A while back, I posted about a rough language app MVP I was vibe-coding because I wanted to learn Ilokano myself and couldn't find a great interactive tool that bridges it from Tagalog. The community gave me some really solid, blunt feedback—especially regarding how robotic purely AI-translated content sounds.

I took that to heart, threw out the old textbook flashcard style, and completely rebuilt it from the ground up. It’s now called Sirkulo.

Here is how it’s completely different now:

• Human reviewed content: I trashed the AI text engine. My father-in-law, who is a native speaker from La Union, heavily reviewed, tweaked, and corrected the entire Ilokano course track so it actually uses natural phrasing, local idioms, and real conversational flow. The advanced grammar lessons are now moved to the later parts of the the course to give way for basic conversational phrases.
• Map-Based & Interactive: The home screen is an interactive 2D map of the Philippines. You tap a province (like La Union or Ilocos Sur), and a little vector Jeepney drives there to unlock that specific region's localized course.
• Culture + Trivia: We aren't just doing word translation drills. You learn situational travel intents, local provincial trivia, and specific cultural context alongside the language mechanics.
• Premium Aesthetic: No flashy, annoying cartoon coins. It’s a clean, eco-neutral layout where you earn vintage ink passport stamps as you master modules. It's also built to work entirely offline for actual travelers.

I’m dropping some screenshots in this post to show the new look compared to the old system.

Since we are planning to expand to more northern provinces soon, I would love for native speakers here to roast/review the current content, check if the phrasing hits perfectly, and tell me what you think of the map design!

If you have friends that want to learn Ilokano, have them try it!.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sirkulo.sirkulo&hl=fil

​Naimbag a rabii/aldaw!

​​Full disclosure: I'm not a linguist. I'm just a dev who wanted to learn Ilokano the easiest way possible, couldn't find a good tool, and ended up vibe-coding an app called Dulecto to bridge the gap from Tagalog.

​To be honest, I deliberately vibe-coded the app because I wanted to spend my energy actually learning the language, not getting bogged down in endless app development.

​To make sure the lessons actually make sense and cover the foundations properly, I used AI research to map out the core language structures. The goal was to build a structured, interactive course that feels rewarding to progress through, rather than just forcing people to flip through an ordinary, boring dictionary app.

​Because it's AI-assisted data, I really need native speakers to check my work. Please be brutal—tell me where the translations sound weird, robotic, or out of context so I can fix them.

​Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dualecto.app

(Android users only for now.)

​P.S. If you are also here trying to learn Ilokano, I’d love your feedback on how the progression feels and how this could be more helpful for you!