Building a Spanish Learning App for Engineers Abroad

Why Build Another Language App?

Existing apps like Duolingo are great for general vocabulary, but they don't cover the technical Spanish I need daily: construction safety terms, electrical engineering vocabulary, and project management phrases.

Design Philosophy

• Dark mode only — Better for late-night study sessions
• Audio-first — Every word has native pronunciation
• Spaced repetition — Based on the forgetting curve
• Context-based learning — Words grouped by real workplace scenarios

Technical Stack

• Flask — Lightweight Python backend
• SQLite — Simple, portable database
• Vanilla JS + Tailwind CSS — Clean frontend
• Edge-TTS — Natural Spanish voice synthesis

Key Features

Category-Based Vocabulary

Words are organized by real scenarios:

• Site Safety Inspection
• Electrical Systems
• Emergency Procedures
• Project Coordination
• Daily Communication

Audio Generation

import edge_tts

async def generate_audio(text, filename):
    communicate = edge_tts.Communicate(
        text, "es-AR-AlvaroNeural"
    )
    await communicate.save(filename)

Using Argentine Spanish voice for authenticity!

What I Learned

Building this app reinforced my own Spanish learning. The process of curating vocabulary, recording examples, and building the spaced-repetition algorithm deepened my understanding of both the language and the pedagogy behind language acquisition.