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Author name: Tara

Tara is a passionate Taiwanese-Canadian language learner and aspiring polyglot. She speaks French, Mandarin, and Spanish to varying degrees of fluency, and has a basic foundation of Japanese. She is particularly fascinated with researching the most effective language-learning techniques and applying them to her own studies.

Lingo Pie Mini-Review: Sourced From Actual TV Shows

Lingopie

Rating 3.5
★★★
★
★★
Price:

$12/month

Summary

Lingo Pie is available in Spanish and Russian, with more languages to come in the future. Each language has it’s own Netflix-like platform, with shows added weekly and sourced from actual TV shows in your target language. In each of the videos, you have the option of changing its speed, using subtitles in your target language or English (or both), clicking on the subtitles to get translations, and skipping back to the previous subtitle in case you didn’t catch it. You can create your own set of SRS flashcards by clicking on unknown words, and in the review sessions your words will come with a sentence for context. It may be difficult for total beginners to get introduced to a new language through Lingo Pie, but intermediate to advanced learners may enjoy it. Unfortunately, there are no filters to help you sort through the available shows. Language Learning With Netflix provides similar features if you already have a Netflix account, and Yabla may be a more suitable platform for those who want shorter videos and more interactive learning.

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Brainscape Mini-Review: Adaptive Flashcards

Brainscape

Rating 4.0
★★★★★
Price:

Freemium, Premium subscriptions start at $9.99/mo

Summary

Brainscape is a flashcard app that uses a Spaced Repetition System, also often referred to as ‘adaptive flashcards’, to help you memorize new vocabulary and facts. It has a team of scientists, engineers, and education experts working to optimize their program for effective learning. Brainscape is quite similar to Anki, but has a more modern and colourful interface. They also have Certified Classes, which are decks that seem to have been developed by experts in the chosen topic. The app adds what they call Intelligent Cumulative Exposure (ICE) to some of their Certified Classes; it seems to combine a Spaced Repetition System with gradually introducing new concepts, increasing the difficulty of the concepts, and providing context so you can build your own sentences. It has several Certified Classes for various languages (and other topics), and many more decks created by users. Unlike Anki, edits that creators make to user decks seem to sync up even after you have downloaded the deck. With the free version, you have limited access to premium decks but unlimited access to user-made decks.

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LingoHackers Mini-Review: Lots of Potential, Help It Grow!

LingoHackers

Rating 2.7
★★
★
★★★
Price:

Free

Summary

LingoHackers is a community centred site that helps language learners develop their writing skills. It is managed by a small group of volunteers who are passionate about language learning. Although it is relatively new and still in the development phase, joining the community can help it grow! You can choose to respond to a series of challenges and then receive feedback from others who are both learning that language and who are native speakers. A ‘challenge’ consists of responding to prompts, such as describing a photo, creating a story with 3 random nouns, conjugating irregular verbs, or writing in a daily journal. You can set personal goals for how many challenges you want to complete per week, and you are highly encouraged to provide feedback to others’ writing. By completing goals and contributing to the community, you can gain ‘reputation points,’ which allow you to create your own thread on the community forum. As the community is quite small at the moment, you will probably be more likely to connect with others on the site. If you want to be part of a growing community and contribute to the development of the site, you can join LingoHackers for free. However, if you are looking for a similar resource with a larger community, check out LangCorrect.

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Lingolia Mini-Review: Clear Grammar Explanations

Lingolia

Rating 4.0
★★★★★
Price:

10.49€/quarter, 20.99€/half-year, 41.99€/year

Summary

Lingolia is a reference site that supports you in understanding grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation for school or work; it can be used as a tool to support your language studies when you require clearer explanations of these concepts. English and German are currently the only languages that contain additional sections on vocabulary with listening and reading exercises, although it’s possible that the Spanish and French sections will develop these in the future. Each page provides a simple explanation of your chosen topic, and then an exercise (or more if you get the premium plan) to practice your comprehension. The best part about the exercises is that they give you immediate feedback about whether or not your response was correct, providing you with the opportunity to reflect on your mistake and correct it. If you don’t want to invest in a premium plan, you can use Lingolia’s free exercises and then check out other resources that provide similar exercises for free, such as SpanishDict or Conjuguemos. Unfortunately, there is no audio on the site to train pronunciation, but Lingolia does seem to fulfill its mission of providing simple explanations to support your learning.

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Speed Learning Languages Mini-Review: Nope, Nope, Nope

speed learning languages

Rating 2.0
★★★★★
Price:

2 levels cost $197, 4 levels cost $394

Summary

Most of Speed Learning Languages’ content, except for perhaps the Italian course, seems to be a refurbished version of the 100% free FSI courses. This program is only recommended if you want to pay almost $200 for a clearer font and a few extra resources. Since Speed Learning Languages and the FSI courses seem to be essentially the same program, it should be noted that both will help you learn the language quite effectively; they are intensive programs that place a strong focus on listening to train your ear to understand native speakers, in addition to extensive exercises for grammar and vocabulary. If you follow along with the audio and respond to the prompts in each drill, you will also develop more confidence in speaking. Each full language course takes about 250 hours to complete, with each unit taking about 3-5 hours. Unfortunately, a lot of vocabulary is outdated, including both sexist and obsolete language. Additionally, the course was created for diplomats, so some topics are less relevant to most people’s everyday life. If you are interested in using Speed Learning Languages, use the free FSI courses instead for (comparatively) infinite return on your investment. Here’s the link again – all you need is an email address: FSI Language Courses

