Eggbun Mini-Review: Excellent for Understanding Hangul

Eggbun

Rating 4.0

★★★★★

Price:

Freemium, Premium subscriptions cost $17.99/mo, $30.99/quarter, $94.99/year

Summary

Learning with Eggbun is like text messaging a very enthusiastic friend. The 2-minute lessons take place in a chat box with a character named Lanny (who might literally be an egg bun). This review will focus on the Korean app, but the Japanese version has a similar lesson style (and the Chinese version is still under development). Lanny clearly explains the different sounds that Korean consonants can make depending on where they are located in a word. You will receive practical pronunciation tips for each new jamo, and you will be typing out your first words on a Korean keyboard before the end of the first lesson. After the writing lessons, you can explore both casual and formal language through cultural notes, dialogues, dictations, multiple-choice questions, fill in the blanks, role plays, and more. There are even entire sections dedicated to special topics, such as pronunciation, borrowed words, and verb conjugations. Whether you want to learn survival Korean, business Korean, or real-life conversations, Eggbun seems like an effective app for beginners to build their confidence in basic Korean conversation.

Visit Eggbun

Eggbun Mini-Review: Excellent for Understanding Hangul Read More »

WordReference Mini-Review: Thorough and Professionally Translated

Wordreference

Rating 4.5

★★★★

★

Price:

Free

Summary

WordReference is one of the best websites for single-word translations. It uses a combination of its own dictionaries and Collins’, depending on the language, and relies on professional translations rather than machine-translations. With each word you look up, you will receive multiple examples of how to use it, nuances of each meaning, and a list of how to incorporate it into multiple phrases. Whereas sites like Bab.la seem to have machine-translated examples that sound quite random at times, WordReference’s examples can be applied directly to your everyday conversation. You can also find conjugation tables and the Collins COBUILD English Usage dictionary, which shows you how to use individual English words correctly — through its explanations, English learners will be able to differentiate between words that are easily confused (such as ‘current’ and ‘currant’). If the explanations don’t make sense, you can ask questions in the WordReference Language Forum — there you will find an active community of language learners discussing language learning topics. Unfortunately, not all words have audio pronunciation, but those that do can be played back at different speeds and with different accents (depending on the language). Although WordReference is a thorough resource, SpanishDict is probably a better option for Spanish learners, and Pleco is the only dictionary you will ever need for Chinese. Linguee is also similar to WordReference but specializes in formal language, and Forvo has millions of words pronounced by native speakers in hundreds of languages.

Visit Wordreference

WordReference Mini-Review: Thorough and Professionally Translated Read More »

Bab.la Mini-Review: Use WordReference or Linguee Instead

bab.la

Rating 3.0

★★★★★

Price:

Free

Summary

Bab.la is a bilingual dictionary for 28 different languages. Their site includes quizzes, games, grammar lessons, phrasebooks, and a forum for users to discuss language learning. You can also look up various verbs in the conjugation tables or find synonyms and examples of how to use words in context. Their quizzes should be taken with a grain of salt — If your purpose is to familiarize yourself with vocabulary and grammar structures, then these are probably a fun way to explore your target language. However, if your purpose is to understand the target language’s culture, beware of any quiz that touches on romance, as the advice is similar to that of the magazines found in grocery store checkout lines. Bab.la may be okay for general definitions, but other sites will probably help you dive further into different languages. Linguee provides examples of words in context sourced from articles and research papers in the target language, and Forvo has millions of words pronounced by native speakers in hundreds of languages. Also, check out WordReference (for a more relevant database of example sentences), Pleco (for Chinese learners), or SpanishDict (For Spanish learners or Spanish-speaking English learners).

