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Author name: Nick Dahlhoff

I'm Nick, the creator of All Language Resources. I'm not a super polyglot who speaks 20 languages. I'm not here to teach you how to learn a language - countless people are more qualified to do that than me. But, I have tried out an insane number of language learning resources. This site aims to be the most comprehensive and least biased place to figure out which language learning resources are worth using. To learn more about myself, the site, or our reviewing process, check out our about page. 

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All Language Resources has hundreds of posts to help you learn languages, and choose which online language learning programs, apps, podcasts, and YouTube can help you the most. Click any of the links below to see the posts relevant to any language.

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Rocket Korean Review

Rocket Korean Review – Meh, Not My First Choice

Rocket Korean

Rating 3.0
★★★★★

Summary

After trying Rocket Korean, I came away pretty disappointed. In part, this is because they don’t do a great job of teaching Hangeul, which leaves learners unable to read even very basic Korean. I thought this, coupled with the repetitive exercises, made Rocket Korean uninspiring. There are better courses that will help you build a sturdier foundation while also being more enjoyable to use. If Rocket Korean is for anyone, it’s for learners that are willing to supplement with resources that teach Hangeul well and for those that don’t find a less-than-exciting course, though it is structured clearly. It probably isn’t the best option for learners on a budget or those that want to learn to read.

Quality 3.0
★★★★★

Very repetitive review exercises that aren’t particularly well done.

Thoroughness 3.0
★★★★★

Does a poor job accomodating a different writing system.

Value 3.0
★★★★★

Too expensive to justify the cost.

I Like
  • The cultural lessons are written with a lot of depth and are interesting to read.
  • A good balance between the spoken language and grammar explanations.
  • Lots of opportunities to practice speaking throughout.
I Don’t Like
  • You’re taught Hangeul but never learn to read, which makes remembering words that much harder.
  • The Rocket Reinforcement exercises basically amount to rote memorization.
  • The writing lessons are slow and of pretty poor quality.
Price

There’s only one level of Rocket Korean which costs $99.95. You can also pay in six-month installments which costs $19/month.

Visit Rocket Korean

Having previously tried several of the Rocket Language courses, I had a good idea of what to expect from Rocket Korean. That said, it’s a bit different than the courses for other languages; some parts are done better, and others need some serious improvement.

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Rocket Korean Review – Meh, Not My First Choice Read More »

Rocket German Review

Rocket German Review & Why You Can’t Trust Online Reviews

Rocket German

Rating 3.3
★★★
★
★★

Summary

Rocket German is a decent enough course, but it falls short of the high praise it often receives. The audio lessons aren’t bad, but they aren’t exceptional either, and the activities that are part of every lesson are too repetitive and boring. Nevertheless, it’s a fairly good course, with a nice structure, lots of clear grammar explanations, and opportunities for you to practice what you’ve learned. As such, this is a course that could potentially work for learners that are looking for a course with a very clear structure, lots of explanations, and a mix of audio and visual content. Learners that are after an engaging course, are on a budget, or want better cultural insights should probably look elsewhere.

Quality 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Nicely designed interface with pretty good lessons.

Thoroughness 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Lots of exercises, but they’re all very similar and repetitive.

Value 3.0
★★★★★

Pretty expensive for what you get.

I Like
  • Lessons use less English as you move up levels.
  • A nice balance between explaining grammar and pushing you to speak aloud.
  • Nice website and app design.
I Don’t Like
  • The exercises are too repetitive and rely on rote memorization.
  • The audio lessons don’t feel very natural and have lots of corny jokes.
  • The cultural lessons are short and uninteresting.
Price

$99.95 for level 1 and $249.95 level 1&2 with all 3 levels being $259.90.

Visit Rocket German

If you read other reviews of Rocket German, you’ll find most are obnoxiously positive and hard to trust. Some of the websites claim that it’s the best course you’ll find, that it’s fun and just generally amazing.

…

Rocket German Review & Why You Can’t Trust Online ReviewsRead More »

Rocket German Review & Why You Can’t Trust Online Reviews Read More »

Rocket Chinese Review

Rocket Chinese Review – Improved But Other Courses Are Better

Rocket Languages

Rating 2.8
★★
★
★★★

Summary

In the past, Rocket Chinese was among the worst online language courses I’d tried. Fortunately, they’ve made massive improvements to their course and have improved on a lot of their weaknesses. So, you can try it and see if you like it, but I think there are better online Chinese courses.

