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In-Depth Reviews And Recommendations - Without The BS

Drops App Review – Decent As A Supplementary Resource

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Quick Review
Summary: Drops is a phone app for iPhone and Android that covers 33 languages. Daily games test the user on thousands of vocabulary words, and many of these words are ideal for everyday use. Drops has an entertaining, user-friendly interface, but it also lacks grammar lessons, and it works better for some languages than others. For anyone looking to supplement their vocab lessons, this app is worth considering; however, the free version might be more worthwhile than the paid version.

Quality
Though cute and easy to use, several visuals are hard to distinguish, and some games aren’t too useful for retention.
Thoroughness
This app won’t help with grammar or verb conjugation. However, it does offer hundreds of unique vocab words.
Value
The free app is a great supplementary tool to help round out your vocabulary, but the paid app doesn’t offer many useful extras.
I Like
The daily reminders keep me accountable.

If you already know a word, you have the option of swiping up and removing it from your lessons.

Though the app works better for some languages, the sheer amount of languages is a plus.

Great audio examples.

I Don’t Like
It can be difficult to tell certain images apart, which means you’ll likely identify them incorrectly during your review.

Some of the categories seem to include random, unrelated words.

This app isn’t ideal for beginners, as it skips over basic lessons.

 Drops only teaches you a single verb form, meaning you’ll need different apps to learn how to conjugate.

Price: A monthly subscription costs $9.99, a yearly subscription is $69.99, and a lifetime subscription is $159.99. You can use the app up to five minutes every ten hours for free.

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Wanikani Review – A Useful Supplementary Tool For Studying Japanese

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Quick Review
Summary: Wanikani is an innovative, useful site for beginning learners of Japanese kanji. The site provides mnemonic devices and a spaced repetition system (SRS) to teach radicals, kanji, and vocabulary. Although it offers a phenomenal foundation in kanji, it doesn’t provide everything you’ll need to learn the language. Still, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, Wanikani is an excellent supplementary program.

Quality
Easy and fun to use, so long as you don’t fall behind on your lessons.
Thoroughness
It won’t teach you stroke order or too much grammatically, but it provides over 2000 kanji and 6000 vocabulary words.
Value
Wanikani is constantly adding new material, so even if you finish all the kanji, there’ll be more to learn. If you put in the effort, it’s more than worth your money.
I Like
The mnemonic devices/stories are hilarious and make learning fun and memorable.

Wanikani keeps track of which radicals, kanji, and vocab you’re struggling with in its “critical condition items” feature. You can easily look at this resource to figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and you can restart a level if you’re having trouble with the new material.

Each kanji and vocab provides an audio reading by a native speaker. These recordings help you get an ear for the sound of the word, alongside the written form.

I Don’t Like
If you skip a day, it adds up. Wanikani does allow you to pause via vacation mode, but if you forget, or if you need more time, you’ll potentially have hundreds of lessons to catch up on.

Some of the mnemonics are hard to remember.

Wanikani is great for reading, but if you’re trying to speak or write the language, this site doesn’t offer much. And while example sentences are provided, the actual process of learning grammar is left to each individual.

Price: A monthly subscription costs $9, a yearly subscription is $89, and a lifetime subscription is $299. The first three levels are available for free.

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Mondly Review – Far From My First Choice For Learning A Language

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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.

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Lingodeer Review – A Better Alternative To Duolingo, Babbel, Busuu, etc.

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Quick Review

Summary: Lingodeer may not be as well known as other language learning apps, but it’s actually better and cheaper than most of them. 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, it’s one of the better options for getting started learning a language.

Quality

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

Thoroughness

Not as thorough as some other courses but it’s good for what it is.

Value

Quite a bit of content is free and the premium plan is very affordable.

I Like…

Lots of different exercise types in the lessons.

Detailed grammar explanations.

Clear audio recordings.

Inexpensive!

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: $8.99/mo, $19.99 for 3 months, $41.99 for a year. There’s also a lifetime option for $69.99.

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

Save 15% on any subscription to Lingodeer by using the coupon code “ALR123”

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Top 25 YouTube Channels For Learning Japanese – Beginner To Advanced

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Learning Japanese can be a difficult process if you aren’t able to travel to Japan and immerse yourself in the language for months at a time. With three writing systems to learn — katakana, hiragana, and kanji — and phonetic sounds that don’t appear in the English language, you may be wondering where to turn to for help.

Fortunately, YouTube has a variety of resources to help tune your ear to the Japanese language, from beginner grammar and vocabulary lessons to deep dives into cultural differences and regional dialects. As you become more confident in your abilities, you can even listen to channels intended for native Japanese speakers.

Use these channels as a supplement to podcasts and language-learning apps, or as standalone lessons. Wherever you are in the process, you’ll find a channel that’s just right for your current comprehension skills and learning level.
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