Founder · Author

Martin Mac

I’m Martin Mac, the founder of Shadola. I built it as a solo founder because the tool I wanted didn’t exist: a web-first way to actually speak a language — not just read and tap — with honest feedback on how I sounded.

Working across borders, I kept meeting people with strong grammar who froze when they had to speak. I had the same problem. Shadowing — repeating native speakers out loud, sentence by sentence — was the technique that moved the needle, but the apps that did it well were mobile-only, English-only, and locked the useful feedback behind a subscription.

Shadola is my answer: free in-browser AI pronunciation feedback, a dedicated toolkit for each language, and a path that ends at a scored IELTS, HSK or TOPIK speaking mock — for English, Chinese and Korean, under one account.

What I write about

The shadowing technique — how to do it properly and the mistakes that stall progress

Pronunciation and prosody: stress, rhythm and intonation across English, Chinese and Korean

Exam speaking prep — IELTS Speaking, HSK / HSKK, and TOPIK

Learning two or three languages at once without burning out

Try the speaking lab →About Shadola