I Tried Google Translate’s New Practice Mode
I was translating something with my phone today and noticed this new beta "practice" function in the corner.
Right now, it doesn't offer Japanese, the language I'm learning, but it does offer Spanish and French. I know a little French, so I tried it out.
It's fantastic! I highly recommend it. You select your general level but can then adjust the difficulty of activities as you go. You can select from the suggested scenarios or come up with your own and then choose to do a speaking or listening activity.
The activities were short and easy to fit into a tiny bit of downtime. It is probably not appropriate for a total beginner, but a person wouldn't have to know very much to get started. After a few lessons of Pimsleur, Duolingo, or the like, someone would probably be ready for this.
I will add this to my language learning toolkit when Japanese is added. In the meantime, maybe I'll brush up on my French a bit...