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Search Results for: pimsleur

An Honest Review of SpanishPod101 With Image of Spanish Architecture

SpanishPod101 Review – Good Content with Some Pointless Extras

SpanishPod101

Rating 3.8
★★★
★
★★

Summary

SpanishPod101 primarily offers audio lessons for beginner level Spanish students. Unfortunately, the number of lessons available at the intermediate and higher levels drops off quite a bit. There are a lot of extra features, some of which are pretty cool, but many of which aren’t that useful. Overall, I think SpanishPod101 is pretty good but not sufficient by itself.

Quality 4.0
★★★★★

Everything works well and the lessons are high-quality

Thoroughness 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Great for beginners but intermediate and higher levels won’t get much out of it.

Value 4.0
★★★★★

They’re sneaky about hiding the real prices but it’s still a low cost and extensive option.

I Like
  • An absurd amount of content for lower level students.
  • Uses Spanish from lots of different countries and includes interesting cultural insights.
  • As you move up levels, English is used less and less.
  • Grammar is taught very well.
I Don’t Like
  • The lack of content for those past the beginner level.
  • Lower level lessons include lots of English banter between the hosts.
  • Some of the extra features are pointless, while others like the quizzes, aren’t very well done.
  • Constant hard selling and email spamming.
Price

There are three subscription plans with lengths between 1 month and 2 years. If you subscribe longer, the monthly cost lowers.

Basic Plan – $4/mo Premium Plan – $10/mo Premium Plus Plan – $23/mo

Use the coupon code “ALLLANGUAGERESOURCES” to save 25% on a subscription.

Visit SpanishPod101

For this review, I spent about five days trying out SpanishPod101’s Premium Plan.

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SpanishPod101 Review – Good Content with Some Pointless ExtrasRead More »

SpanishPod101 Review – Good Content with Some Pointless Extras Read More »

Glossika Review – Not Cheap But Useful

Glossika

Rating 3.6
★★★
★
★★

Summary

Glossika has learning resources for over fifty languages that impressively range from Armenian and Czech to Icelandic and Tagalog. While not suitable for absolute beginners, lower intermediates could use the resource to familiarise themselves with sentences in their language of choice using Glossika´s intuitive approach. Listening to native speakers and repeating what they say can help learners to improve their comprehension skills and spoken fluency. While it is amazing that so many languages are included, learners would have to use numerous other resources alongside it. The cost is unjustifiably high.

Quality 3.8
★★★
★
★★

The audio recordings are well made but other aspects could be improved

Thoroughness 3.8
★★★
★
★★

Glossika covers an impressive number of languages but their method requires you to intuitively learn

Value 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Polyglots may find the price to be fair but for most language learners it’s not

I Like
  • There are lots of languages available, including many that are rarely covered by other resources.
  • The subscription gives you access to all of the languages making it possible to study one language and review another at the same time.
  • It will force you to speak the language which will improve your confidence and prosody.
I Don’t Like
  • As all of the languages cover the exact same material, the diversity of the languages and cultures are reduced to a simple formula with no cultural context involved in their teaching.
  • There are a fair amount of errors in the materials.
  • The cost is excessively high compared to other resources.
  • There are no explanations of grammar.
Price

You can try out Glossika´s learning method for free with their week-long trial. Their basic subscription is $16.99 a month. The monthly subscription costs $30.99 a month. The annual subscription costs $24.99 a month and will set you back 299.88$ in total.

Click the link below to save $5 on a subscription to Glossika.

Try Glossika For Free

Few resources cover as many different languages as Glossika does. Because of this, I was excited to try it out and see what it’s like to use.

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Glossika Review – Not Cheap But UsefulRead More »

Glossika Review – Not Cheap But Useful Read More »

An Honest Review of Semantica Portuguese With Image of Portugese Architecture

Semantica Portuguese Review – The Most Authentic Brazilian Portuguese Resource

Semantica Portuguese

Rating 4.2
★★★★
★
★

Summary

Semantica is an amazing resource for visual and aural learners looking to learn Portuguese by immersing themselves in Brazilian culture. Through their unique video lessons, Semantica does a great job in providing its users with real life scenarios that they will come across in Brazil. While some beginners may find it a challenge, those that respond well to this style of teaching will surely enjoy the lessons. There is a wealth of material to explore and a lot of room for students to progress.

