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French

Polly Lingual Mini-Review: Phrasebook With Simple Games

Polly Lingual

Rating 2.0
Price:

Freemium, yearly subscriptions start at $2.99/mo

Summary

Polly Lingual is a phrasebook app and website with a series of basic word lists, flashcards, and memory games. Some of the phrases are pronounced by native speakers, while others use text-to-voice. Unlike other phrasebook apps that focus on phrases alone, Polly Lingual introduces the basic alphabet in languages with non-romanized scripts. You can quiz yourself on the basic vowels and consonants in Russian, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic. Polly Lingual may be helpful for a quick review of what you’ve already learned, but if you’re keen on learning to write a new script, you may want to check out Write It! or Write Me. There are also Polly Ambassadors — tutors who will provide short videos of language learning tips throughout the site. You can send them a personal message or hire them as a private tutor. Overall, Polly Lingual only teaches basic phrases and will probably not help you learn how to construct your own sentences. If you’re just beginning to learn another language, check out French in Action, Red Kalinka (Russian), Chinesefor.us, 90 Day Korean, Portuguese lab, or Pimsleur to get more out of your time. Also, Italki will give you more options for private tutors, if that’s what you’re looking for.

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YouGlish Mini-Review: Thousands of Words in Context From YouTube

YouGlish

Rating 4.0
Price:

Free

Summary

YouGlish is a website that has indexed millions of video clips to put words in context for language learners. After searching for a word in your target language, you will see a YouTube video with subtitles and your target word highlighted in yellow. When you have heard the word, you can continue listening to the video or move on to the next example. You can also slow down the speed of the audio, click on a sentence in the transcript to replay it, or skip backwards 5 seconds to listen again. Sometimes you can watch over 1000 videos with your target word, other times there may only be a couple dozen available. Some languages also allow you to choose between different regional dialects, such as: French from Canada or France; Chinese from Taiwan or China; and Spanish from Spain or Latin America. You will need to search for the word in your target language, so you can check out WordReference or Linguee to get a translation. Forvo also provides audio clips of native speaker pronunciation, but with YouGlish, you can practice listening to these words in context. If you want help with reading the subtitles, you can download Readlang for on-screen translations. The Zhongwen Chrome extension will be better for Chinese learners, as it provides the pronunciation of each character as well as a definition.

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Conversations by StoryLearning Mini-Review: There are Cheaper Options

Conversations – IWTYAL

Rating 3.5
Price:

$197

Summary

Conversations by I Will Teach You a Language is a downloadable program that uses Comprehensible input (CI) as a strategy to improve your language level. Comprehensible input is when you consume second language material that is just above your current level, which in IWTYAL’s case, is about A2-B1 on the CEFR scale. The Conversations program includes material of a manageable length with full transcripts and English translations. It is 20 chapters long and follows six characters, two of whom have just moved to the countryside from the big city. You will listen to realistic dialogues between the characters and learn everyday colloquialisms and slang. The characters have a variety of accents within each language, and they speak at a relatively natural speed. The series has the same content in each language, but there are variations based on cultural differences. IWTYAL probably has good quality materials, but it is quite expensive compared to other CI resources. Intermediate learners can check out innerFrench, Japanese With Noriko, Russian With Max, and Dreaming Spanish for some high-quality, free alternatives. Chinese learners might want to check out Du Chinese and The Chairman’s Bao for graded readers with audio. 

