How to follow English lectures with CaptionWise bilingual captions and AI notes

Your professor is explaining a new concept while you are still working out a technical term from the previous sentence. You look down to write a definition and miss the example that follows. In an English-language lecture, listening, understanding, and taking notes often happen at the same time.

CaptionWise turns classroom speech into source-language and translated captions, saves lecture records, and automatically organizes AI lecture notes in the Web App. Using these features before, during, and after class gives you material to revisit when you need more time to understand a topic.

Choose how you want to follow the lecture

CaptionWise offers a Web App and a desktop app. Both provide live bilingual captions, course projects, and PDF reference uploads that supply vocabulary to assist speech recognition.

• Web App: Read live captions in your browser alongside automatically updated AI lecture notes.
• Desktop app: Keep floating captions visible while viewing slides or a course video in another window.
• Review across devices: Lecture recordings support cross-device sync, so you can listen again and review on different devices.

Choose the Web App to follow captions and AI notes in your browser, or the desktop app to keep captions visible alongside other windows. System audio capture in the Web App depends on your browser and device and requires you to approve sharing before the session begins.

Before class: create a course project and prepare vocabulary

Create a project for each course to keep reference materials and lecture records together. For example, you could have separate projects for Microeconomics, Machine Learning, and Research Methods, then select the matching project before each class.

Technical terms, abbreviations, and names are worth preparing in advance. CaptionWise accepts PDF reference files within a project, parses them, and automatically extracts vocabulary to assist speech recognition in subsequent live sessions.

If your instructor shares PDF slides or handouts, upload them before class and check that processing has finished. Select the course project when you start, so the recognition session has access to relevant vocabulary.

Next, choose the audio source for your class:

• In-person lectures: Use the microphone and check that the lecturer's voice is clear before starting.
• Online courses or videos: Use system audio and grant the permissions requested by your device or browser.

For an English lecture, choose English as the source language and your preferred language for translation. See the website's feature overview for more about audio sources and bilingual captions.

During class: use captions to follow the explanation and note your questions

Once live translation starts, CaptionWise continuously displays recognized speech and its translation.

Use the translated captions to understand longer sentences, then check the English wording when a technical concept appears. Keeping the original term helps you connect the lecture to slides, textbooks, research papers, and assignments written in English.

When your professor explains the conditions under which a model applies, follow the spoken explanation and use the captions to check how those conditions relate. If a point remains unclear, write down a keyword and your question, then continue following the lecture.

Your own notes can focus on:

• Definitions or conclusions the professor emphasizes.
• Steps in an explanation that you have not yet understood.
• Connections to a textbook, earlier lecture, or assignment.
• Terms, numbers, and formulas to check after class.

Floating captions in the desktop app keep bilingual text visible alongside slides or a course video. Visit the desktop download page if you need this feature.

Pronunciation, microphone distance, and background noise can affect recognition and translation. Check important definitions, numbers, and formulas against the course materials and the lecturer's explanation.

In the Web App: use AI lecture notes to understand the main ideas

A transcript preserves what was said. Reviewing a lecture also involves understanding how its concepts connect.

The CaptionWise Web App automatically generates AI notes from lecture captions and updates them as new finalized captions become available. The notes use your translation language to organize the course topic, key ideas, important conclusions, and classroom examples.

Suppose a lecture introduces a theory, discusses the conditions in which it applies, and then examines a case study. Read the notes to understand how those parts connect, then return to the captions to check specific explanations.

When reviewing the notes, ask yourself:

1. What main question did this lecture address?
2. Which concepts, conditions, and conclusions need to be understood together?
3. What did the professor's example demonstrate?

Compare the notes with the questions you recorded in class to decide what to read or practice next.

After class: check details and add your own understanding

Open the course project or history to revisit the captions, use AI notes to review the structure, and listen again to synced lecture recordings. Cross-device recording sync lets you continue reviewing on another device.

Try this review sequence:

1. Read the main ideas. Use your slides, personal notes, and AI lecture notes to identify the topic and key concepts.
2. Check important details. Verify definitions, terminology, numbers, formulas, and assignment requirements. Read the original captions and replay the recording when something is unclear.
3. Add your own explanation. Describe the concepts in your own words, record unanswered questions, and work through relevant textbook material or exercises.

For example, if the notes say that a model holds under certain conditions, explain what those conditions mean, what happens when they change, and how the classroom example illustrates them. These additions make your notes more useful for later study and application.

Common questions before you start

Can I use CaptionWise with Zoom or Teams classes?

You can capture the course audio playing on your computer for live recognition and translation. Select system audio and check that your device, browser, and permissions support capture.

Will uploading a PDF make every technical term accurate?

Vocabulary extracted from a PDF provides course-specific reference terms. Pronunciation, audio quality, and context still affect the result. Verify key terms against the original wording and course materials.

Does the desktop app generate AI lecture notes?

AI lecture notes are currently available in the Web App. The desktop app provides live and floating captions. Choose the entry point that fits how you follow your classes.

Can I review recordings on another device?

Lecture recordings support cross-device sync. Once a recording has synced, you can listen again on different devices and review it alongside your caption records.

What should I prepare for my first session?

Choose a course, create its project, upload relevant PDF slides, and check your audio source and language settings. Try a short section of actual course content to confirm that the audio is clear and captions display correctly, then use CaptionWise in the way that fits your study routine.