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In-Depth Reviews And Recommendations - Without The BS

Michel Thomas Method Review – Avoid At All Costs

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Quick Review
Summary: One of the most famous language teaching courses out there, Michel Thomas is a household name and his audio lessons aim to teach you your language of choice, naturally, intuitively and without any memorization involved. With 18 languages for you to choose from, the courses are aimed at absolute beginners and at the end you should be able to understand and speak to a basic level. I tried out the French foundation course and found it to be severely lacking and as such cannot recommend it at all. You may, however, have more luck with the other language courses that they offer.

Quality
Very easy to use, the audios are decent quality but Michel Thomas’ discouraging manner means that students get flustered and this detracts from the content’s quality.
Thoroughness
Michel Thomas doesn’t go into much depth and any explanations he offers up are just at a surface level.
Value
I wouldn’t use these even if they were free due to Michel Thomas’ teaching style which ruins the material.
I Like
Um…in all honesty I’m not sure if I enjoyed any of it!

I Don’t Like
Michel Thomas never praises the students, often interrupts them and creates a negative learning environment.

The pacing of the lessons often seems off to me and in certain places they feel very hurried.

All of the lessons are almost identical and so it does get quite monotonous working through them.

Languages: Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Modern Standard), Dutch, French, Greek, German, Hindi, Italian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Price: There are several different courses available with prices ranging from $11.99 to $100.

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The 20 Best Podcasts For Learning Russian Regardless Of Your Level

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Adding podcasts into your studying routine can be one of the best ways to improve your Russian. This is equally true for beginners, intermediate, and advanced level students, though the podcasts you choose to study with will vary depending on your level.

Fortunately, regardless of how good your Russian is, there are plenty of podcasts to help you along the way. This list will take a look at the most popular ones, starting at the beginner level. [Read more…]

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

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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.

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Grammar Hero Review – I Like It, But A Bit Too Expensive

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Quick Review
Summary: Grammar Hero is a product from Olly Richards, the creator of I Will Teach You A Language. It follows the story-based method of teaching languages, but this time with a focus on the most difficult grammar points. You start out by reading a story and the grammar point is underlined, later you learn the rules, then you re-read the story with explanations, and finally you’ll practice using the grammar point to express your thoughts and opinions. It’s a comprehensive method that’s meant to help you internalize the grammar.

Quality 
The stories are unique and interesting, while highlighting the grammar points.
Thoroughness 
Covers the most challenging grammar in each language.
Value 
Fairly expensive and may not be affordable for many learners.
I Like
The stories are different for every language.

Enjoyable to read, clear audio recordings, and more interesting than other ways to study grammar.

 Focuses on only the most challenging grammar points.

I Don’t Like
 It’s pretty expensive.

The final “Activate” section is just a worksheet. It’s useful but hardly exciting.

Languages: Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Brazillian Portuguese.

Price: It costs $197 to purchase Grammar Hero in each language. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee.

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Alternatives: News in Slow Spanish, French, German, and Italian teach grammar in a fairly similar manner.

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Mondly Review – I Wouldn’t Recommend Using It

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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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