An Honest HiNative Review: The Best App for Native Speaker ...

HiNative is a web and mobile app by the same creators of Lang-8, which is a social networking platform for language learners. It's basically a Q&A app ... IusedtobereallyconsciousaboutaskingquestionsinmySpanishandChineseclasses.Iwasashykid,alwaysafraidofaskingthewrongquestionsorlookingdumb.NowthatI’manadult,Iknowthere’snosuchthingasastupidquestion,especiallywhenyou’relearninganewlanguage.I’mnowcomfortableenoughtoasknativespeakersdirectlyforhelp.Butnoteveryoneisatthatstageyet,andthat’sokay!Infact,therearequiteafewnotableappsouttheretacklingthatissuesoyounolongerhavetofeelintimidatedbynativespeakersofyourtargetlanguage.Inthisreview,I’llbetakingacloserlookatone,inparticular:HiNative.Download:ThisblogpostisavailableasaconvenientandportablePDFthatyou cantakeanywhere.Clickheretogetacopy.(Download)TryFluentUforFREE!WhatExactlyisHiNative?HiNativeisawebandmobileappbythesamecreatorsofLang-8,whichisasocialnetworkingplatformforlanguagelearners.It’sbasicallyaQ&Aappbetweenlanguagelearnersandnativespeakerswhereyoucanasktohaveyourpronunciationorsentenceschecked.Unlikeotherlanguageexchangeappsthatyoumighthaveencountered,HiNativeisonlymadeforquicktranslations,assistancewithlanguagebasicsandculturalquestions—generally,nothingtoolengthyordemanding.Theappcurrentlysupports113languageswithappusersfrom170differentcountries,soyouareverylikelytofindthelanguageyouneedonthisapp.WhatAretheFeaturesofHiNative?WhenyousignupforHiNative,you’reaskedafewquestionsaboutyourlanguages(bothnativeandtarget),yourpurposeforusingtheappandthecontextinwhichyouuseyourtargetlanguage,likedirectconversations,work,school,emailcommunicationandothersimilaroptions.Youhaveseveralfeaturesavailabletoyouonceyou’veregisteredforanaccount,whichIlookatinmoredetailbelow.YourQuestionsAsaQ&Aapp,themostprominentfeatureisthequestiongenerator.Templatesareprovidedtoguideyouincreatingquestionsrelatedtotranslation,pronunciationandgrammar.JustbeawarethatacoupleofthesetemplatesarelimitedtoPremiumusers.Ifnoneofthesetemplatesfityourneeds,there’sanoptiontowriteafreequestion.Yourquestionswillbetext-based,butyoucanalsotakepictures,uploadphotosandrecordyourownaudio,dependingonthekindoflanguageassistanceyou’relookingfor.CorrectionsOnceyourquestiongoeslive,nativespeakerscanrespondtoyourpost.Theycanofferanswers,correctionsoradviceintextoraudio.Ifthetextanswersareinyourtargetoranotherlanguage,there’sanoptiontoshowtheGoogletranslation.Fortext-basedanswersinChinese,youcanalsoseethepinyin.Answerscanalsoberated.Eachresponsewillhavethequestion“Wasthishelpful?”towhichyoucanrespondwith“Hmm…”or“Useful.”Otheruserscanalsoratetheanswers.Qualitypointsareearnedforeveryupvote,andtheycanbetakenawaywitheachdownvote.Additionally,youcansendanotherusera“gift.”Thesethankyougiftsarebasicallyappreciationstickersthatcostcoins,whichyou’llneedtopurchase.Ofcourse,iftheanswerisoffensive,youcanalsoblockorreporttheuser.Sincethisplatformisallaboutgiveandtake,feelfreetoanswerquestionsfromlearnerswhosetargetlanguageisyourmothertongue.Whenresponding,you’llalsobepromptedoftheirproficiencylevelasaremindertokeepyouranswersassimpleaspossible.Inturn,youranswerscanalsoberatedandareeligibleforqualitypoints.Likesfromfellownativespeakerswillearnyoumorepoints,especiallyfromhighly-ratedones.You’llalsoearnadditionalpointsifyourresponsebecomesthefeaturedanswertothatquestion.SearchAnothermainfeatureofHiNativeisthebuilt-insearchengine.Beforeyouaskaquestion,youcansearchforpreviouspoststoseewhatnativespeakershaveansweredinthepast.Earlier,ImentionedthatHiNativeispoweredbyGoogleTranslate,sowhateveryoutypeinthesearchbarwillautomaticallybetranslatedbelow.Yoursearchresultswillappearunderneaththetranslatedtext.HowMuchDoesHiNativeCost?FreeAccess(withIn-appPurchases)TheHiNativewebsiteandappsarefreetouse,makingthemveryaccessibletoalllanguagelearners.Afreeaccountletsyouusemostfeatures,includingallofthebasicfunctionsandmostofthequestiontemplates.Youalsogetuptofourtranslationsperday.Theappalsooffersfivepremiumticketsfor$15.Premiumticketscanbeaddedtoyourpostssotheycangethighlightedorstickatthetopofthefeed.Questionswithapremiumticketreceivemoreattentionandmoreanswersonaverage.Coins,whichareneededforsendinggifts,areanotherin-apppurchaseyoucanmake.Thesecanbeboughtinbundlesthatrangebetween$1to$250.PremiumAccessPrice:$5.68/month,$59.63/yearFreeTrial:OneweekForlessthan$6permonth,yougetanad-freeappexperiencethatallowsyoutomakethemostoutofyourquestions,withextrasliketheForeignLanguageDiarytemplateandvideosharing.Youcanalsoplayeveryaudioandvideoanswertootherpeople’squestions,notjustyourown,andyou’llgetunlimitedtranslationsoftextanswers.Anotherbonusfeatureofapremiumaccountisthebookmarkingfunction.BybookmarkingyourfavoriteQ&As,you’llreceivenotificationseverytimethere’sanewanswer.You’llbecredited10premiumticketspermonth,butyoucanalwaysbuymoreifyourunoutbeforetheendofthemonth.Searching,ingeneral,alsobecomesmoreconvenient.Notonlywillyoubeabletosearchforyourbookmarks,butyoucanalsofilteryourresults,asshownbelow.WhatILikeAboutHiNativeSimple,StraightforwardInterfaceWhileIcanappreciateasmartdesign,I’malsonotthebestwithtechnology.Whenit’ssomethingassimpleasaQ&Aapp,Iexpecttheinterfacetobeequallyasstraightforward.HiNativecompletelydeliversonthisfront.Ifyoulookatthewebsiteandapp,there’snothingfancy—and,therefore,nothingcomplicated—aboutit.ThedesignisbasicandsoeasytousethatI’mprettysuremytechnologicallychallengedparentscouldusetheappwithlittletonoissues.Eventhequestiontemplatesareeffortless.Sure,HiNativemaynotbethemostvisuallyengaginginterface,butthismakestheapplessconfusingsoyoucaneasilypostyourquestionswithoutahitch.QuickAnswersfromtheRealExpertsIcan’trememberhowmanytimesI’velearneda“commonsentence”fromatextbook,onlytofindoutfromrealChinesespeakersthatnooneactuallytalkslikethat.Asthoroughastextbooksandlanguagecoursescanbe,theyrarelyeverspeakabouttheexperiencesofnativespeakers(althoughthisisslowlystartingtochangeinrecentyears).ThroughHiNative,you’regoingstraighttothesource,gettingquickanswerssoyouunderstanduniqueaspectsofcultureandsoundalittlemorelikeanativespeaker.Italsotakesawaythepressureoftalkingdirectlytonativeorfluentspeakers,soyoudon’thavetobeafraidofaskingforhelp.EncouragementtoHelpFellowLearnersIlovethattheHiNativecommunityisbuiltonhelpingeachotherout.Ofcourse,youdon’thavetoanswerotherusers’questionsifyoudon’tfeellikeit,buttheupsideofrespondingtopostsistheincreasedpossibilityoflikesandqualitypoints.Thesepointsbuildyourreputation—themorequalitypointsyouhave,themorelikelyitisthatyourquestionswillgetnoticedastheymovefurtherupthefeed. AsIsaidearlier,it’sallaboutthatgiveandtake.Youhavetohelpothersifyouwantotherstohelpyou.WhatIDon’tLikeAboutHiNativeLackofModerationinPostsHiNativeismeanttobeaplatformforuniquelanguagequeries,translationandpronunciationhelp.However,thetruthisthatalotofpeoplearen’tusingtheappthewayit’sintendedtobeused.Forexample,IfoundthatsomeuserstreatedtheapplikeGoogle,askingforapprecommendationsandmethodsforlearningChinesecharacters.Thesequestionswerealsorepeated,pushingotherrelevantlanguagequestionsfurtherdownthefeedandendupgettingburiedbynewer,less-than-inquisitiveposts.ManyalsouseHiNativeforhomeworkassistance,butinsteadofaskingaboutspecificgrammarpointsorcheckingatranslation,theyaskforentiresentencesandparagraphstobetranslatedintotheirtargetlanguage. It’sclearthatthereisn’talotofmoderationintheseposts.Ideally,usersshouldbesearchingfortheirquestionsonHiNativeandsearchenginesingeneralbeforepostingtheirown.MissedConnectionswithNativeSpeakersAlthoughHiNativeaddsthathumanelementtolanguagelearning,Iwishtherewasanoptiontochatwithotherlearners,specificallynativespeakersofyourtargetlanguagewhowanttolearnyourmothertongue.Iunderstandthatit’sapublicforum,butthere’salwaysthepossibilitythatyourquestionscangounanswered.Ifyoucoulddirectlycommunicatewithuserswhorespondedtoyourpreviousposts,themorelikelyyou’llgetareliableanswertoyourquestion.Establishingthiskindofrelationshipwouldbenefityouandthenativespeakerinthelongrunsinceitfeelslikelessofariskaskingsomeoneyou’vepreviouslycommunicatedwith.LimitedTranslationsforFreeUsersAnotherthingInoticedaboutHiNativeisthatquestionscan’tbefilteredaccordingtoyournativelanguage.EvenifyoufilteryoursearchtoquestionsaboutMandarin,thesequestionscanbeinanylanguage.Forexample,myfeedwasfilledwithpostsinJapaneseandVietnamese.Iknowthatyoucantranslatequestionsintoyournativelanguage.ButasImentionedbefore,you’relimitedtofourtranslationsadaywithafreeaccount.It’snottheendoftheworldsinceyoucancopyandpastethequestionsintoothertranslationapps,thoughit’sratherinconvenienthavingtoswitchbetweenmultipleapps.IwantmyexperienceontheapptobesimilartoFluentU,whereIdon’thavetoopenupaseparatetooltohaveacertainphraseorsentencetranslated.OnFluentU,Icanwatchvideos,readtheforeignlanguagesubtitlesandsimplyhoveroverthetexttoseedictionarydefinitions.WhenI’musinganykindoflanguagelearningapp,Idon’tliketogglingbetweenthatandanotherfortranslationordictionarypurposes. FinalVerdict:ShouldYouDownloadHiNative?Whilethere’sdefinitelyroomforimprovementontheapp,HiNativeisstillquiteusefulforalllanguagelearnersnomatterwhatlevelyou’reat.It’sespeciallyhelpfulforindependentlearnerswhoarelookingforfeedbackandanswerstoone-offquestions.AsforthePremiumaccount,Idon’tthinkit’sworthsigningupfor.ThePremiumplandoesn’tcostmuch,butIhonestlythinkitwouldonlybeworthpayingforityou’reaseriousstudentwithlotsoftrickyquestionsorneedextraguidancewithgrammarandpronunciationchecks.WhenyouuseHiNative,youdoneedtosetyourexpectations.Itisn’taplatformforfindingalanguageexchangepartnerorpracticingyourspeakingandwritingskills. Rather,it’sanappforquestionsthatcanbeusedtosupplementyourlearningratherthanastandalonelanguage-learningprogram. TomaximizeyourexperienceonHiNative,you’llneedtopairitwithacomprehensiveandimmersivelearningtoollikeFluentUwhichletsyouseehowlanguageworksinreallife.FluentUtakesreal-worldvideos—likemusicvideos,movietrailers,newsandinspiringtalks—andturnsthemintopersonalizedlanguagelearninglessons.WithFluentU,youhearlanguagesinreal-worldcontexts—thewaythatnativespeakersactuallyusethem.JustaquicklookwillgiveyouanideaofthevarietyofFluentUvideosonoffer:FluentUreallytakesthegruntworkoutoflearninglanguages,leavingyouwithnothingbutengaging,effectiveandefficientlearning.It’salreadyhand-pickedthebestvideosforyouandorganizedthembylevelandtopic.Allyouhavetodoischooseanyvideothatstrikesyourfancytogetstarted!Eachwordintheinteractivecaptionscomeswithadefinition,audio,image,examplesentencesandmore.AccessacompleteinteractivetranscriptofeveryvideoundertheDialoguetab,andeasilyreviewwordsandphrasesfromthevideounderVocab.YoucanuseFluentU’suniqueadaptivequizzestolearnthevocabularyandphrasesfromthevideothroughfunquestionsandexercises.Justswipeleftorrighttoseemoreexamplesofthewordyou'restudying.Theprogramevenkeepstrackofwhatyou’relearningandtellsyouexactlywhenit’stimeforreview,givingyoua100%personalizedexperience.StartusingtheFluentUwebsiteonyourcomputerortabletor,betteryet,downloadtheFluentUappfromtheiTunesstoreorGooglePlaystore. IhopethisreviewhasofferedtheinsightyouneededbeforedownloadingHiNative.It’sagreatsteppingstonetowardactuallanguageexchange.It’salsoanicereferencetohaveonhand,evenifyoudon’tendupusingtheapponaregularbasis.Ifyoulikedthispost,somethingtellsmethatyou'llloveFluentU,thebestwaytolearnlanguageswithreal-worldvideos.Signupforfree!FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutFluentUSearchPopularPostsCategoriesBeginningLanguageLearning(84)FluentU(20)LanguageLearningResources(227)LanguageLearningTips(192)Uncategorized(7)Enteryoure-mailaddresstogetyourfreePDF!WehateSPAMandpromisetokeepyouremailaddresssafeClose