Elya

Elya: Talk Like a Local is a language-learning app for Android and iOS: a structured course from a learner’s very first word (A0) to mastery (C2), in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic and Hindi. Each language has its own AI tutor with a natural voice, who talks with the learner, corrects grammar, pronunciation and writing, remembers their words and mistakes, and decides when to move on. Learners can choose the variant they learn, such as British, American or Australian English, Spanish from Spain, Mexico or Buenos Aires, Brazilian or European Portuguese, Mandarin or Cantonese.

Lessons are built around role-plays of everyday situations (café, airport, doctor, bank, job interview) or scenarios the learner proposes. Speaking works by voice or text, including a hands-free mode, with word-by-word pronunciation scores. For writing, learners can send a text, a Word or PDF file, or a photo of their notebook, and get every change marked and explained plus a polished version. From B2 there are essays, exam-style tasks such as IELTS, articles to discuss, and spoken debates where the tutor argues the opposite side.

Reading is part of the course: levelled stories set in real places, read aloud word by word, with local expressions; Elya teaches the standard language, with dialects and slang presented as culture. The app also includes 25 AI companions for open conversation, who remember the user and can receive photos and voice messages, and public-domain classics read aloud. Elya has no streaks, badges or leaderboards, and offers adjustable text size, the OpenDyslexic font and a full-screen reading mode.