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HootBill

Product updates

Verified production updates, newest first. All times use Toronto time. Historical entries also show when the note was published; a cumulative note does not imply that every feature launched together.

TEF speaking entry restored

Deployment verified

Note published

  • Adds the missing production TEF speaking route to resolve the entry’s 404. Practice access remains governed by the current account and TEF access settings.

September additions to the TCF speaking question bank

Deployment verified

Note published

  • Adds 12 Task 2 interactions and 10 Task 3 opinion topics to focused practice and normal mock-exam selection, preserving existing topics and history.
  • The study area offers optional sample questions and responses from the supplied practice material. They are not official exam questions, prescribed answers or scoring standards.

TCF speaking connection and practice improvements

Deployment verified

Note published

  • Improves connection continuity during speaking practice and mock exams: the page continues receiving connection updates while background processing is delayed.
  • If a connection drops, the option to resume the same attempt remains available, and the failure type is recorded to help diagnose it.

Simpler analytics choice on arrival

Deployment verified

Note published

  • On arrival, choose Accept or Decline in a compact prompt that closes after your choice. Browsing, sign-in and trial access remain available.
  • Basic visit sources continue to be counted anonymously. Your choice controls optional site analytics; Google measurement still requires a separate choice on the privacy page.

Product updates with precise timestamps

Deployment verified

Note published

  • Adds verified historical feature updates in deployment-time order, with the note publication time shown separately.
  • Each entry shows the Toronto date, time to the second and time zone. Future verified production updates publish their corresponding notes automatically.
  • Improves expired records after an interrupted visit: expired unused budget reservations close once no call remains in progress, preserving practice history and existing attempt counts. The page clearly marks expired attempts.

Activate a TCF trial after sign-in while places remain

Deployed

Note published

  • Eligible regular users can activate TCF speaking practice and full mock exams after Google sign-in while places remain, without waiting for manual review.
  • This batch is limited to 100 accounts. Each new activation receives 9 practice attempts and 3 full mock exams, with no fixed expiry but finite attempt limits.
  • Already-signed-in users without access can activate from the trial entry; existing approved accounts keep their remaining attempts and expiry.

Personal vocabulary and grammar notebook

Deployed

Note published

  • Collects vocabulary and grammar suggestions from completed reports into personal entries for later learning and review.
  • Supports notes, favourites, self-marked familiarity and export of selected entries.
  • Reuses existing report suggestions without regenerating reports or changing practice allowances when the notebook is opened.

Learning-progress feedback after practice

Deployed

Note published

  • Shows written progress feedback when sufficient practice evidence can be checked; insufficient evidence is not presented as mastery.
  • Feedback does not change exam scoring or attempt counts; animations can be disabled and sound effects are currently unavailable.

English by default and remembered language choices

Deployed

Note published

  • The website entry defaults to English when no language choice is saved; later visits use your manually selected Chinese, English or French.
  • Explicit article-language links open the matching translation; language switching keeps campaign parameters and mobile language controls accessible.

Separate consent for advertising measurement

Deployed

Note published

  • Advertising measurement is a separate optional choice and is enabled only after explicit consent.
  • You may refuse or withdraw consent; the website measurement tag is not loaded on private pages such as accounts or training.

More reliable study-guide updates

Deployed

Note published

  • Corrects the publication order of queued articles so earlier batches are less likely to be skipped.
  • Incomplete content is not presented as a published article.

Clearer trial information and sign-in entry

Deployed

Note published

  • Registered campaign links lead directly to trial information and the entry for getting started.
  • Language, referral source and optional analytics choices are retained.

Public study-guide updates

Deployed

Note published

  • The public TCF guide supports validated updates in three languages while retaining existing article links.

French-learning community link

Deployed

Note published

  • The footer now links to the HootBill French-learning community for public discussions.

Clearer optional analytics choices

Deployed

Note published

  • Public pages clearly offer acceptance or refusal of optional analytics, with a way to change or withdraw the choice later.
  • Refusing optional analytics does not block public content or the normal user journey.

Cumulative feature update

Account and speaking-learning updates

Note published

  • Sign in with Google to view your access status, remaining attempts and validity period.
  • Practise individual speaking tasks or take a full mock exam, with a path to continue interrupted work.
  • Reports highlight priority issues, corrections and example expressions, with entry points for targeted practice.
  • Use the Chinese, English or French interface and explore task requirements, practice methods and expression strategies in the public study guide.
  • Fixes for certain Google sign-in and account-information issues improve the stability of the user journey.

Personal learning space and public learning material

Deployed

Note published

  • Your account groups practice history and reports, combining reconnections, extensions and translations from one attempt, with targeted-practice links.
  • Adds speaking tips, French examples and original scenarios, with clearer trilingual privacy and maintenance information.
  • You may save your own microphone recording locally and download it before leaving the page. The separate writing entry and draft flow are also improved.

Google sign-in and personal access status

Deployed

Note published

  • Sign in with Google and view access status, remaining attempts and validity in your account.
  • Fixes sign-in and account-reading issues when some account information is empty.

Trilingual website and public TCF guide

Deployed

Note published

  • Launches Chinese, English and French homepages, public TCF guides and contact pages.
  • Read about task requirements, practice methods and expression strategies without entering a training session.

Saving and learning in the writing pilot

Deployed

Note published

  • For authorised writing-pilot users, adds separate tasks, saved drafts, resumed editing and post-submission feedback.
  • Feedback is tied to the task material and the learner’s text; optional French expression comparisons are not counted as errors.

Practice hints and mock-exam pause and resume

Deployed

Note published

  • Practice offers optional text hints with remembered preferences, retaining 4 minutes 30 seconds plus a 2-minute same-attempt extension.
  • A full mock exam can pause between tasks and resume after separate practice; completed tasks stay closed.
  • Returning to the page does not activate the microphone automatically; resuming requires an explicit action.

Interrupted-session recovery and mock-exam guidance

Deployed

Note published

  • Recovery retains the original task and remaining time rather than treating it as a new attempt.
  • Clarifies on-screen guidance for audio checks, mock-exam preparation, task transitions and report status.

Voice startup, practice duration and transcription recovery

Deployed

Note published

  • Fixes some disconnections at voice startup and sets practice to 4 minutes 30 seconds, retaining the same-attempt extension.
  • Improves French transcription context and recovery when transcription fails.

More original exercises and reference material

Deployed

Note published

  • Adds 36 original TCF practice scenarios, clearly labelled as unofficial.
  • Adds source and reference pages to distinguish original platform material from external references.

Practice recovery and clearer reports

Deployed

Note published

  • Adds access to recent reports, simpler navigation and the report’s original language.
  • Reports combine text and colour cues; practice offers topic selection and recovery prompts after accidental navigation.

Speaking goals and report guidance

Deployed

Note published

  • Choose a learning goal and use normal or slower speech in practice.
  • Reports show priority issues first, with your words, corrections, explanations, example answers and targeted practice.
  • Improves reconnection to the same attempt and prompts for restoring audio playback.