# Build a reading companion for another language

Build a browser extension that helps the person understand material they want to read in another language. They can select a word or passage, get useful help, and save it with its context. Build it extremely well for their language pair, reading ability, and interests. Follow the [shared launch](../shared/launch.md).

Begin with something they actually enjoy reading. Learn what interrupts them: unfamiliar vocabulary, phrases whose meaning is not obvious from the individual words, difficult sentences, or references they do not recognize. Choose the kind of explanation and the language of that explanation with the reader.

## Help them return to the passage

Let the person select text and ask for an explanation without losing their place. Bring enough surrounding context into the request to identify the meaning in use. Keep the selected text visible alongside the help so they can connect the explanation to the passage.

Give an initially concise explanation suited to the reader, with an easy way to ask a follow-up or see a more detailed example. They may want a translation, an explanation in the language they are learning, or both. Let their preference shape the response.

Explain multiword phrases as a whole. Make unfamiliar grammar understandable through the current sentence. Distinguish an explanation of the source text from additional examples created to help the reader. The person should be able to use the help and continue reading comfortably.

## Choose a working source of help

Determine what useful language resources and model access the person already has. Where their existing coding agent can supply this collaboration, connect it through an appropriate supported local integration. Give it the selected passage, surrounding context, reader preferences, and tools to return an explanation to the extension.

If the person wants an independently available model connection, help them choose and configure one deliberately, explaining credentials, limits, and cost. The [BYOK chat project](../desktop/byok-chat.md) provides related teaching. Evaluate the chosen model or language resource on the reader's actual passages and language pair.

Make the extension clear about what text goes to a model provider and when. Show when help is being requested, when a response has arrived, and when a connection needs attention. Preserve the selection and the reader's place while a request is handled.

## Keep the useful encounters

Let the person save a word, phrase, or passage with its source, original sentence, useful explanation, and their own note. Give them a comfortable collection to browse and search later.

The reader may understand one sense of a word and still want help with another. Let them relate those entries while retaining the sentence that made each worth saving.

Provide a simple way to revisit saved material in context and see the explanation when wanted. Keep the collection persistent and exportable under the shared launch's ownership guidance. A later vocabulary application should be able to use the material they have already collected.

## Read with it

Install the extension in the person's usual browser and explain its access to the supported sites. Deliver a working explanation route using the access agreed with the person. Carry the project through reading a real page, asking about a phrase, following up, saving it, and finding it again later.

Judge the quality of the explanation and the interruption it creates. Ask whether the help made the original passage easier to understand and whether the collection preserves what the person wanted to learn. Adjust the explanation style and interaction from that experience.

Use this project to explain how context changes an AI's answer and how the person can shape a learning tool around their own interests. The material they already choose to read can become part of their continuing language practice.