All Language Resources

In-Depth Reviews And Recommendations - Without The BS

In-Depth Review of Nihongo Shark’s Hacking Japanese Supercourse

by Leave a Comment

Quick Review
Summary: Nihongo Shark’s Hacking Japanese Supercourse is a bundle of twenty-nine courses. Over the thousand+ lessons you learn to read and write Japanese as well as gain an in-depth understanding of the grammar and how the language is spoken. Despite the huge number of lessons, they all look very similar and so students need to be very serious and diligent to make the most of the material. Due to the lack of exercises, you would need to use other resources to practice what you’ve learned from the course.

Quality 
Overwhelming in the beginning, you quickly get used to the course layout and the content quality is good without setting the world alight.
Thoroughness 
For Japanese grammar and how the language is used in day-to-day life, you can’t beat this course. A lot of other stuff is missing though.
Value 
It’s not very expensive but learners will need to utilize additional resources to study Japanese.
I Like
The course goes into an amazing amount of detail when it comes to Japanese grammar and how it is used in the real world.

Niko obviously cares a lot about the product, is continuing to improve it and writes in an engaging and humorous manner.

I Don’t Like
I came away feeling very disappointed as all of the courses and lessons are very similar in look and format. As such it got quite monotonous and boring.

 There are barely any exercises or quizzes for students to work through so you’re basically asked to read endless pages without engaging with the material.

Some of the courses don’t amount to much and are more just tips and tricks on how to learn a part of the language after which you’re told to work through endless flashcards.

Price: For the basic subscription, Nihongo Shark costs $12/month if you sign up for a year and $14 if you sign up per month. For the premium package, it is $20/month if you sign up for a whole year and $22 if you sign up per month.

Visit The Hacking Japanese Supercourse
[Read more…]

Rocket Japanese Review – Exceeded My Low Expectations

by Leave a Comment

Quick Review
Summary: Rocket Japanese doesn’t excel in any one specific area but is 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.

Quality 
Everything works well but parts of their teaching methodology could be improved.
Thoroughness 
Covers most things well but reading is mostly ignored.
Value 
Somewhat expensive, but the price is reasonable considering everything included.
I Like
 Balances speaking, grammar, writing, and listening better than other Japanese courses.

Cut down on 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
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
[Read more…]

LinguaLift Review – You’d Be Better Off Using A Textbook

by Leave a Comment

Quick Review
Summary: LinguaLift currently offers courses in Japanese, Russian and Hebrew. I chose Japanese and working my way through the lessons was very much like going through an online textbook. Very text-based, the material is best suited to beginners although the slow pace and heavy use of English means that it takes a while to make progress. While it’s nicely designed and includes lots of interesting content about Japanese culture, you don’t learn how to speak or understand conversations as the focus is on learning how to read (which it does very well).

Quality
Very easy to use and nicely produced but all lessons look the same.
Thoroughness
Great for teaching reading and the cultural context of a language but not communication skills.
Value
The material is comparable to a textbook but much more expensive.
I Like
LinguaLift is one of the best resources out there when it comes to teaching you about the cultural context surrounding the language.

The texts are quite humorous to read and each lesson concludes with a reward which usually comes in the form of a video about some part of the culture.

It really succeeds at teaching you how to read Japanese and the course is easy to follow.

Don’t have to pay extra to access courses in more than one language.

I Don’t Like
All of the lessons look almost identical which gets monotonous.

The course is mostly in English and it takes a while for you to actually encounter all that much Japanese.

Other courses will almost certainly have you speaking and learning the language at a quicker pace.

The focus on reading means you don’t get to listen to much Japanese and there is no way to practice speaking or holding a conversation.

Languages: Japanese, Russian, and Hebrew

Price: $29 per month for access to all languages.

Visit LinguaLift
[Read more…]

Lingodeer Review – An Alternative To Duolingo

by 2 Comments

Quick Review

Summary: Lingodeer may not be as well known as other language learning apps, but it’s actually better than most of them, and free. You’ll practice the language by completing lots of different types of exercises. They also include plenty of grammar explanations and opportunities to review what you’ve studied. All in all, for a free resource, it’s excellent.

Quality

It has a great design and everything works well with only a few minor issues.

Thoroughness

As thorough as you could hope for from a free resource

Value

Free and still better than many paid resources.

I Like…

Lots of different exercise types in the lessons.

Detailed grammar explanations.

Clear audio recordings.

Free!

I Don’t Like…

The content isn’t always ordered well with some unusual words thrown in too early.

Not sufficient for developing oral communication skills.

Not yet available in lots of languages.

Price: $4.99/mo, $3.99/mo if paid quarterly, or $2.99/mo if paid yearly. There’s also a lifetime option for $49.99.

Languages: Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Vietnamese are all taught in English. There are also some courses not taught in other languages.

Visit Lingodeer

[Read more…]

Mondly Review – I Wouldn’t Recommend Using It

by Leave a Comment

Quick Review

Summary: Mondly is a below average online language learning resource. It does some things right and other things poorly. It’s pretty cheap, and a decent enough crash course that could help you before a trip abroad. Still, it wouldn’t be my first choice.

Quality 

Both the interface and the course itself could be designed better.

Thoroughness 

It’s decent for learning vocabulary but a lot of material isn’t explained very well.

Value 

It’s fairly inexpensive.

I Like…

Daily lessons, weekly quizzes, and monthly challenges – these functionalities encourage you to practice every day.

The vocabulary included is useful and drilled in an effective way.

It’s fairly inexpensive.

I Don’t Like…

The content and exercises are the same for all levels and languages.

The exercises are mostly passive and won’t help you use the language.

The order of lessons and topics isn’t very well thought out.

The interface is not user friendly and the platform is visually unappealing.

Price: There are three plans…
$9.99 per month for one language
$47.99 per year ($4/mo) for one language
$47.99 per year ($4/mo) for all languages

Strangely, I was able to access multiple languages even though I only signed up for one month at $9.99.

Visit Mondly
Most Recommend Resources By Language
Chinese
Spanish
German
French
Italian
Portuguese
Korean
Russian
Japanese
Arabic
[Read more…]

Privacy Policy