1. Practice using Spanish.

You can acquire all sorts of test-taking knowledge and still be unable to order a cerveza. Don’t do that. We think this is the single biggest challenge in language learning—and it’s why we designed SuperCoco around having conversations. … Read more …

2. Practice speaking out loud.

What good does it do to “know” Spanish, if no one can understand you? We think people underestimate how much practice it takes to get comfortable making Spanish sounds. Learning to speak is like teaching your mouth to dance tango. That’s why we designed SuperCoco so that you learn through talking—not typing or tapping.

3. Hear real native speakers.

Synthetic voices? Are you kidding? Unless you want to sound like a robot, you need to learn by listening to high quality recordings of native speakers. Period.

SuperCoco uses professional Latin American voice actors. Three male and three female speakers ensure that you absorb the general accent, not individual voice patterns. Our actors speak very slowly in the early chapters, progressing to a more natural speed in later chapters.

4. Be practical—and entertaining.

We want practical Spanish that we can use in daily life or when travelling. It should start with the most essential needs and expand from there.

But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. You learn best when you’re totally engaged—both intellectually and emotionally. In SuperCoco, every conversation tells a story. That makes it easier to remember—and definitely more fun.

5. Learn in context.

Let’s just say it: we think flashcards are mostly a waste of time. Yes, learning in context is that important.

Learn words embedded in sentences, and sentences in conversations. That’s the only way to know how language is actually used. Otherwise, you’re just learning to translate word-by-word.

6. Go deep.

A thousand words sounds like a lot—until you realize that the average educated speaker knows at least 20,000, plus thousands more fixed phrases and sentence patterns.

If you just want enough Spanish to get you through a week in Barcelona, that’s fine. But we wanted an app that could go deeper, that could take you as far into Spanish as you want to go. In SuperCoco, you learn your first thousand words and first thousand sentences at Beginner level. Advanced Beginner covers your second thousand.

7. Be efficient.

With so much to learn, we must be as efficient as possible. That’s why SuperCoco uses a variety of cognitive science techniques to maximize your retention.

And, of course, it lets you start at your level and control the learning pace, so you don’t waste time and get bored or frustrated.

8. Fit your life.

With so much to learn, how can anyone find time for Spanish? But what if you could learn Spanish while doing other things? Playing SuperCoco is like having a conversation on the phone. You can do it hands-free, eyes-free—while you’re doing chores, out for a walk, or commuting to work.

9. Learn with friends.

Language is inherently social—shouldn’t learning it be, too?

That’s why we designed SuperCoco to be played with a partner. You can play by yourself—but it’s more effective (and so much fun) with someone else.

10. Always be improving.

We know that SuperCoco isn’t perfect. We use it ourselves—and have ideas for about ten thousand ways to improve it. Our commitment is to learn from what works—and what doesn’t—to constantly make it better. We built SuperCoco as the app we wanted for ourselves. But we built it for everyone. We’d love to hear from you what your dream language learning app would be like. Contact us at ideas@supercocoapp.com or @supercocoapp.