ayoubdrissi
ayoubdrissi on Hacker News
Posted by
ayoubdrissi on Sunday March 15, 2026 @12:29PM
from the show-hn dept.
https://www.producthunt.com/products/lengpal
Hi HN,I built a small tool called Lengpal. It’s basically a very simple video chat room made for language exchange.Most people I know who do language exchanges just use Zoom, Meet, or Teams. It works, but those tools aren’t really designed for it. One thing that always comes up is managing the speaking time so both people get equal practice.So the only thing we focused on for now is a built-in...
Exactly. Overengineering things often does more harm than good. If there’s one lesson we can learn from many successful tech products, it’s that simplicity usually comes first. A lot of productivity tools try to force people into rigid systems instead of giving them simple tools that help them stay disciplined on their own. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Posted by
ayoubdrissi on Saturday March 14, 2026 @05:39PM
from the self-post dept.
Well, as the title says, it seems that everyone is looking to build something AI related. I guess it’s the AI bubble. While AI is great in many industries, in language learning and exchange we believe humans are the core. Especially when wanting to achieve fluency. Talking to natives cannot be replaced by anything unless there is a very sophisticated AI that looks entirely like a human, acts...
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. That’s a great point. We’re thinking about ways to support that, like having the option to set a shared fallback language for basic instructions or even using simple built-in prompts. In the future, we might also add live subtitles or AI translation to help in those situations. Thanks for bringing this up, it's super helpful.
Great question. The idea is to match people who are learning each other’s native languages, so both sides benefit from the exchange. For example, a native Spanish speaker learning English gets matched with a native English speaker learning Spanish. That way, it's a fair trade and both get value from the conversation. It's not about helping someone for free, but practicing together.
Thank you so much, really appreciate the thoughtful feedback and questions. Glad the idea resonates.
To answer your points:
For native speakers, we’re focusing on matching them with people learning their language and who speak the language they are learning. So it becomes a fair exchange, and both sides benefit. That buddy system idea is exactly the approach we’re taking.
We’re also thinking about adding optional tags like “casual,” “travel,” or “business” to help guide conversations and avoid awkward starts. Icebreakers could be a nice touch too.
For safety, we’re taking moderation seriously. There will be a reporting system in place from the start, and we’re planning to add basic rating features and eventually moderation tools to detect and prevent bad behavior.
Thanks again for the support. I’ll definitely share when the MVP is live. Would love to have you try it.
Posted by
ayoubdrissi on Tuesday April 15, 2025 @08:32AM
from the show-hn dept.
Hi HN,I built Lengpal, a simple language exchange platform where two people get instantly matched on video to practice their native and target languages. There’s a timer built in so both sides get equal time to speak.I created this because I wanted something beyond passive apps like Duolingo. Something to actually speak with real people without the hassle of scheduling or chat fatigue.Right now...
Posted by
ayoubdrissi on Monday March 10, 2025 @12:18PM
from the show-hn dept.
https://findnextdomain.com/
So basically, we built something that started from our own struggle. We had an idea for a project but struggled to find the perfect name for it. We used AI to brainstorm ideas, but guess what? When we looked for the domain names, they were already taken.We thought, why not build something that gives you a perfect, brandable name based on your idea while only showing available domains?So we...
Thanks for the suggestion! We’ve definitely taken that into consideration. We’re working hard on a reporting system and AI moderation to ensure that only serious language learners are using the platform. Our goal is to create an environment where people can focus on language learning, not on anything else.
Yeah, enjoying the process definitely helps. I just found that when it came to actually speaking, I still struggled despite using apps for a while. Have you tried practicing with real conversations too, or just apps?
Posted by
ayoubdrissi on Wednesday March 05, 2025 @05:22PM
from the self-post dept.
A lot of people spend months or even years grinding through Duolingo but when they try to actually speak the language they freeze. It’s like knowing all the rules of a sport but never playing a real game.Speaking is the hardest part of language learning because most apps don’t prepare you for real conversations. You recognize words, you can form sentences in your head but when it comes time to...