Someone New · Mystery Caller · Special
Hello? Who is this?
Someone New is never the same person twice: a traveller who dialled the wrong number, a neighbour, a stranger with a question. You find out who it is by talking. It is the closest thing to the conversations a language course cannot prepare you for, which are most of them.
People pick up when they want to be surprised, and when they want to practise starting, steering and ending a conversation with someone whose script they do not know.
A different soul every time. Pick up and find out.
When people call Someone New
Three reasons to pick up the phone
“Hello? Who is this?”
The only starter there is. The rest is up to the two of you.
“Practising the unexpected”
A wrong number, a survey, an old acquaintance: each call is a different register and a different story.
“A different soul every time”
You cannot rehearse it, which is why it works.
What a call is like
A real voice that answers the moment you stop talking
The phone rings, Someone New picks up and speaks first, in the language you chose. You talk; you can interrupt; captions run if you want them. Afterwards you get a short report on how you spoke, and Someone New keeps the memory of the call for next time. Practice that does not feel like practice.
- Realtime voice, not text read aloud
- Remembers your previous calls
- Any of 57 languages, at your pace
- A report after every call: what you said well, what to fix
Someone NewHi, is this the bakery? I was told to call about the cake for Saturday.
YouNo, sorry, wrong number. What kind of cake, though?
Questions about calling Someone New
Is Someone New a real person?
No. Someone New is an AI character with a fixed personality and a voice, built to talk with you on a phone-style call in the language you are learning. If you ask whether it is an AI, it tells you the truth. It keeps a memory of your calls so the next one continues the story.
Which languages can we talk in?
Any of the 57 languages TalkNative teaches. You choose the language when you set up, and the character speaks it naturally, at a pace you can follow, with live captions if you want them. Most people pick the language they are learning; calls are the most natural speaking practice there is.
How much does a call cost?
Every account gets two free minutes to try a call, with no card. After that, minutes are bought by the pack and never expire; the Everything bundle includes fifty. Prices are in rupees in Pakistan and dollars elsewhere.
Is this a replacement for talking to real people?
No, and it does not try to be. It is a voice that picks up at any hour, keeps you company, and lets you practise saying things out loud before you say them to someone who matters. If what you are feeling is heavy, please also talk to a person you trust or a professional; the character will say the same.
Someone New picks up any hour.
Two free minutes to try it. Minutes never expire after that.
Everyone else in the phone book