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In-Depth Reviews And Recommendations - Without The BS

Language101.com Course Review – The Worst I’ve Ever Tried!

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Quick Review
Summary: Language101 (not to be confused with LanguagePod101) is the worst course I’ve ever tried. The platform has ten different languages for you to choose from and claims to take you from a beginner level up to an intermediate level but ONLY in speaking and understanding. Consequently, you won’t learn how to spell, write or translate the language or even learn any of the grammar. As the courses are poorly designed, each ‘lesson’ is identical and the fast-paced learning method seems inefficient, it is doubtful whether even beginners will learn much. Making matters worse, the price is obscenely expensive.

Quality
Easy enough to use but the content is severely lacking.
Thoroughness
There are no explanations at all. You just learn to parrot and memorize words and phrases
Value 0 Stars
Terrible value. It honestly feels like a scam. Not worth using even if it were free.
I Like
They provide you with a literal translation of the phrase you are asked to produce.

Despite coming away thinking this is a terrible product (and it is), I liked being asked to produce words and phrases.

I Don’t Like
I don’t agree with their ‘teaching’ method which basically asks you to produce words and phrases in a language you have never learned before as quickly as possible.

The ‘courses’ are a muddled mess, nothing builds on anything, there is no progression at all and there is only one exercise for you to do ad infinitum until you lose your mind.

Language101 tells you that you won’t learn to spell, write or translate the language you are learning using their methods – or any grammar. Oh, and it is highly unlikely you’ll learn to speak either. So what’s it good for?

It is insanely expensive. My god. It is insulting how much money they are charging for a product this terrible.

Languages: Spanish, German, French, Russian, Japanese, Italian, Danish, Canadian-French

Price: Language101 has lots of different subscription plans for you to choose from. A one-time payment for access to all of its languages costs $472 or $63 if you opt for the monthly installments option (that would end up working out at $756 if you chose the latter!!).

For ‘1 Package’ of the language of your choice it is then $147 for lifetime access or $342 if you want all 3 packages in a given language.

Visit Language101

Alternatives: Literally anything else on the Internet (or in a bookstore) would be better!

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Spanish With Paul Course Review – Solid Content But Not Very Exciting

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Quick Review
Summary: Spanish with Paul is a video course that has over eighty hours of content to work through. The in-depth explanations will certainly give you a great foundation and understanding of Spanish grammar, vocabulary and sentence structures. While the course is not that fun and you don’t get any speaking practice, I’d say it is definitely an effective way of learning the language if you are a serious and dedicated learner who doesn’t get bored easily.

Quality
The videos look a bit basic and aren’t all that fun to watch but the audio is perfect and the concepts are clearly explained.
Thoroughness
Very in-depth explanations on everything from grammar and vocabulary to sentence structure and pronunciation.
Value
Not the cheapest or most exciting option but there’s a lot of good content.

I Like…
Paul gets you to think and engage with how Spanish is spoken so you understand how to use the language.

He goes into great depth on all of the grammar points that come up as well as the texts or stories which he asks you to translate.

The course gradually progresses in difficulty and towards the end gets pretty advanced.

I Don’t Like…
It isn’t all that fun to work through and every single video is almost identical to the one before it.

You are not asked to produce much Spanish other than by saying words or phrases out loud to yourself.

There are no native speakers featured in the course and lots of English is used throughout – even at the highest levels.

Price: For one year access, the ‘Course Only’ is $99.95 and ‘Course + Weekly Updates’ costs $199.95.

Visit Spanish with Paul

Alternatives: Although I think Spanish with Paul is a pretty good course, it’s not my favorite. There are several other Spanish courses that I prefer.

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Best Podcasts To Learn Portuguese In 2019 (Brazilian and European)

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portuguese podcasts

In this day and age, there are a plethora of different learning resources available to us online and in recent years podcasts have proliferated with their quality and content getting better all the time.

