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Arabic

Promova Mini Review: Personalized Content to Meet Your Language Learning Needs

Promova

Price:

$39.99-3 Months, $83.99-12 Months, $299.99-Lifetime

Summary

Are you on the hunt for a language learning resource that’s engaging and personalized to fit your learning style? Promova may be a great place to start.

Promova is an app and web based platform that offers language instruction for multiple languages and multiple proficiency levels. The language courses at Promova include English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Ukrainian, Arabic, Korean, and Chinese. It uses machine learning and AI technologies in order to personalize your learning experience based on your goals and learning progress. All you have to do is take a quick test, set your learning preferences and Promova will craft a personalized learning plan that aligns with your needs, skills, and interests. With this learning plan, you’ll get personalized recommendations, progress tracking, and an optimized learning experience. 

Promova offers Bite-sized daily lessons. Each session integrates vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and real-world conversations to help you progress in as little as 10 minutes. With Promova’s meticulously curated word lists, phrases and its use of SRS, you’ll get to practice and expand your vocabulary immensely. You’ll also engage in speaking and listening exercises, and receive instant feedback on your pronunciation to help you refine your conversational skills and accent.

The platform focuses on practical examples and engaging exercises, quizzes and flashcards to help you decipher and grasp intricate, tricky and challenging grammatical concepts. Promova has live online classes with certified tutors to help enhance your learning with interactive practice. These classes are flexible and available in both 1-on-1 sessions that are tailored to your needs and group classes where you can engage with fellow language learners. 

Additionally, Promova will expose you to an engaging language community where you can participate in lively discussions, connect with language exchange partners, and elevate your communication skills through meaningful interactions with fellow learners around the world. You’ll not only be advancing your proficiency, but also forming lasting connections and friendships across cultures.

Whichever language you choose to learn, Promova provides language-specific explanations. You could choose to receive instruction in the language you’re learning for a more immersive experience, or you could choose to learn in a language that caters to your individual preferences.
If you’re learning English and are looking for a Specialized English course, such as Business English or Travel English, Promova offers specialized courses to meet those specific needs and help you navigate these environments.

Although Promova is currently only limited to 10 languages, and the homepage may be difficult to navigate to see all the services listed, we think it’s an effective platform to help you reach language fluency.

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LanguagePod101 — All Languages, Pod101 and Class101

Updated November 20, 2023

If you want a language learning podcast that consistently adds new content to keep you motivated, you will find the “Pod101” and “Class101” series quite useful.

One great thing about LanguagePod101 programs is that they do publish new content ALL THE TIME. And their pricing structure allows language learners of any mastery and commitment levels to find contents that are useful. The pricing starts at a mere few dollars per month, and the top subscription called Premium PLUS gives learners personal feedback and a personalized program to follow.

Visit Language Learning Programs in the LanguagePod101 Series

Click the icon to visit the site for the language you want. Purchase or just check it out. Happy Learning!

You can also read ALR independent reviews for each language’s program in the following section.

LanguagePod101 — All Languages, Pod101 and Class101 Read More »

Learn Arabic

Learn Arabic For Beginners – A Self-Study Guide That Will Get You Started

With over 400 million speakers—both native and non-native—and counting, Arabic is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It is spoken in a variety of dialects across many countries and is also one of the six official languages of the UN. This means that learning Arabic can help you communicate almost anywhere! 

Learn Arabic For Beginners – A Self-Study Guide That Will Get You Started Read More »

Pimsleur Review Arabic

Pimsleur Arabic Review: Conversational Fluency Quickly

Pimsleur Arabic

Summary

Pimsleur Arabic is one of the most popular and longest-standing resources out there for learning the Arabic language. Its courses place a strong emphasis on aural and verbal communication skills, paying less attention to grammar explanations and reading or writing skills. 


Quality 4.5

The platform is extremely well designed and easy to use. The content seems to be of high quality at all levels.

Thoroughness 4.0

Timely repetition and active practice work well, and lessons build on each other nicely, but the “intermediate fluency in 30 days” claim may be a stretch.

Value 3.5

The subscription option provides good value for some, but there may be more efficient ways to learn some languages.

