Reddit Promotional Post: Announcing the Hammer app, an Exciting New Way to Learn Japanese

When I chatted with the developer of Hammer, we wanted to put together an exciting an informative announcement to really draw new users to our new language-learning platform. Reddit has a thriving community of Japanese learners—thus, I created a promotional post to garner interest in the app.

———————————————

Kon’nichiwa, everyone!

Like many who’ve attempted to tackle a new language, studying effectively quickly became one of my biggest challenges. I found many popular apps on the market to be cumbersome and slow. Thus, I’m popping in to announce some exciting new enhancements to my language-learning app, Hammer.

Hammer uses a rich flashcard system to promote efficient studying. While flashcards are common, Hammer offers intelligent customizations to personalize your learning experience. Best of all, our core features are completely free—forever!

Hammer makes studying enjoyable and allows you to learn much faster than traditional language apps. I even use the app regularly to sharpen my own Japanese skills. Without further ado, let’s jump into Hammer’s unique advantages:

Key Features

Currently, Hammer supports Japanese, though we’d love to include more languages in the future. Accuracy is crucial when learning a language, so I developed Hammer’s knowledge base with two native Japanese speakers. One thing we’re proud of is Hammer2K, a list of what we consider to be 2,000 foundational vocab words. These will help you get up to speed and are a perfect starting point for mastering Japanese. We plan on expanding this list to over 10,000 words—ensuring Hammer grows alongside you. Our next 4,000 words should arrive within a month or two.

We place these terms within sentences, demonstrating how native speakers might wield them during normal conversation:

You may have noticed the microphones too! Many people are visual learners, yet we also pack Hammer full of useful audio tools to boost your study sessions. We call this Hammer Audio Stream. The app reads the Japanese sentence on your flashcard first, followed by its English translation. As you tailor your flashcards, Hammer dynamically generates additional audio tracks. This system homes in on challenging flashcards, helping you overcome tricky roadblocks. Soon, a native Japanese speaker will voice these recordings to make them as authentic as possible.

Learning a new language is a mental workout, but it should also be a blast! Other popular apps include shallow gamification aspects, but we plan to inject even more personality into Hammer. We want to provide you with a sense of pride and accomplishment (just kidding, EA fans), but we do want to highlight your progress by awarding badges, while offering encouragement along the way.

These collectables change as you power through flashcards, every milestone paired with a unique visual effect. HammerCoins help you unlock new culturally-immersive experiences related to Japanese foods, destinations, and more. Last but not least, you can measure your progress against your friends’, adding a competitive dynamic to Hammer. As time passes, we’ll continue cooking up ways to make things fun.

Hammer also gives you peace of mind. We allow you to export your data into a convenient .txt format. You can manage these materials offline and take them with you wherever you go, keeping your data safe.

Hammer gives you all the necessary tools to learn Japanese from moment one. Additionally, we plan to offer paid, premium audio decks—should you want to explore supplemental vocabulary.

Adjusting to Your Schedule

Hammer adjusts to your routine, which changes from day to day. Some apps are notorious for nagging notifications, which can be stressful and annoying. You should study when you feel prepared instead of constantly shifting priorities.

Many language apps follow a spaced repetition (SRS) routine, which incorporates break periods and studying intervals. This can be useful, but in reality, motivation and study methods fluctuate from person to person. Standard approaches to language learning can leave you feeling stuck—exactly the problem I faced with other apps. Furthermore, these methods were often too slow for effective practice. Consider my routine, for example, which may mirror your own:

My study process is focused on consuming Japanese content like manga, games, and TV shows. Repeatedly referencing a dictionary can be tiring, so basic understanding of adult-level Japanese is important. My study routine is casual. Sometimes I only review flashcards for 10 minutes per day, often during my commute.

In that brief period, I can learn roughly seven words. Hammer has the power to impact the average user on that same level. If you have minimal time to spare on your way to work or otherwise, Hammer will help you make the most of it. Even if you prefer apps like Anki, our vocab list is an excellent supplement without requiring additional research.

Tailored to Your Proficiency Level

Hammer organizes your flashcards by confidence level based on percentages you assign. Accordingly, the app will automatically present your most difficult cards first. This emphasizes vocabulary that truly matters, instead of promoting words you’ve mastered.

If you know a word, simply press “Got It.” If you need to review something further, choose “Don’t Know.” Until you memorize a word, Hammer will test you repeatedly. Sentences provide grammatical context as well.

We’d Love Your Help!

Developing an app is always a learning experience, and we’d appreciate your feedback! Your opinions will help determine Hammer’s direction, and we’d love to know how we can improve and make learning easier. It’s going to be a heck of a journey, and we hope you embark with us! We’re thrilled to bring people from all walks of life together by breaking language barriers.

**Hammer will be hitting the App Store and Google Play Store soon!