Jolii
AI language learning app that teaches from Netflix and YouTube
The story
Jolii is an AI language learning app that teaches through conversation. It reached us as a messy codebase with an urgent release date and an in-house team that could not get it stable in time.
The obvious move was a rewrite, but there was no time for one. We triaged instead: we stabilised what was there, set up a clear process for development and testing, and shipped before the deadline, then kept it stable through several updates.
Then we did the part contractors usually skip. We documented everything and handed it back to the in-house team so they could keep building without us. Jolii is live on the App Store and Google Play.
What was hard, and how we solved it
Problem
Drills sound nothing like speech
Repetitive exercises teach words on their own, stripped of the way people actually talk.
Reading but not speaking
Learners recognise plenty of words on a page and still freeze in a real conversation.
Study sits outside life
Learning means a separate app, a browser extension, or a desktop, so it quietly gets skipped.
Solution
Lessons from real shows
Netflix and YouTube content becomes the lesson, with every word taught inside the scene it appears in.
Speak and get feedback
Roleplay, shadowing, and pronunciation practice with an AI chatbot that answers straight away.
All on the phone
Own account, split screen or full screen, no extension and no desktop needed.
Inside the app