I Like
  • Egyptian, Levantine, and Modern Standard Arabic are available
  • The lessons are structured well and are an appropriate length
  • There are both male and female native speakers
  • Lessons build on each other nicely
  • The platform is easy to navigate and visually appealing
I Don’t Like
  • There’s very little visual content.
  • Lesson speed isn’t customizable.
Price

Subscriptions of either $14.95/month or $19.95/month are available for courses with at least 60 lessons. Outright purchase prices otherwise range from around $20 to over $500. All purchases come with a 7-day free trial

Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 300 million native speakers across the Middle East and North Africa. It is also an official language of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, giving it significant global importance.

Pimsleur Arabic Review: Conversational Fluency Quickly Read More »

Rosetta Stone Review Arabic

Rosetta Stone Arabic Review – It May Not Be Very Useful for Most

Rosetta Stone Arabic

Rating 3.2

Summary

Rosetta Stone is one of the most well-known resources for learning languages. High levels of repetition and an absence of translations or explanations are hallmarks of the course. Rosetta Stone Arabic course could be most suitable for learners that don’t mind repetitive exercises and prefer to learn from pictures and context rather than translations and explanations. It’s probably not a good option for anyone wanting to learn non-Modern Standard Arabic, significantly improve their speaking or writing skills, or those looking for an engaging course.


Quality 3.0

The platform is a bit clunky on desktop, but the material is accurate and presented clearly; lesson mechanics are fairly intuitive.

Thoroughness 3.0

Without much opportunity to build your own sentences, I don’t think you’ll reach a conversational level with any notable speed.

Value 3.5

Rosetta Stone’s Lifetime Subscription ($199 on sale) is quite attractive if you like the Rosetta Stone Method. Shorter subscriptions are quite reasonable, too.

I Like
  • Lessons progress naturally and logically
  • Both audio and visual learning components
  • The audio quality is very good
I Don’t Like
  • Only offers Modern Standard Arabic
  • No grammar explanations
  • No writing practice
Price

A three-month subscription to one language is $35.97, which works out to be $11.99/month.
A year-long subscription to one course is $95.88, which is $7.99/month. Both of these subscriptions are automatically recurring.
Lifetime access to all Rosetta Stone language courses is available for $199.

ALR Readers Exclusive Holiday Deal!! Get the Lifetime Subscription for 25 languages for $179 (everywhere else it’s $199 right now!). See details on the website.

Rosetta Stone uses a dynamic immersion method to help you learn Arabic in a natural way. 

The Rosetta Stone Arabic course contains 12 units focused on everyday situations like family life, shopping, or travel. Each unit consists of multiple-choice lessons that allow you to match images or say words to learn new vocabulary.

Rosetta Stone Arabic Review – It May Not Be Very Useful for Most Read More »

17 Awesome Podcasts for Your Arabic Studies

Though most language learning resources teach Modern Standard Arabic, the spoken Arabic you might hear in the real world depends on the regional dialect. Arabic podcasts will help turn your textbook Arabic into something to connect with people in everyday life. Plus, they provide an excellent means of improving your listening comprehension and getting to know Arab culture.

17 Awesome Podcasts for Your Arabic Studies Read More »

Mondly Review – Made Significant Improvements Made in 2022

Mondly

Rating 2.7

Summary

Mondly is a language-learning app that teaches basic vocabulary and grammar structures. It seems most appropriate for learners with little to no exposure to their target language.

The activities mostly rely on passive recognition of vocabulary and phrases, and therefore are not very challenging. However, they are varied enough that you probably wouldn’t get bored with short, daily practice sessions.

Although I wouldn’t recommend Mondly to anyone looking to seriously learn a language, it may be appropriate for individuals studying languages with less available resources, or for individuals who are preparing to travel abroad.


Quality 3.0

Both the interface and the course itself could be designed better. *Edited on Nov 22* It has made many improvements this year. We will update soon.

Thoroughness 2.5

It’s decent for learning vocabulary, but I thought a lot of the material wasn’t explained very well.

Value 3.0

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.
  • I don’t think the order of lessons and topics is very well thought out.
  • For me, 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 and $99.99 for lifetime.

Spring Sale! Get 96% off Lifetime Access to Mondly Premium, plus bonus access to Mondly AR & Mondly Kids! See details on the website. Offer ends on 4/30/24.

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