Visit bab.la

Bab.la Mini-Review: Use WordReference or Linguee Instead Read More »

FSI Courses Mini-Review: Free, Comprehensive, but Also Outdated

FSI Courses

Rating 4.3

★★★★

★

Price:

Free

Summary

The Foreign Services Institute developed their language courses to help diplomats quickly reach professional working proficiency in a language. They would attend 5 hours of language instruction per day, plus homework, for 24-88 weeks (depending on the language). The table at the bottom of this page indicates the average time it would take for a student to reach professional working proficiency. The FSI program places a strong focus on listening comprehension, 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 confidence in speaking the language. With hundreds of pages of text, dozens of hours of audio, and several levels in many languages, the FSI courses are still probably the most comprehensive, free courses you can follow. Just remember that they are decades old, so the audio is not very clear and the vocabulary often includes both sexist and obsolete language. Also, some of the topics will not be relevant to your everyday life. Several sites host these free, open-source courses, but the site linked below is easy to navigate. Beware of any site selling courses “originally made for diplomats,” as these are probably free FSI courses with a price tag. You can also check out the DLI courses, which are equally as comprehensive (and free!).

Visit FSI Courses

FSI Courses Mini-Review: Free, Comprehensive, but Also Outdated Read More »

Forvo Mini-Review: Audio Pronunciation of Millions of Words

Forvo

Rating 4.8

★★★★

★

Price:

Free

Summary

Forvo’s mission is to improve spoken communication across cultures. Anyone can explore pronunciations of millions of words in over 390 languages with maps displaying where each speaker is from. The site also organizes popular categories and essential phrases for when you don’t have a specific word in mind. As a registered user, you can contribute to the site by pronouncing words or phrases in your native language or by requesting pronunciations in a specific language. You are also encouraged to vote on audio files in your native language to help others identify the best pronunciation. For those of you who enjoy using Anki, Forvo allows you to download mp3 files to use in your learning endeavours. Forvo also has an e-learning course for French, Spanish, and English; you will find three levels and a group of topics with sets of the most common words in your target language. Using an SRS flashcard system, you will be able to learn the pronunciation of these words and view an example of how to use them in a sentence. If you are looking for a pronunciation reference guide, look no further than Forvo’s extensive database!

Visit Forvo

Forvo Mini-Review: Audio Pronunciation of Millions of Words Read More »

Write It! Mini-Review: Simple and Straight-Forward

Write it

Rating 3.5

★★★

★

★★

Price:

$ 0.00

Summary

Write it! will teach you the basic scripts of several different languages, using audio by native speakers to familiarize you with proper pronunciation. You can first practice learning to write a small set of characters, then you can test yourself through answering multiple-choice questions and more writing exercises. Although the interface is less flashy than Write Me, Write It! may be a better option for Korean learners because you will learn how to write Hangul from the start. Similar to Write Me and Scripts by Drops, Write It! doesn’t seem to give much background about each script. However, the creators of Write It! also developed Infinite, which you can use for free to learn and practice beginner words that use your chosen alphabet. You can test out Write it! (free), Write Me (paid lifetime access), and Scripts by Drops (monthly or lifetime access) to see which app best suits the language you are learning. For more comprehensive apps, check out Eggbun for Korean or Skritter for Chinese and Japanese.

Visit Write it

Write It! Mini-Review: Simple and Straight-Forward Read More »

Scripts Mini-Review: Flashy and Fast-Paced

Scripts by Drops

Rating 3.0

★★★★★

Price:

Freemium, $9.99/mo, $69.99/year, $159.99/lifetime-access

Summary

Although it has a flashier interface, Scripts by Drops offers similar content to Write it! and Write Me. However, unlike these other apps, which sound out the name of each character, Scripts by Drops seems to focus on how the letter would sound if it were in a sentence. For example, instead of pronouncing the Hebrew character ב (vet or bet) you will hear /v/ or /b/. You can practice writing different characters with your fingers, and there are a variety of fast-paced activities to help you remember the different alphabets. Under the same membership as Scripts by Drops, you can also use the Drops app to learn and practice words that use your chosen alphabet. Similar to Write Me and Write It!, Scripts by Drops doesn’t seem to give much background about script. Also, some people may find the animation is too flashy and time-consuming; you can test Write it! (free), Write Me (paid lifetime access), and Scripts by Drops (monthly or lifetime access) to see which app best suits the language you are learning. For more comprehensive apps, check out Eggbun for Korean or Skritter for Chinese and Japanese.

