Bilingual News offers free conversations on current events and special guest episodes conducted in mixture of English and Japanese. Use transcripts to listen with the podcast audio and look up new words, create word lists and maximize your Japanese study. The app also has word lists for each episode, a vocabulary quiz, a social competitive game mode and episode-based study worksheets.
[Free Content | 無料トライアル]
Transcripts 1-3 are free. Shukudai and Essay content have free previews.
[Essays | エッセイ]
Original essay content by Michael and Mami.
[Shukudai | 宿題]
Study using interactive exercises created from specific podcast episodes. Includes multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions with detailed answer explanations.
[Dictionary | 辞書機能]
Users can look up definitions within a transcript by selecting a word and tapping "Look up". Add the bilingual dictionary by tapping on "Manage" after looking up any word.
[Word-Test | 単語テスト]
A scroll-feed style format for learning new words. A pet creature evolves onscreen as the user learns and progress. Add words to your lists by selecting any word in a Transcript or Essay and tapping "Add".
[Notes | メモ]
The Notes page can be accessed from transcripts by swiping to the left. Write down useful phrases or keep a diary in Japanese.
[Podcast Audio | ポッドキャスト音声]
In-app podcast audio plays with the transcript. It includes topic links, a sleep timer, a skip rewind function and playback speed adjustment.
[Battle Mode | バトルモード]
Users can participate in a multiplayer adversarial exchange of new vocabulary. Each user will inherit other players' vocabulary lists during battle.
[Print | 印刷]
Print transcripts or essays by tapping the button in the top right corner. Advanced print options are only available on the Mac version of this app.
[Transcript Subscription | 読み放題プラン]
Access to all episode transcripts, essay content, user account creation, word lists and battle mode is available for a ¥360/mo subscription.
The subscription period is one month. The subscription can be purchased and managed on the Settings page, with changes taking effect the following month.
[Subscription Details | 購読の詳細]
Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.
Privacy Policy & User Agreement:
http://bit.ly/2nApbKW
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What's New in Bilingual News
1.21.13
December 19, 2024
【Version 1.21.13】
+bug fixes
【Version 1.21.12】
+宿題ハプティックス | Shukudai Haptics
+例文機能 | Example Sentence Function
+連動スクロール | Interlocking Auto-Scroll
+新しいエッセイUI | New Essay UI
+新しい単語リストUI | New Word List UI
【Version 1.20】
+暗記シート機能 | Memorization Sheet Function
+フレーズ機能・コンテンツ | Phrases Function + Content
+新しい単語リスト | New Word List
+単語リスト並び替え機能 | Word List Sort Function
+オフライン音声再生 | Offline Audio Playback
+シャドーイング機能 | Shadowing Function
+宿題機能の改善 | Shukudai Function Improvements
+宿題の平均正答率の表示 | Shukudai Average Score Display
+宿題内のテキスト選択 | Text Selection Within Shukudai
+文字起こしの自動更新 | Automatically Updated Transcripts
+スピードの最適化 | Speed Optimization
+UI改善 | UI Improvements
+バグの修正 | Bug Fixes
【Minor / Fixes】
-1.21.6-
Example Sentence Fix | 例文機能の修正
-1.21-
+Manual Autoscroll Fix | 手動自動スクロールの修正
+宿題のバグ報告 | Shukudai Bug Report
+連動スクロールのステータスインジケーター | Interlocked Scroll status indicator
+単語リストは開いたままになります | Word list tab stays on open word list
+宿題のバグ修正 | Shukudai bug fixes
+暗記シート機能のUI改善| Memorization Sheet Function Improvements
+単語入力の文字数制限を30文字から100文字に上げました。 | Increased the character limit for word input from 30 to 100.
+現在のタブをタップするとリストの先頭にジャンプします。| Tapping the current tab now jumps to top of list
+スワイプで戻る機能を追加しました。| Added swipe to navigate back
+シャドーイングの改善 - マイクがオンの間、次のボタンがチェックボタンに変わります。| Shadowing UI improvement - next button changes to check button while mic is ON
+タイトルフォントの色のコントラストを改善しました。| Improved title font color contrast
+RecentタブOPENボタンのバグ修正 | Bug fix for the OPEN button in the Recent tab.
+宿題の難易度レベルバグの修正 | Bug fix for the difficulty level calculation in Shukudai.
+単語帳の音声ボタンを押しやすくなりました | Improved usability of the speech button in the word lists.
+ノート機能のOKボタンが消えるバグの修正 | Bug fix for disappearing OK button in note feature.
【Version 1.19】
+学習メトリック | Study Metrics
+エッセイ、宿題のプレビュー | Essay, Shukudai Previews
+セルフテストの改善 | Self-Test Improvements
+ナビゲーションバーのロック設定 | Navigation Bar Lock Function
+エピソードのリストを古い順にする設定 | Sort Episodes Oldest First
Your podcast and this app has been an absolute lifesaver when it comes to my Japanese listening practice!
I’m a fan of the simplicity of the app and the useful features. The one thing I wish was available was an option to make the text in the transcripts larger. I wish I could put down my phone and listen along (especially at the gym) but the text size makes it difficult to read along.
Not sure if I missed this in the settings, but would love to see this in an future update, thanks!
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Response from developer
Hi George, thanks so much for your kind review! The app currently uses PDF format for displaying transcripts, which has a fixed-layout. However, I will see if I can enable landscape view which should make the text appear much larger. We are also working to move to a different format which will enable dynamic sizing of text. Thank you for your feedback and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or other feature requests! -Michael