Quality 3.0
★★★★★

Pretty detailed lessons with lots of practice opportunities.

Thoroughness 3.0
★★★★★

Covers most parts of the language, but some of it isn’t done particularly well.

Value 2.5
★★
★
★★★

Your money wold be better spent elsewhere in my opinion.

I Like
  • The audio lessons balance language explanations with activities that require engagement.
  • There are lots of opportunities to practice what you’ve learned.
I Don’t Like
  • The exercises get extremely repetitive and don’t always focus on the most important information.
  • Other courses do a better job of teaching Chinese.
  • Sometimes the lessons don’t seem to be very well planned out.
Price

Rocket Chinese costs $99.95 for level 1, $249.90 for levels 2 and 3, $259.90 for levels 1, 2, and 3.

Visit Rocket Chinese

When I first tried Rocket Chinese, it was easily one of the worst courses I had ever come across. I gave it less than 1 out of 5 stars, one of the lowest scores this site has ever seen.

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Rocket Chinese Review – Improved But Other Courses Are BetterRead More »

Rocket Chinese Review – Improved But Other Courses Are Better Read More »

Rocket Japanese Review

Rocket Japanese Review – Exceeded My Low Expectations

Rating 3.7
★★★
★
★★

Summary

Rocket Japanese doesn’t excel in any one specific area, but it’s more well balanced than other Japanese courses I’ve tried. The lessons can be very repetitive, somewhat boring, and rely too much on memorization exercises. But, the various aspects of Japanese are all explained pretty well. Their lessons also push you to speak aloud often while not neglecting things like grammar or Japanese culture. Overall, it’s better than I expected. It will likely appeal more to learners that like a mix of audio and visual content as well as a clearly structured course. Advanced learners, those on a tight budget, or anyone particularly interested in improving their reading and writing skills may want to look elsewhere.

Quality 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Everything works well, but parts of their teaching methodology could be improved.

Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★

It covers most things well, but reading is mostly ignored.

Value 3.5
★★★
★
★★

It’s somewhat expensive, but the price is reasonable considering everything included.

I Like
  • Balances speaking, grammar, writing, and listening better than other Japanese courses.
  • There are less corny jokes and obnoxious English repetition found in other Rocket Language courses.
  • You’re pushed to speak often and practice the language with lots of exercises.
I Don’t Like
  • There’s too much emphasis on memorization and not enough critical thinking.
  • The lessons are very boring and repetitive.
  • You’re asked to complete writing exercises before ever being taught how to write.
Price

Level 1 costs $99.95 Levels 1 & 2 costs $249.90 Levels 1, 2 & 3 costs $259.90

Visit Rocket Japanese

Rocket Languages, the makers of Rocket Japanese, have courses available in several different languages – many of which I’ve already tried.

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Rocket Japanese Review – Exceeded My Low ExpectationsRead More »

Rocket Japanese Review – Exceeded My Low Expectations Read More »

Rocket Spanish Review

Rocket Spanish Review – Boring But Still A Decent Course

Rating 3.8
★★★
★
★★

Summary

Rocket Spanish is a pretty good Spanish course, but it’s not my personal favorite. Although I find the lessons tend to be very boring, the content is well structured and fairly comprehensive. There is a good mixture of listening, speaking, grammar, and review activities.

Quality 4.0
★★★★★

The app and the lessons are well designed, but I experienced some minor annoyances.

Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★

There are lots of practice activities following each lesson, and course structure seems logical.

Value 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Not cheap but not absurdly expensive either.

I Like
  • Lessons are well structured and use increasingly more Spanish as you move up.
  • The streamlined interface makes it easy to navigate lessons and activities.
  • You’ll certainly learn a lot if you complete the exercises and review activities.
  • Speaking practice is emphasized in the audio lessons and in numerous exercises.
I Don’t Like
  • I found the audio lessons to be painfully boring.
  • I thought the cultural lessons were poorly done and felt lazy.
  • Although the reinforcement exercises are helpful, you’ll likely get sick of them.
Price

Level 1 costs $149.95. Levels 1 & 2 cost $299.90. Levels 1, 2 & 3 cost $449.85 (though you can often find discounts).