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50 Languages Mini-Review: Basically an online phrasebook

50Languages

Rating 2.8
★★
★
★★★
Price:

Free

Summary

It is clear that 50Languages aims to make language learning accessible to anyone with an internet connection There is no signup required to use the site, so its resources are both free, and anonymous. You can find 100 free downloadable audio files of native speakers and ‘lessons’ in over 50 languages, in addition to vocabulary, alphabets, quizzes, and games. Unfortunately, none of these resources follow a cohesive learning path, nor does the platform help you memorize any of the information provided. Only one section, the Translation Trainer, aims to help you retain phrases. However, if you have saved phrases in multiple languages, all of them will be bunched together into one review without an indication of which language you should be translating into. The audio files and phrasebook lessons contain a series of phrases that do not seem to build on what you have previously learned; learning from this website is essentially like referencing a phrasebook you might buy for a trip to another country. 50Languages has a lot of information available, but it doesn’t seem like it can be used as a standalone language resource. Perhaps you can take phrases and vocabulary that interest you and compiled them into an Anki deck to help with retention.

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Wlingua Mini-Review: A Clear Learning Path

wlingua

Rating 4.0
★★★★★
Price:

Freemium, $10.99/mo, $21.99/quarter, $64.99/year

Summary

Wlingua relies on two methodologies for learner success: staggered repetition and progressive exposure. Staggered repetition seems identical to typical spaced repetition methods, while progressive exposure ensures that all new words and concepts are based on what you have previously learned. This ensures that there are no gaps in knowledge when it comes to tackling more advanced lessons. Additionally, each lesson focuses on one concept at a time in order to avoid overwhelming the learner, and there is a clear path for what you will be learning from beginner to the end. Each new word is “linked to its precise meaning or use” so that you can use them in context. The program consists of new vocabulary, grammar, exercises, reading practice, and audio by native speakers with different accents. The downside is that there seems to be more focus on reading and comprehension than on listening and speaking. Only Spanish and Russian are currently available from Beginner to Upper-Intermediate. Other languages are available at the beginner and elementary levels. You can use the app without registering for an unspecified number of days. There is limited basic content available for free, while the premium plan offers unlimited access, practice reviews tailored to your learning, and downloadable PDF lessons.

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Mémorable Mini-Review: Enrichment for Advanced Learners

Mémorable

Rating 3.0
★★★★★
Price:

36€/quarter, 60€/half-year, 84€/year

Summary

Mémorable provides 10 minute lessons, 5 days per week, for advanced French speakers (C1 and above). The themes of each lesson consist of topics such as history, economy, politics, art, sports, science, and technology. The premise is simple: you will receive three extracts on a given cultural theme in the form of either infographics, video clips, or readings, and then respond to a series of questions. The questions are based either on what you have read or watched, or on general knowledge about the topic. The goal is to learn, understand, and memorize culturally relevant concepts. In the corrections after each lesson, you will be provided with a series of articles or videos from the subscription-based site Le Monde to enrich your understanding of the theme. Although Mémorable emphasizes learning and memorization, you are mostly expected to achieve these by reading. There are questions that prompt recall, but a large portion consists of re-reading corrections to incorrect responses. Mémorable is recommended for advanced French learners who want to practice their comprehension through condensed articles on a variety of cultural topics. If you enjoy reading the news or history books, then this may be an enjoyable

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Learning Spanish Like Crazy Mini-Review: Use Audible Instead

Learning spanish like crazy

Rating 3.8
★★★
★
★★
Price:

Audiobooks cost between $5.99 and $29.99, or 1 Audible Credit

Summary

Learning Spanish Like Crazy is an audiobook series on Audible, created in collaboration with Spanish teachers from Latin America. It emphasizes learning to communicate confidently with native Spanish speaking friends, customers, or neighbours, as opposed to focusing on how to order fish in a restaurant or book a hotel room for a family vacation. There are brief grammar explanations followed by extensive speaking practice — you will find that you get to practice speaking almost as much as the narrators.
Each lesson has a specific grammar goal. The narrators will take a grammar structure and help you practice it from different points of view and with different vocabulary words. For example, you may be asked to translate, “I asked him to not wrinkle his tie” then “I begged him not to wrinkle his tie”. Or, “Did you ask them to unplug the iron?” then, “did they ask him to unplug the toaster?”. Although this may seem repetitive, you will most likely become confident in creating your own sentences quite quickly.
Although the branding is outdated, Learning Spanish Like Crazy seems like an excellent introduction for Spanish learners. It may move a bit fast for some, but you can check out a free sample of the first lesson on Audible to see if it suits your learning style. Some alternative options are Pimsleur, Paul Noble or Language Transfer (free).

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Wakarukana Mini-Review: Japanese Media You Can Understand

Wakarukana

Rating 4.0
★★★★★
Price:

Free

Summary

Wakarukana does an excellent job of determining which Japanese anime, books, movies, and manga, are suitable to your current level. Once you have clicked on an item, the site will provide you with 5 sentences or audio clips and ask you to select which ones you understand. Depending on your comprehension, it will determine how difficult the item you selected would be relative to your level. As it’s a new site, they don’t yet have a ton of options, but they do provide a solid start to finding level-appropriate media. Note that each search only displays 10 results — search again and you will receive another 10 random results. The site seems to be affiliated with Japanese Level Up.

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