Visit Scripts by Drops

Scripts Mini-Review: Flashy and Fast-Paced Read More »

Write Me Mini-Review: Learn Basic Scripts

Write Me

Rating 3.2

★★★

★

★★

Price:

One language costs $9.99, Access to all languages costs $67.99

Summary

Write Me seems to be a decent app to learn different scripts, especially for lesser studied languages like Bulgarian and Khmer. Each character in a given script is accompanied by a sample word that contains those characters. You will watch an animation of the proper stroke order before having the opportunity to write by yourself. Later you will be quizzed in various formats to help you retain what you have learned. Write Me seems to support the act of writing and recognizing individual characters — however, similar to Write It! and Scripts by Drops, it doesn’t seem to give much background about each script. You won’t learn that Korean Hangul consists of morphosyllabic blocks, or that its consonants are pronounced differently at the beginning of a word than in the middle. You also won’t learn that Khmer stacks consonant clusters, or that you are writing Hebrew cursive script but receiving a print script prompt (which gets confusing without a little research). You can test out Write it! (free), Write Me (paid lifetime access), and Scripts by Drops (monthly or lifetime access) to see which app best suits the language you are learning. For more comprehensive apps, check out Eggbun for Korean or Skritter for Chinese and Japanese.

Visit Write Me

Write Me Mini-Review: Learn Basic Scripts Read More »

Write Alphabet Mini-Review: Try Our Other Recommendations Instead

Write Alphabet

Rating 1.5

★

★★★★

Price:

Free

Summary

Write Alphabet seems to be a less developed version of Write It! Its purpose is to help users learn to write in different languages, guiding you through the alphabet of several scripts and allowing you to practice by drawing the characters with your finger. Like Write It!, Write Alphabet is free, but it has a lot of advertisements without an option to buy them off. Additionally, the app does not recognize your attempt to replicate each language’s script unless you start and finish within the lines of the template. Instead of this app, you can test Write it! (free), Write Me (paid lifetime access), and Scripts by Drops (monthly or lifetime access) to see which one best suits the language you are learning. For more comprehensive apps, check out Eggbun for Korean or Skritter for Chinese and Japanese.

Visit Write Alphabet

Write Alphabet Mini-Review: Try Our Other Recommendations Instead Read More »

Rocket Korean Review – Meh, Not My First Choice

Rocket Korean

Rating 3.0

★★★★★

Summary

After trying Rocket Korean, I came away pretty disappointed. In part, this is because they don’t do a great job of teaching Hangeul, which leaves learners unable to read even very basic Korean. I thought this, coupled with the repetitive exercises, made Rocket Korean uninspiring. There are better courses that will help you build a sturdier foundation while also being more enjoyable to use. If Rocket Korean is for anyone, it’s for learners that are willing to supplement with resources that teach Hangeul well and for those that don’t find a less-than-exciting course, though it is structured clearly. It probably isn’t the best option for learners on a budget or those that want to learn to read.

Quality 3.0

★★★★★

Very repetitive review exercises that aren’t particularly well done.

Thoroughness 3.0

★★★★★

Does a poor job accomodating a different writing system.

Value 3.0

★★★★★

Too expensive to justify the cost.

I Like

The cultural lessons are written with a lot of depth and are interesting to read.
A good balance between the spoken language and grammar explanations.
Lots of opportunities to practice speaking throughout.

I Don’t Like

You’re taught Hangeul but never learn to read, which makes remembering words that much harder.
The Rocket Reinforcement exercises basically amount to rote memorization.
The writing lessons are slow and of pretty poor quality.

Price

There’s only one level of Rocket Korean which costs $99.95. You can also pay in six-month installments which costs $19/month.

Visit Rocket Korean

Having previously tried several of the Rocket Language courses, I had a good idea of what to expect from Rocket Korean. That said, it’s a bit different than the courses for other languages; some parts are done better, and others need some serious improvement.

…

Rocket Korean Review – Meh, Not My First ChoiceRead More »

Rocket Korean Review – Meh, Not My First Choice Read More »