Save a bunch of money on language learning resources this Black Friday! I’ll be adding to the list as more companies send out their Black Friday deals – so be sure to check back as the week goes on!
Spanish Uncovered (and the similar German, French and Italian courses) come from Olly Richards, the creator of the super-popular blog I Will Teach You A Language. It’s quite a bit different than most courses as it revolves around a story. It can be a bit more challenging than other courses, as you begin reading somewhat long texts right off the bat. Overall, I found it to be a more fun way to approach language learning that will be great for some but not ideal for others.
Coupon Code: None needed – click the link above.
Dates: November 22nd – ?
Languages: French, Italian, Spanish, German
Details: Get any course for $97 – originally $297.
Yoyo Chinese is probably the most established and popular website for online Chinese courses. Yangyang has helped hundreds of thousands of students learn Chinese and her videos have been viewed millions of times. There are several different video-based courses available which include interactive quizzes, clear explanations, and tons of practice, with each progressing in difficulty. I think the conversational courses are especially good value.
smarterGerman is much different than every other language learning course I’ve tried. Each lesson corresponds with a chapter from a German crime story. Through these lessons, and lots of exercises, this course will help you reach the B1 level. Unlike most courses where there’s a lot of spoonfeeding of information, this course pushes you to use your critical thinking skills.
Coupon Code: LAST-BF-EVER
Dates: Now – December 2nd (12 AM CET)
Details: 30% off each of the three main courses – Everyday German, B2 Mastery, Ultimate B1 Bundle. Discount only applies to single payment sales and not payment plans.
90 Day Korean is an excellent Korean course. The way that the material is structured and the simple manner that it’s explained make the language feel much less intimidating than I expected. Split up into four 90-day modules, 90 Day Korean can take you from not knowing any Korean and get you to a relatively high level. I highly recommend it!
Coupon Code: ALRBF90DK
Dates: November 22nd – December 2nd Midnight EST
Details: $97 – 6 months of Full Access Premium Membership that gives you everything in the 90 Day Korean Inner Circle members area.
TutorMing is an online Mandarin school that offers classes 24 hours a day, with qualified teachers, using unique content. I tried out two classes with them and came away very impressed – enough so to become a customer. I learned new things about Chinese culture, despite having lived in Beijing for a few years. However, it’s not the cheapest option, so those on a tighter budget may want to look elsewhere.
Coupon Code: None Needed
Dates: Now – November 30th
Languages: Chinese
Details: The shortest plan available on TutorMing is usually 3-months, but for Black Friday they’ve added a one-month plan. The cost is $129 for 8 lessons which comes out to $16.13 per lesson and is quite a bit cheaper than normal.
ChinesePod is one of the most often recommended resources for learning Chinese, and one of the best. There’s no better tool available to improve your listening comprehension. The lesson library is massive, covering diverse topics and six difficulty levels.
Speechling is a website and app that makes it easy to improve your speaking skills in several languages. The free version is an incredibly valuable resource that makes it easy to practice mimicking native speakers. The Unlimited Plan provides unlimited corrections of your recordings by a teacher.
Semantica is an amazing resource for visual and aural learners looking to learn Portuguese by immersing themselves in Brazilian culture. Through their unique video lessons, Semantica does a great job in providing its users with real life scenarios that they will come across in Brazil. While some beginners may find it a challenge, those that respond well to this style of teaching will surely enjoy the lessons. There is a wealth of material to explore and a lot of room for students to progress.
Pimsleur’s courses primarily focus on oral language – both speaking and listening. Lessons require you to participate in the lessons and put together what you’ve learned and form sentences for yourself. For those that want to develop communication skills quickly, it’s probably the best option available.
Coupon Code: BESTDEAL
Dates: Now – ?
Languages: Lots of different ones
Details: 50% off CDs, 25% off Digital purchases. They don’t mention anything about their subscriptions, so I’d assume those are the same price.
Glossika is not suitable for absolute beginners, lower intermediates could use the resource to familiarize themselves with sentences in their language of choice using Glossika´s intuitive approach. Listening to native speakers and repeating what they say can help learners to improve their comprehension skills and spoken fluency. While it is amazing that so many languages are included, learners would have to use numerous other resources alongside it.
The Rocket Language courses usually fall between being pretty bad and being pretty good, but not great. They’re not my personal favorite but I know lots of people like them. Although the lessons tend to be very boring, the content is well structured and fairly comprehensive. They have a good mixture of listening, speaking, grammar, and review activities.
Coupon Code: None needed – click the link above
Dates: November 27th (12:01 am Pacific time) – November 29th (11:59 pm Pacific time)
and December 1st (12:01 am Pacific time) – December 2nd (11:59 pm Pacific time)
Created by Idahosa, the Mimic Method’s ‘Elemental Sounds Masters Classes’ are not your traditional type of language learning course as you won’t learn any grammar or vocabulary. The focus is instead on learning the elemental sounds of the language. This is because once you can conceptualize them, then you can train your ear to hear and understand them and afterward train your mouth to produce and pronounce these sounds. Useful for both beginners and advanced learners, you would obviously need to use it in conjunction with a couple of other resources to progress in your target language.
Coupon Code: None needed – click the link above
Dates: November 29th – December 2nd (midnight PST)
Lingvist is a great language learning tool that relies primarily on flashcards. It is an intelligent resource which judges your fluency level in the language and accordingly sets the difficulty of the questions for you. It also has a separate challenges section that trains your reading, listening, grammar and speaking skills. While the resource is a simple one, it is quite addictive and fun to use.
LingQ is a language learning platform that makes it easy to read and listen to interesting content at varying difficulty levels. As you read, words will be marked as known and LingQ tracks the total number of words you “know”. The content comes from lots of different places with very little of it being original. They also make it very easy to upload your own content.
French Today offers audiobooks, skype lessons, and on-site lessons in France. This article will focus on the audiobooks which range from beginner to the upper-intermediate level. There are different types of audiobooks, all of which are quite extensive. Many of them have nearly 10 hours of content and a PDF file with 200 or so pages.
I like Chinese Zero to Hero! a lot. Their courses cover HSK1-6 of the HSK Standard Course textbooks. While it’s not in-depth enough to be the only resource you use, few courses are. It’s a great option for those looking to add structure into their independent study routine or are preparing for the HSK tests. It isn’t meant to be a replacement for a textbook, but those with textbook phobia would really benefit from this course.
Memrise is one of the most popular language-learning apps around. It’s basically a gamified flashcard app. It’s a good way to help build vocabulary and beginner students would benefit the most from it. The user-created content is available for free on their Memrise Decks platform.
Coffee Break Academy offers extremely popular free podcasts for multiple languages. They also have paid courses that add on to the free content with bonus videos and other extras.
Coupon Code: BF2019
Dates: Now – December 3rd
Languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese
