Language learning
Talky
Hold a real English conversation without an audience
- Platform
- iOS 13.0 or later
- Version
- 3.6.2
- Size
- 72 MB
- Languages
- English
- Price
- Free, with in-app subscription
- Age rating
- 4+
- Updated
- 25 Jan 2024
The part of a language you can only get by talking
Vocabulary apps teach words and grammar apps teach rules. Neither gives you the thing that actually blocks people — saying a sentence out loud, wrong, and finding out it was understood anyway.
What it does
- 01
Conversation, not drills
Pick a subject you actually care about — films, music, travel, work — and talk about it. The exchange is the exercise.
- 02
Understood even when the grammar isn't right
Meaning is read from context, so a sentence with the wrong tense still gets a real reply instead of a correction wall.
- 03
Translate any line, both ways
Any message can be translated on the spot, so an unfamiliar phrase costs one tap rather than breaking the conversation.
- 04
Read aloud for listening
Every reply can be spoken, which is the half of spoken English that reading practice never touches.
- 05
Progress and daily nudges
Simple streak and activity statistics with a daily reminder, because the only thing that makes conversational practice work is doing it often.
Screens
From the App Store listing
Why we built it
Talky is the oldest app in the catalogue and the one that most clearly came from a personal problem: reading and listening in a second language get better on their own, and speaking does not, because speaking requires someone to speak to and the fear of being wrong in front of them.
Removing the audience turns out to remove most of the block.
Questions
01What level of English is Talky for?
Any level. The conversation adapts to how you write and gradually raises the difficulty, so a beginner gets short, clear exchanges and an advanced learner gets a genuine discussion.
02Can Talky translate what it says?
Yes. Every message in the conversation can be translated, in both directions, so you can check a phrase without leaving the chat or losing your place.
03Does Talky help with listening as well as writing?
Yes. Any reply can be read aloud, which lets you practise comprehension of spoken English rather than only the written form.
04Is Talky free?
Talky is free to download and start conversations with. An optional subscription removes the daily message limit.
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