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French by French Mini-Review: Learn French From Scratch

French by French

Rating 3.7
Price:

Free

Summary

French by French integrates four main characters into a series of short dialogues to help you learn how to read, write, and speak French. Each lesson contains a dialogue with a recording by (seemingly) professional voice actors. Don’t worry if the dialogues seem short at first; they will get longer as you progress through the levels. Next, you will read the English translation and the new vocabulary from the lesson. You can skip the following grammar explanations to dive into translation exercises — these exercises are composed of words you have already learned, which will help you become comfortable using them in a variety of contexts. The beginner and intermediate lessons each contain 50 lessons. From lesson 1, you will hear the dialogues spoken at a relatively natural speed (but there is a slow version available until beginner level 2). Unfortunately, the advanced level has very few resources, so you will have to go elsewhere to advance your skills. The exercises are not as gamified as in apps like Duolingo or Lingodeer. However, if you enjoy reading, French by French will help you systematically advance your language skills. Combine your learning with videos from Alice Ayel’s YouTube Channel for beginners, or innerFrench for intermediate learners, and you’ll develop a foundation of French in no time.

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Alice Ayel Mini-Review: High-Quality French Videos For Beginners

Alice Ayel

Rating 4.5
Price:

Freemium, with subscriptions starting at 4.75€/mo

Summary

Similar to Dreaming Spanish and Comprehensible Russian, Alice teaches French using comprehensible input. With this method, she speaks at a level just above that of the learner: you do not have to understand every word, but through gestures and images, you can gradually increase your comprehension abilities. Alice’s YouTube channel has hundreds of high-quality videos that tell stories, tour you around different countries, and teach about francophone culture. Alice has also developed a self-paced video course for total beginners to later beginners. It contains transcripts and audio files, with bonus stories for all levels. She does not teach the nitty-gritty details of French grammar — instead, you will learn through listening, similar to the way you learned your first language as a child. Remember that this method is not for everyone, so if you don’t enjoy it, there are other ways to learn a language. Watch some of her YouTube videos to see if this style suits you, and if so, then subscribe to her French learner’s community to gain access to the course. She also sells a series of beginner books that you can enjoy without a subscription. For comprehensible input at the intermediate level, Hélène from Wandering French will teach you about the Quebecois language and culture while touring the world, while Hugo will continue to teach you about French culture in innerFrench

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Bien Dire Mini-Review: A Must-Have if it Weren’t for the Price Tag

Bien Dire

Rating 4.0
Price:

Free Trial, e-magazines from 9€, e-subscriptions from 49€

Summary

Bien Dire is a leveled reading series that targets a pair of CEFRL levels in each issue (ex. A1-A2, A2-B1, C1-C2). As the magazine only covers two levels at a time, you can step out of your comfort zone without feeling too overwhelmed. Absolute beginners can find a series of free introductory lessons on the site before diving into the magazines. Each 50-page issue will train your listening, oral, reading, and written skills. You will read a series of short articles with new vocabulary italicized within the text. If you have chosen the appropriate level, you should probably be able to understand about 80% of the content without looking at the definitions at the bottom of the page. Audio files recorded by native speakers accompany both the hard copy and digital versions of the magazine, and there are quizzes at the end of the magazine to test your comprehension. Bien Dire is a fantastic resource for any French learner, but especially for those who don’t have a lot of free time. You can read high-quality bite-sized articles about French culture, history, travel, news, food, pronunciation, and more. With limitless cash, Bien-Dire and Frantastique would be the perfect combination to support an avid reader to fluency. You can try two sample magazines on their site to see if the investment is right for you. For English learners, the publishers also produce an ESL counterpart, Go English.

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French in Action Mini-Review

French in Action

Rating 4.3
Price:

Free

Summary

From the producers of the Spanish video series, Destinos, French in Action is an award-winning beginner French video course from the late 1980s that will train your listening comprehension and speaking abilities. Pierre J. Capretz is both the narrator of the series and the originator of the Capretz Theory. The idea is that French is French; it’s not coded English. So, understanding French is not about making direct translations into your native language; you have to learn meaning through observation and deduction. Consequently, beginners may be overwhelmed when they first engage with the French-immersion series, but gradually they will pick up basic vocabulary as they follow along and respond to Capretz’s prompts to repeat after different characters. Each of the fifty-two 30-minute episodes starts with a brief English explanation that gives context for the lesson. Then, you will hear a dialogue that follows the story from the previous lesson, followed by a series of interviews, movie clips, and images that illustrate keywords. Throughout the lesson, you will hear the new words pronounced before you see them written. This way you will be less likely to associate French writing with English sounds, as they have very similar scripts. For more French immersion material, you can check out Easy French and Alice Ayel on YouTube; intermediate learners can try innerFrench and Frantastique (which is expensive, but 100% worth the free trial).