Quality 4.5
★★★★
★
★

The videos are very well produced and entertaining. The accompanying lesson materials, though useful, are not as good.

Thoroughness 3.5
★★★
★
★★

Their coverage of real life situations is great but the grammar explanations are lacking.

Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★

This is a unique product and definitely worth considering spending your time and money on.

I Like
  • The video lessons were great and on the whole were very entertaining. They really immersed you in Brazilian life.
  • It is great that the vast majority of the resources and dialogue are in Portuguese.
  • The lessons progressed in difficulty with the last lessons being very hard.
  • The Semantica staff seem very helpful. They react well to users’ feedback and use it to improve the product.
I Don’t Like
  • I think it could have done with much better grammar analysis.
  • While you can practice your pronunciation, you never get to actually speak.
Price

Semantica has a number of different subscription plans. Regardless of what plan you choose, all of the videos are accessible to you. The shortest option is to sign up and pay on a month-by-month basis which costs $19/month. $199 for a whole year. Past that there is the option of paying $399 for lifetime access.

Visit Semantica Now

Semantica teaches Portuguese in a way that keeps you truly engaged

When I heard about the idea behind Semantica, I was immediately intrigued. I really enjoyed using it and found the video lessons to be very entertaining; I was soon happily going from lesson to lesson following the protagonists’ storylines!

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Semantica Portuguese Review – The Most Authentic Brazilian Portuguese Resource Read More »

An Honest Review of LearnItalian Pod with Image of Ocean and Beach

LearnItalianPod Review – Stay Away Unless You Like Being Frustrated

LearnItalianPod

Rating 2.2
★★
★
★★★

Summary

LearnItalianPod isn’t a good resource in my opinion. There are some fun supplementary lessons, but I found the basic learning paths to be insufficient in all sorts of ways for someone who’s trying to learn Italian.

Quality 2.5
★★
★
★★★

It’s a very limited tool. It can help you drill some phrases and useful expressions but, in my experience, you won’t learn to create your own sentences and speak.

Thoroughness 2.0
★★★★★

New structures and grammar units appear only in examples. There are virtually no explanations or rules. Apart from repetitions, there’s no practice.

Value 2.0
★★★★★

The tool isn’t expensive but I don’t think it’s worth the cost.

I Like
  • The website is easy to use and has a pretty design with colors of the Italian flag.
  • Additional lessons contain some really useful vocabulary and facts about Italy.
I Don’t Like
  • I really disliked the recorded lessons. The hosts speak excessively slow, especially at the beginner level, and I found the repetitions tedious.
  • There are almost no explanations of grammar concepts, which I found confusing and discouraging. I thought the provided practice was very limited.
  • The tool doesn’t remember your level so you have to choose your language path every time you log in.
  • The order of content doesn’t seem well thought out.
Price

LearnItalianPod has only one subscription plan. Their VIP membership can be purchased on a monthly basis at $14.95 per month or for the whole year at $149.50.

Visit LearnItalianPod

For this writer, Learn Italian Pod isn’t sufficient as a primary resource

After my previous experience with a podcast based tool, ItalianPod101, I was immediately suspicious of LearnItalianPod. My worry was that there would be almost no grammar and exercises aimed at language production.

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LearnItalianPod Review – Stay Away Unless You Like Being Frustrated Read More »

How To Learn Chinese (Mandarin) – An Extensive Guide With Focus On Getting Started

If you’re a native English speaker, learning Chinese is no small feat. In fact, the US Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute puts Mandarin Chinese in the hardest category of languages to learn.

But don’t let that discourage you. There are more resources available than ever before to help you learn Chinese fast or even learn on your own. The best way to learn Chinese will depend on your learning goals and preferences.

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How To Learn Chinese (Mandarin) – An Extensive Guide With Focus On Getting StartedRead More »

How To Learn Chinese (Mandarin) – An Extensive Guide With Focus On Getting Started Read More »