Toucan helps you learn a new language while browsing the internet. When you visit a website, Toucan automatically converts certain words into the language you want to learn. Mouse over the word to see it in your original language, play the audio for pronunciation or save it in a personal dictionary. This way, you learn words in your new language within the context of a language you’re already comfortable with. Tap the checkmark icon if you already know a word, and Toucan shows you other words. New words and more complex phrases are introduced as your skills improve. Assess your vocabulary skills with quizzes and mini-games. The feature ‘Own a Word’ sees your name appear for a week anytime the word is translated. You can opt to pause translations on a specific site. Toucan comes as a free extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge browsers.
The startup was founded by CEO Taylor Nieman, CTO Shaun Merritt and CPO Brandon Dietz. Today, it’s announcing that it has raised $3 million in seed funding led by GSV Ventures, with participation from Amplifyher Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Golden Ventures, Halogen Ventures, Vitalize Ventures and strategic angel investors.
Nieman’s past roles include business development roles at Headspace (where Dietz was a senior product manager), startup studio Science and car leasing startup Fair.com (where Merritt was an iOS developer). She told me that one thing she learned from across all those experiences is “habit formation — how hard it actually is to do anything that steals people’s time.”
Dietz made a similar point, arguing that while language learning software like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo has had its share of success, “It’s just such a high ask to get people to change their behavior and go to this one website,” particularly on a daily basis.
Credit : Tech Crunch
Picture Credit : Google
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