Sep 29
Hands-Free Learning Mode — study flashcards by listening and swiping, without looking at the screen
Feature Suggestion: Hands-Free Learning Mode
I’d like to suggest bringing back an idea I previously submitted, because I still believe it could be genuinely useful for many users, even though the previous suggestion was not considered useful enough.
The idea is a Hands-Free Learning Mode that would allow users to study flashcards entirely by listening, without having to look at the screen.
Currently, when a card appears, the user has to look at the screen to see the word/question before deciding whether they know it and swiping left or right. Even if the user knows the word perfectly, they still need to look at the screen for at least a moment before they can make a decision.
It would be extremely useful to have an option where each card is automatically read aloud, and the user can simply listen and swipe:
Swipe right → I know this word.
Swipe left → I don't know this word / need more practice.
The important part is that this should be a real learning mode, not simply a “play all cards” audio feature. The user's answers should affect the normal learning progress and spaced-repetition system exactly as they do when studying visually.
Why would this be useful?
There are many situations where I would love to study this way.
For example, I often study vocabulary before going to sleep. I would like to close my eyes, put my phone aside, listen to the cards through headphones, and simply swipe left or right based on whether I know the word.
It could also be useful:
while travelling on public transport, when the phone is in your lap and you're looking out the window;
while walking or relaxing;
when your eyes are tired after a long day;
while lying in bed before sleep;
for people who simply prefer auditory learning;
and, importantly, for blind or visually impaired users who cannot interact with visual flashcards in the usual way.
This would be different from the existing option to listen to all cards. Passive listening and active learning are not the same thing.
When I simply listen to a list of words, I can easily lose concentration or stop actively recalling them. In a Hands-Free Learning Mode, however, I would still have to actively recognize the word, decide whether I know it, and provide an answer by swiping. My response would then become part of my learning progress.
In other words, it would be the same learning experience as the regular card mode, but with audio replacing the visual question.
Accessibility
I also think this could make the app considerably more accessible.
A person who cannot see the cards could still potentially use the same learning mechanism: another person could help create/import the vocabulary, and the learner could then study it independently through audio and swipe gestures.
This would turn the feature from simply a convenience into an additional accessibility option.
One possible implementation
The app could have a simple toggle such as:
👁️ Visual Mode
See the card → think → swipe.
🎧 Hands-Free Mode
Listen to the card → think → swipe.
The audio could automatically play whenever a new card appears, with a short pause afterward so the user has time to recall the meaning before answering.
It could even optionally read both sides of the card, depending on the user's settings.
I think this would complement the existing spaced-repetition system very naturally. It wouldn't replace the current learning method — it would simply give users another way to interact with the exact same learning system.
For me personally, this would make the app much more useful because it would allow me to continue actively learning vocabulary even when looking at the screen is inconvenient or impossible.
Possible names:
Hands-Free Learning Mode — my favorite
Audio Learning Mode
Listen & Swipe
Audio Review
Hands-Free Review
I would personally choose Hands-Free Learning Mode, because it communicates the main idea immediately: you can actually study, answer, and progress without looking at the screen.
Pending