the previous system. That is why these resources will open first rather than showing the Getting Started tab by default. You will have to click on Getting Started or Tasks to close the Translation or click the x to get rid of the tabs completely.
Is there a way for me to disable it from popping up? Or like Veral suggests, for people to be able to choose which of the tabs opens on default. I wouldn’t mind if it was the “Tasks and Forum” tab that was open on default
One issue I find with translation showing up first is that for some lessons multiple translations are available. For example, for Who Is She, you can get translation in English and Russian. The Russian one shows up first. Well, that’s awesome if you speak Russian, but distracting and pretty useless if you don’t. I think now that the tabs are clearly labeled (i.e. it says ‘Translation’ instead of vague 'Resources), people can see that there is a translation without it taking up half the screen. IMHO ‘Tasks and Forum’ or ‘Getting Started’ should be the top tab.
I also think that all tabs should be closed by default for people who are accessing LingQ with a smaller screen. This way you can see that there are tabs and what they are. Right now I know I can get rid of translation by closing all tabs or clicking on some other tab, but, for example, on a netbook, it means I have to scroll down quite a bit before I even get to any other tabs.
@kannibalisch - There is no way to disable it or to change the tab that is displayed. If there is a video for a lesson, it will open instead of the translation. However, there are few lessons with videos. For the most part, I don’t think this issue should disrupt your learning. Quickly close the window and go on with your lesson.
@alchymyst - Translations only show up for English and languages which you have chosen as your interface, native or dictionary language. Therefore, Russian won’t show up for you if you don’t have Russian selected as one of these languages.
We are looking into a simple solution for this issue. Stay tuned.
Did you guys make any changes? Because now whenever I open a lesson, the accordian tabs are opened to the Tasks and Forum tab by default (which I am very happy about!). I checked on my brothers’ account to see if it was like that for his too, and it was.
@Kannibalish, @alchymyst - Yes, we did make a slight change which should solve both your problem and alchymyst’s problem. Now, only the video tab will open up by default if there is a video. Otherwise, the Tasks and Forum tab will open. And, now that we have pushed the Tasks and Forum tab to the bottom all other tabs you could need will be visible above it. In addition, if you do want to close all tabs, you can now click on the currently opened tab to close it again.
And it would still be there for people who want it. I think it would be better this way since I and I’m sure many other people liked using Lingq even when that new feature wasn’t there 