Depending on how you like to learn a language, a Portuguese podcast could really help you to achieve your learning goals and, while there are maybe not as many podcasts in Portuguese as in other languages; there are still some fantastic resources out there which are worth checking out.

And while I highly recommend incorporating podcasts into your Portuguese study routine, it’d be wise to use them alongside an online Portuguese course.

Before we have a look at some of the best podcasts out there, why is it a good idea to give them a go and how can you best make use of them to learn Portuguese?

To give you an idea of what is out there, below you will find both Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese podcasts for you to explore.
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Review Of Red Kalinka’s Russian Course – Exceptionally Comprehensive

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Quick Review
Summary: The ‘Largest Russian School in the World’, Red Kalinka has lots of different products that will get you learning Russian. Its main course – Red Kalinka Russian Course – is very well thought-out and will certainly improve both beginners’ and intermediates’ reading, writing and comprehension skills. While it is not the most entertaining thing in the world, the videos and exercises are exceptionally thorough. Without a doubt, if you stick with this course, your Russian will become very good.

Quality
Red Kalinka’s videos and exercises might not be that innovative or entertaining but you’ll learn a ton.
Thoroughness
Red Kalinka goes into a lot of depth when it comes to vocabulary, grammar, and cultural explanations – possibly too in-depth!
Value
It’s not the cheapest course you’ll find but worth the cost.
I Like
Right from the start, you are encouraged to read, write and listen to Russian.

The lessons all build upon each other and it would be very motivating to see just how much you learn as the later lessons are conducted almost solely in Russian.

Reading and writing aren’t neglected as with other Russian language platforms.

It’s easily the most comprehensive online Russian course I’ve tried.

I Don’t Like
As all of the lessons follow the same format and go into such great depth, it can get a bit monotonous and boring.

The exercises aren’t very exciting to work through and they could all be found in any run-of-the-mill textbook.

Price: The Red Kalinka Russian Course costs 29 euros a month. However, through the link below, you can save 20% on the subscription cost each month, making it only 23 euros per month.

They also have a bunch of different products such as audiobooks, one-to-one lessons and online exercises for you to sign up for.

Save 20% each month on a subscription to Red Kalinka by signing up through the link below.

Visit Red Kalinka

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Rocket Russian Review – Uninspiring And Overpriced

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Quick Review
Summary: Rocket Russian is aimed at beginners who are looking to get to the intermediate level and, while its audio, reading and writing lessons do get you practicing different skills, the content is actually quite boring and repetitive to work through,

Although beginners will certainly pick up some basic words and phrases, the fact that you learn most of the words in isolation through endless memorization means that you are unlikely to get very far. As such, you’re better off looking elsewhere and there are definitely better options out there which are much more thorough and cheaper to boot.

Quality
Sleek design, easy to navigate but poorly thought-out content
Thoroughness
While you do learn some vocabulary and grammar, you don’t really learn how to piece the language together
Value
There are much cheaper alternatives out there with better content so you’re better off looking elsewhere.
I Like
Rocket Russian is very nicely designed and easy to use so you’ll never have trouble knowing what you’re meant to do next.

I enjoyed the Travelogue series as there was a lot more Russian used in these lessons and they showed you what it would be like traveling through various parts of Russia.

In the Language and Culture Lessons you get to learn about everything from the 2018 World Cup in Russia to what words Russian has borrowed from other countries and cultures.

I Don’t Like
Rocket Russian is not very entertaining to work through and all of the various exercises become quite monotonous and boring as you’re essentially drilling the same words and phrases over and over again.

While you do learn some useful words and phrases, you’re never really asked to put it all together and so you learn most of them in isolation from one another.

The vast majority of the content you work through is in English.

Price: To get lifetime Online Access to Rocket Russian you can either pay $149.95 in one go or split the payment over six months which works out at $27/month. There is a 6-day free trial for you to try it out as well as constant sales to lower the price.

Visit Rocket Russian

Alternatives: RussianPod101 and Red Kalinka are two Russian courses I prefer.

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