The most brilliant ideas are always the simplest. The Visual Dictionary is the simplest language learning idea.

See something for which you don’t know the word. Take a picture of it. Get the word for it in English. The app created by, Grey Group Singapore for the British Council, turns everyday life into everyday learning. And if English is not your first language, learning the official language of business is a career boost.

I know…you’ve experienced Google Translate. This is nothing like that. It works.

The app uses shape recognition technology to match the photographed object against more than 40 million images, then links to the Cambridge Dictionary and sends the correct word.

In its first two weeks, 303,573 images were searched.

Watch the case study here.

“One of the easiest ways to learn another language is by practicing it every day. By learning a new word each day, students can rapidly expand their vocabulary to achieve fluency in the language. The Visual Dictionary is an easy, innovative and effective method that aids students in improving their English language,” explained Regina Goh, director, marketing and communications of British Council Singapore.

“Learning English as a second language can be difficult for non-native English speakers. This app helps with the large vocabulary and difficult pronunciations that one can come across. The Visual Dictionary has tackled this issue effectively,” Ali Shabaz, chief creative officer of Grey Group Singapore, added.

The Visual Dictionary app has already won ‘Mobile of the Day’ at the FWA. The app is being launched across the 100 countries in which the British Council has institutes, so that users can finesse their grasp of English through these.

Want to download the app? iOS here.