What This Solves
Many people study a language with an ordinary video player or a podcast app, but those products are built to finish playing something, not to help you learn it.
Aelano's player is redesigned around language learning: you can jump sentence by sentence, change speed, turn on a loop, control how subtitles and translations are shown, and adjust font size and typeface — these are not decorative features, they are the tools you actually need when you are stuck on one line.
This helps when:
- You are new to a language and cannot keep up at normal speed at all
- You have listened once or twice and want to do focused listening on certain sections
- You want to make it harder on yourself and hide the subtitles to train your listening
- The content is too long to finish and you want to break it into parts and take it slowly
Where to Open the Study Player
Any content that has been transcribed opens in the study player:
- Tap any episode in My Library
- It opens automatically once Import from Link or Upload Audio/Video has finished generating subtitles
- Tap an episode from Discover, Search, or a content source detail page
There is no separate entry point — whenever you study an episode in Aelano, this is the player you are using.
Basic Playback Controls
The playback bar at the bottom has these buttons:
- Play / Pause
- Previous / next sentence: jumps by sentence rather than by 10 seconds
- Progress bar: drag it to jump to any point in time
- Speed: see the next section
- Loop mode: see the next section
- Translation toggle: quickly switch how translations are shown
Aelano's "previous / next sentence" is aligned to sentences — sentences come from the way the subtitles are split, so jumping never drops you into the middle of a line.
Speed: 0.5x-2.0x
The speed button lets you fine-tune anywhere between 0.5x and 2.0x.
- 0.5x-0.75x: for when you are new to a language and normal speed is too fast to follow
- 0.85x-0.95x: for when you can follow along but still need a little breathing room
- 1.0x: normal speed
- 1.25x-1.5x: for content you already know fairly well and want to run through faster
- 1.75x-2.0x: for passive listening, or reviewing material you have already studied closely
A speed can be saved as your default speed so it is remembered — the next time you open new content it starts at that speed instead of you resetting it every time.
Five Loop Modes
Loop modes exist specifically for hearing the same part over and over:
| Mode | What it is for |
|---|
| Loop off | Plays straight through; one sentence flows into the next |
| Single sentence | Repeats the current line — the most used one; long-press or right-click to pick it when a line does not make sense |
| AB loop | Set your own start and end sentence and loop that stretch |
| Segment loop | Works with segment practice; repeats the current segment |
| Whole episode | Plays the entire audio or video from start to finish without stopping |
Single sentence looping can also:
- Set the number of repeats (for example, stop automatically after 3)
- Set the gap in seconds between sentences (leave 2 seconds between loops so you can shadow)
Good for shadowing, dictation, or working out a pronunciation by repetition.
Three Display Modes for Subtitles and Translations
Aelano treats subtitles and translations as two independent switches, and each switch has three states:
Subtitle display mode
- Show: the default. Every line of subtitles is visible
- Tap to show: every line is blurred by default and only appears when you tap it — a strong tool for training your listening
- Hide: nothing is shown at all, listening only
Translation display mode
- Show: every sentence carries its translation (bilingual subtitles)
- Tap to show: translations are hidden by default; tap a line you did not understand to see it
- Hide: no translation at all
Combining the two switches covers different stages of learning:
- Starting out: subtitles shown + translations shown (read them side by side)
- Further along: subtitles shown + translations tap to show (read the original and guess first, open the translation only if you cannot)
- Listening practice: subtitles tap to show + translations hidden (forces you to listen before you look)
- Passive listening: subtitles hidden + translations hidden (listening only, in the background)
Font Settings
The subtitle area of the player has its own size, typeface, and weight settings, separate from the system font settings.
- Size: 20 by default; make it larger to read comfortably, or smaller to fit more on one screen
- Typeface: choose from the fonts on your system
- Weight: anything from light to bold
These settings apply only to the subtitle area inside the study player and do not affect the rest of the app.
Segment Practice
Long content — an hour-long podcast, a half-hour documentary — does not have to be finished in one sitting. Turn on segment practice and Aelano splits long content into segments of a reasonable length:
- Playback pauses automatically at the end of each segment, giving you time to rest or go back over it
- You decide which segments to study closely, which to treat as passive listening, and which to skip for now
- Each segment tracks its own progress (preview / blind listening / focused listening / shadowing)
If you do not want segments, turn the switch off and you are back to the full length.
A Few Practical Tips
- Do not turn subtitles off right away: even if your listening is good, going through it once with subtitles on removes a great deal of frustration. Switch to tap to show once the content is familiar.
- Single sentence loop + 0.75x: when you are unsure how a line is pronounced, three to five passes with this combination beats ten passes at full speed.
- Auto-scroll can be turned off: by default the subtitles scroll to keep the sentence currently playing in the middle of the screen. If you would rather scroll around yourself, turn auto-scroll off.
- Use AB loop to study one exchange closely: pick a 30-second to one-minute stretch of dialogue, set an AB loop, and after ten passes you will most likely have it.
- Remember your default speed: if you always listen at 1.25x, save it as your default speed and every new piece of content opens at 1.25x without adjusting.
Common Questions
Why can the progress bar only jump by sentence and not by 10 seconds?
You can drag the progress bar to any point in time. It is the "previous / next sentence" buttons that move by sentence. Both exist side by side; use whichever granularity you need.
What does a hidden line look like in tap to show mode?
By default it is a blur with a placeholder. You can see that the line is there but cannot read it. One tap reveals it completely.
Are loop modes saved automatically?
Yes. Leave and come back and your last loop setting is still there.
Where are the font settings?
Under "Font Settings" at the top of the player or in the settings menu. Changes take effect immediately.
How are the segments in segment practice split?
By a combination of the length of the content and the natural pauses between sentences. If you are not happy with the default split, you can split it again (note that this deletes segment practice progress; shadowing scores are kept).