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Search Results for: pimsleur

An Honest Review of Coffee Break With Image of Woman Lying on Floor Using Computer

Coffee Break Review: Italian, French, and German Courses

Coffee Break

Rating 4.0

Summary

The Coffee Break Languages series teach languages through podcast-style lessons. The lessons have a casual feel and offer lots of explanations, building on each other nicely. Courses are available for a one-time purchase, but much of the material is also available for free as podcasts or Youtube videos.


Quality 4.0

The audio is of high quality and the instruction is thoughtful.

Thoroughness 4.0

There are lots of explanations, and you can start as an absolute beginner, but practice opportunities are limited.

Value 4.0

There is a lot of high-quality content available for free; the paid courses might not be worth the price for some.

I Like
  • Explanations are thorough.
  • Lessons build on each other logically.
  • The language often feels authentic.
  • There’s lots of free content.
I Don’t Like
  • Opportunities to interact with the language are limited.
  • There isn’t much of a focus on productive skills.
  • I expected the paid courses to offer more extra materials for the price.
Price

Many audio lessons are free. The premium version of each season includes extra materials and costs $104.


Depending on which season of language you decide to get the pricing ranges from $20-$200.

Spotify is my platform of choice, and it’s got a ton of Coffee Break lessons.

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FluentU Review

FluentU Review — More Expensive than the Competition

FluentU

Rating 3.1

Summary

FluentU is a language-learning platform that uses real-world videos and interactive subtitles to create an immersive learning experience. The videos take on a variety of forms, including commercials, music videos, interviews, and more. Accompanying quizzes give users the chance to practice language used in videos.  FluentU offers videos in nine different languages and is available for iOS, Android, and on the web. Most of its content is beyond the beginner level, but it has videos for learners at all levels.


Quality 3.5

It’s very straightforward and easy to use, though not especially visually pleasing.

Thoroughness 3.0

There is a wide variety of videos, but they’re short and disconnected. They also aren’t suitable for absolute beginners.

Value 2.5

It is not the most complete way to study a language.

I Like
  • The site is easy to navigate.
  • Interacting with subtitles is easy.
  • The videos are authentic and tied to practice activities.
  • Exercises recognize Chinese and Japanese characters.
I Don’t Like
  • Flashcards use robotic text-to-speech audio.
  • Writing practice is limited, speaking practice is nonexistent.
  • Practice activities aren’t very interesting.
  • There’s no easy way to filter content by region.
Price

After a 14-day free trial, users can purchase one of two subscription options. Subscriptions grant access to all FluentU languages.

Monthly Subscription: $30/month

Annual Subscription: $360/year

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Learn Armenian

Learning Armenian Online For Beginners: Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian

Are you reconnecting with Armenian roots? Preparing for a journey back to your long-ago homeland?

Do you want to visit ancient ruins at Garni, see stunning vistas at monastic sites such as Tatev and Geghard, or savor the lights and sights of Yerevan? Or do you simply want to form stronger friendships in the global Armenian community?

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An Honest Review of 17 Minute Languages With Image of Girl Using Computer

17 Minute Languages Review: I Wouldn’t Recommend Using It

17 Minute Languages

Rating 1.5

Summary

17 Minute Languages is a language-learning program that uses spaced repetition and native-speaker audio to teach a wide variety of languages. In our opinion, the courses aren’t very engaging; the courses we tried included significant errors and didn’t offer any language-specific explanations. There are leaderboards for comparing your progress with other users and a language forum that’s available after four days of use.


Quality 1.5

Native speaker audio is the only thing that impressed me in the courses I tried; mistakes and glitches were many.

Thoroughness 1.5

Explanations are lacking, which I found made some material misleading.

Value 1.5

I think there are far better ways to spend your time and money studying a language.

I Like
  • It uses native-speaker audio.
I Don’t Like
  • I came across several bad translations.
  • I didn’t find any helpful explanations.
  • Site navigation wasn’t easy or enjoyable for me.
  • I didn’t find the exercises engaging.
Price

The Beginner’s Course is $59.95 and the Complete Package is $97. For the whole package and all languages it is $197. There is a free 48-hour trial.

Superlearning technology? Fluency in 50 hours? Courses in 80 different languages? This is either the greatest language-learning resource of all time or it’s a painfully overpriced language site making absurd claims. Let’s find out.

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