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Pimsleur Review — Learn While You… Do Just About Anything

Pimsleur

Rating 4.0

Summary

Pimsleur is one of the most popular and longest-standing resources out there for learning a foreign language. Its courses place a strong emphasis on aural and verbal communication skills, paying less attention to grammar explanations and reading or writing skills. There are over 50 language courses available with Pimsleur, and the bulk of the material is taught with audio lessons.


Quality 4.5

The platform is extremely well designed and easy to use. The content seems to be of high quality at all levels.

Thoroughness 4.0

Timely repetition and active practice work well, and lessons build on each other nicely, but the “intermediate fluency in 30 days” claim may be a stretch.

Value 3.5

The subscription option provides good value for some, but there may be more efficient ways to learn some languages.

I Like
  • The lessons are structured well and are an appropriate length.
  • There are both male and female native speakers.
  • Lessons build on each other nicely.
  • The platform is easy to navigate and visually appealing.
I Don’t Like
  • There’s very little visual content.
  • Lesson speed isn’t customizable.
Price

Subscriptions of either $14.95/month or $19.95/month are available for courses with at least 60 lessons. Prices otherwise range from around $20 to over $500. All purchases come with a 7-day free trial.

What is Pimsleur?

Frankly, it’s an institution. The name comes from linguist Paul Pimsleur, author of many books on language acquisition and applied linguistics, and developer of what is now known as the Pimsleur Method.

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iLoveLanguages Mini-Review: Another Phrasebook SIte

ilovelanguages.org

Rating 1.6
Price:

Free

Summary

iLoveLanguages seems similar to iLanguages and Learn101 in that every language has the same content and grammar. The eighteen 30-minute beginner ‘lessons’ in every language are essentially lists of phrases and vocabulary words, with audio recordings by native speakers. The site seems to provide a local teacher for each language, but for some reason, the same teacher offers at least 11 of the languages (including Gaelic, Basque, Filipino, Marathi, and Cantonese). Oddly enough, this teacher also appears in stock photos around the internet. Considering that the website advertises each language class as being taught by a native speaker, perhaps be cautious if you are considering taking a class from this site — maybe try italki or SpanishVIP for private lessons instead. iLoveLanguages may be helpful if you want to hear native speakers pronounce words in South-Eastern languages, like Marathi, Gujarati, Vietnamese, or Malay. You can compare the pronunciation with the speakers from either iLanguages or Learn 101 (but not both, as they use identical audio files). You could also check out Forvo, which is probably the most extensive pronunciation database on the internet right now. 

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Master Any Language Mini-Review: No Words To Describe the Nope

Master Any Language

Rating 0.2
Price:

Free

Summary

Master Any Language has a counterintuitive interface with activities that are frustrating to navigate. Its only perk is that it supports less-studied languages, but even if you do find yourself lacking resources in your target language, this website will probably detract from your learning. You will jump through hoops trying to find the audio recordings by native speakers, so you may want to try ilovelanguages or Learn101 instead; they have low ratings, but they won’t make you lose your motivation to learn altogether. Most of the activities on Master Any Language are matching games that require you to click on two identical characters, words, or letters: the purpose of this is unclear because it tests neither recall nor recognition. Another activity asks you to form or match nonsensical sequences of words (Ex. Find the sentence identical to “el el el el tchèque tchèque tchèque el el tchèque tchèque”….). Ultimately, you would probably be better off trying to decipher a page of text with absolutely no guidance than to even attempt to wrap your head around MAL’s activities.

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