TRY A FREE TRIAL OF ROCKET SPANISH
…

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Rocket Spanish Review – Boring But Still A Decent Course Read More »

Italki Review

italki Review – The Good, The Bad, & The Just Alright

Rating 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Summary

italki is the most flexible and affordable place to find a tutor for the language you’re learning. They have a huge number of teachers offering classes to students of over 100 different languages. As a learner, you’ll be able to find a tutor that best fits your learning style, schedule, and personality. Teachers are able to set their own prices and make their own schedule.

Quality 4.5
★★★★
★
★

You’ll find everyone from long-time professionals to brand new teachers.

Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★

The overall platform has tons of useful features but also some room for improvement.

Value 5.0
★★★★★

Huge number of teachers, low prices, and flexible scheduling.

I Like
  • There are large numbers of teachers available even for less common languages.
  • You can find skilled teachers even at low prices.
  • The flexibility to schedule lessons whenever convenient. The huge number of teachers guarantees you’ll find someone to fit your schedule.
  • The extra features in the italki Community make it easy to ask questions, get your writing checked, and find a free language exchange partner.
I Don’t Like
  • Community features are only available through the app.
  • You may need to try several tutors before finding one that fits your learning and personality style.
  • It’s easy to not take classes as often as you should.
Price

The prices vary by teacher and language with some being as low as $5 and others as high as $60 per hour. Most will fall somewhere near the $10 per hour range. Right now italki is offering a $10 credit with your first purchase.

BUY 1 ITALKI LESSON GET 1 FREE

It’s very rare for me to recommend a particular resource for everyone, regardless of the language that they’re studying. Usually each language will have its own unique resources that are great specifically for students of that language.

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italki Review – The Good, The Bad, & The Just AlrightRead More »

italki Review – The Good, The Bad, & The Just Alright Read More »

Outlier Linguistics Mini-Review: Master Chinese Characters

Outlier Linguistics

Rating 4.3
★★★★
★
★
Price:

Dictionary add-on costs $29.99, Courses cost between $49 – $99

Summary

Outlier Linguistics is the best tool for understanding the logic behind Chinese characters. Available as an add-on for the must-have Pleco dictionary, Outlier shows how the characters actually work. This makes it easier to connect the sound and meaning components of characters, as well as understand how the various meanings relate to each other. Besides the dictionary add-on, there’s also a Chinese Characters Masterclass, a Pronunciation and Accent Masterclass, and more. You can save 20% on a purchase by using the coupon code ‘ALR20’.

Visit Outlier Linguistics

To see all of our self-study guides, favorite programs, online subscriptions, apps, podcasts, and YouTubes for the language you’re learning, look for your language in the table below.

Most Recommend Resources By Language
ChineseSpanishGermanFrenchItalian
PortugueseKoreanRussianJapaneseArabic

Other Languages

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Pleco Mini-Review: The One Chinese App Everyone Needs

pleco

Rating 5.0
★★★★★
Price:

Free, Add-ons start at $4.99

Summary

Everyone studying Chinese should download Pleco on their phone. It’s easily the best dictionary app available, but it can do so much more than just help you look up the meanings of words. The core features are free to use, but there are a number of add-ons (some paid) which makes it even more useful. Some of these are SRS flashcards, OCR which lets you look up words using your camera, audio recordings, document reader, screen reader, handwriting recognition, and more. This is the one app that pretty much everyone agrees is a must-have.

Visit pleco

To see all of our self-study guides, favorite programs, online subscriptions, apps, podcasts, and YouTubes for the language you’re learning, look for your language in the table below.

Most Recommend Resources By Language
ChineseSpanishGermanFrenchItalian
PortugueseKoreanRussianJapaneseArabic

Other Languages

Pleco Mini-Review: The One Chinese App Everyone Needs Read More »

HSK Online Mini-Review: The Best Chinese Test Prep App

Rating 4.0
★★★★★
Price:

Summary

HSK Online is an app that focuses on helping learners prepare for the HSK exams. However, just because it’s a test prep app, doesn’t mean that only those interested in taking the HSK tests can find value in using it. It can help you improve your vocabulary, reading and listening comprehension, writing, and you can even take practice exams. You can also save 15% on a subscription with the coupon code ‘alr15’.

To see all of our self-study guides, favorite programs, online subscriptions, apps, podcasts, and YouTubes for the language you’re learning, look for your language in the table below.

Most Recommend Resources By Language
ChineseSpanishGermanFrenchItalian
PortugueseKoreanRussianJapaneseArabic

Other Languages

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