Active listening
Writing a sentence down makes you catch every word, not just the gist. Short sentences keep each dictation exercise quick.
YouTube translator extension: dual subtitles, transcript & dictation
Dual subtitles and a transcript on any YouTube video,
and dictation practice from it.
Turn on LangBox translation in the player and the video shows dual subtitles: the original line with your language under it. Click Bilingual dictation next to Like and the transcript opens beside the video, following playback. Switch on dictation and the video pauses after every sentence so you can write down what you heard, then check it word by word.
Free Chrome extension. Works on YouTube videos with captions, including auto-generated ones.
The transcript and dictation are free with no account; translations use credits or your own API key.
How it works
Listen, write, check, repeat.
Bilingual dictation turns the video you are already watching into a dictation exercise. Nothing to upload, no separate app.
Open the transcript
On any YouTube watch page, click Bilingual dictation next to the Like button. The video moves to the left and its transcript appears on the right, one sentence per line.
Read along
The current sentence is highlighted and the transcript scrolls with the video. Click any sentence to jump to it, or turn on Translation to see your language under each line.
Switch on dictation
Press D. Every sentence turns into blanks the length of its words, and the video pauses by itself when a sentence ends.
Write and check
Type what you heard and press Enter. Correct words turn green; misheard, missing and extra words are marked. Press Enter again for the next sentence.
Keyboard shortcuts
Your hands stay on the keyboard.
Typing in the answer box never triggers YouTube's own hotkeys, so letters like K, F or J go into your answer, not the player.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Next blank (Space works too) |
| ShiftTab | Previous blank |
| Enter | Check the answer; press again for the next sentence |
| Ctrl | Tap to replay the current sentence (F2 works too; on a Mac it needs Fn) |
| ↑↓ | Previous or next sentence |
| ShiftEnter | Show the current word; you still type it, and it counts as missed |
| Esc | Leave the answer box |
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or pause |
| ←→ | Previous or next sentence |
| R | Replay the current sentence |
| D | Turn dictation on or off |
| [] | Slower or faster, from 0.5× to 1.5× |
| Esc | Exit bilingual dictation |
Why dictation practice
English dictation that finds the words you actually miss.
Precise feedback
Word-by-word checking shows exactly what you misheard. Case, punctuation and curly apostrophes are ignored, so only listening mistakes count.
Your own material
Practise dictation with the talks, lessons and channels you already like, at the speed you need, instead of a fixed textbook recording.
Good to know
What dual subtitles and dictation need
- Desktop Chrome with the LangBox extension, on youtube.com watch pages.
- The video needs captions. Human captions in the spoken language are used first; otherwise the auto-generated ones.
- The transcript and dictation work without signing in. Translation uses LangBox translation, like the rest of the extension.
- Sound tags such as (Laughter) or [Music] stay visible but are never scored, and the video does not stop for them.
- Chinese, Japanese and Korean answers are compared character by character.
- Live streams are not supported yet.
FAQ
Questions about YouTube dual subtitles and dictation
How do I get dual subtitles on a YouTube video?
Install LangBox and turn on its translation control in the YouTube player. The video then shows the original caption line with a translation in your language under it. This works on any video with captions and does not need the dictation panel.
Is this a YouTube transcript extension?
LangBox shows the transcript beside the video, one sentence per line, with a translation under each line when Translation is on, and it follows playback. It is for reading along and dictation; LangBox does not copy, download or export the transcript as a file.
Does dictation work on videos with only auto-generated captions?
Yes. If there are no human captions in the spoken language, bilingual dictation uses YouTube's automatic captions. They can contain recognition mistakes, so a word marked wrong is occasionally the caption's error rather than yours.
Do I need a LangBox account?
No. The transcript, dictation, checking and shortcuts all work without signing in. You only need LangBox translation if you want to see a translation under each sentence.
Can the subtitles on the video give the answer away?
No. While bilingual dictation is open, the transcript lives in the side panel, so both YouTube's captions and the LangBox subtitle overlay are turned off on the video. In dictation the transcript also shows blanks until you check your answer.
Can I slow the video down?
Yes. Press [ to slow down and ] to speed up, from 0.5× to 1.5×. A tap on Ctrl, F2 or R replays the current sentence as many times as you like.
Which languages can I practise?
Any language the video has captions in. LangBox picks the captions for the language actually spoken in the video, even if your YouTube account shows another language by default.
Keep going
More ways to learn from real content
Dictation covers listening. LangBox also translates web pages and PDFs, looks up words on double-click, and brings them back for review.
Also from LangBox
One extension for reading, watching and review
The same free extension and account cover web pages, PDFs, EPUBs and YouTube, with a dictionary on double-click and spaced repetition for the words you look up. Pick the next format you need.
- Translate web pages →
Translation under each paragraph
- PDF translator →
Original kept beside the translation
- EPUB translator →
Whole books, chapter by chapter
- Dictionary extension →
Double-click any word
- Reading practice & review →
Spaced repetition for what you read