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Bulgarian

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.

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

An Honest Review of Speaky With Image of Girl Using Phone

Speaky Review: Better Than Other Language Exchange Apps?

Speaky

Rating 3.7

Summary

Speaky is a social language-learning app for people interested in language exchange. It’s available for iOS, Android, and the web. Users can chat with other language learners, share photos, leave voice messages or even have voice calls. The basic features on Speaky are free to use, but access to more than five translations per day requires a subscription.


Quality 3.0

There are some dedicated language learners on Speaky but not as many as similar apps.

Thoroughness 3.5

The platform is easy to use but lacks advanced features.

Value 4.5

Speaky is mostly free to use, extra features are available for a subscription.

I Like
  • It’s mostly free.
  • It’s easy to use.
  • There are a lot of users.
  • There are tons of languages
I Don’t Like
  • Many community members don’t actually seem interested in language exchange.
  • The web version doesn’t work well.
  • There are no extra social features.
Price

The basic features on Speaky are free to use. A premium membership is available for a subscription.

Speaky is a language exchange app. It facilitates exchange by allowing users to chat with others in the language they’re learning. Its function is pretty simple and straightforward — search for a partner with a reciprocal language combination and say hello.

Speaky Review: Better Than Other Language Exchange Apps? Read More »

An Honest Review of HiNative With Image of Woman Holding Phone

HiNative Review: Useful But Not Exceptional Q&A App

HiNative

Rating 3.7

Summary

HiNative is a Q&A app for language learners that want to have questions answered by native speakers. It’s available for iOS, Android and desktop, and it has over three million registered users. A free version is available that offers the basic features of the app.


Quality 3.5

The app is pretty basic, but it works.

Thoroughness 3.5

Many users are very helpful, but not all questions receive intelligent responses.

Value 4.0

The basic functions of the app are available for free, but you’ll need to pay for audio or video features.

I Like
  • The community is active. Most of my questions received quick responses.
  • The points system is rewarding.
  • The free version is very useful.
I Don’t Like
  • Many of the questions in my feed were unanswerable.
  • The community could be better.
Price

The basic features of HiNative are free to use. A premium subscription is available for $9.99/month paid monthly, or annually $34.99 payment

While learning a new language, one of the best resources available is other people. Native speakers are one of the most reliable sources for authoritative answers to your language questions. They know intuitively and deeply how the language is supposed to be used.

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Tandem Review

Tandem Review: A Tinder-esque Language Exchange App?

Tandem

Rating 4.7

Summary

Tandem is a popular language exchange app with over one million active users. It’s available for iOS and Android and aims to bring language learners from all over the world together. It’s largely centered around its chat capabilities and language tools that facilitate communication, but there is also a tutoring service offered in the app.


Quality 5.0

There are lots of active language learners, especially those looking to pair with native English speakers.

Thoroughness 4.5

The interface is intuitive and the language tools are simple and effective, though you’ll quickly run out of free translations.

Value 4.5

The free version is all most people will need. Tandem Pro doesn’t add a ton of extra value.

I Like
  • There are plenty of language partners
  • The interface is easy to use and attractive
  • The free version offers a lot of value
I Don’t Like
  • You’ll need to use other learning resources as well
  • Though Tandem has some safety features, you may encounter people using the app as a dating tool
Price

There is a limited free version of Tandem and a pro version available at $6.99 for one month, $10.67/month for three months, and $6.67/month for a year’s subscription.

Tandem Review: A Tinder-esque Language Exchange App? Read More »

An Honest Review of Clozemaster With Image of Boy on Computer

Clozemaster Review: Limited Focus But Fun Way To Grow Vocab

Clozemaster

Rating 4.2

Summary

Ideal for people who are already at an upper beginner/intermediate level, Clozemaster will help you build your vocabulary and learn new words and sentences in context. While you won’t learn much grammar or improve your speaking and writing much, it is great at what it does and the videogame aspect makes it fun and addictive to work though. Although the exercises are all pretty much identical, there are various ways in which you can increase the difficulty and Clozemaster’s free account is almost as good as the Pro User one.


Quality 4.0

Very easy to use with thousands upon thousands of sentences for you to work through, Clozemaster’s main exercises are well-designed though some features are a bit hit and miss.

Thoroughness 4.0

Although you aren’t given any explanations, Clozemaster’s huge database of sentences allows you to learn words in context.

Value 4.5

The free version offers a ton of value, but for those who use Clozemaster regularly, it may be worth upgrading to a Pro account.

I Like
  • There is an insane number of words and sentences for you to learn, and you’re exposed to them within the context of a sentence.
  • Just using the free account you are sure to learn a lot with only some extra (and undoubtedly useful) features being included in the Pro plan. This makes learning accessible to everyone.
  • Lots of languages available to learn, and you can do so from a wide range of languages, making it very useful for non-native English speakers or those who want to study two languages at once.
I Don’t Like
  • A couple of features such as the Cloze-reading and the speaking exercises seemed like they could have benefited from a bit more thought and effort put into them.
  • There is no real progression and you are basically given an endless array of different words and sentences to work through and the various exercises are all pretty much identical.
  • Sentences are sourced from
Price

The free version is very useful, but you can upgrade to a pro account for $8/month or $60/year.

Having never heard of Clozemaster before and having no idea what it was all about, I was immediately taken by its videogame-looking aesthetics and fun fill-in-the-missing-words exercises.

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An Honest Review of HelloTalk With Image of Person on Tablet

HelloTalk Review – Make Friends & Practice Languages

HelloTalk

Rating 4.5

Summary

HelloTalk is a mobile app for language learners interested in language exchange. It facilitates communication between native speakers and those learning their language with the use of built-in language tools. It also offers audio lessons in 10 languages as part of a separate subscription.


Quality 5.0

There’s an active community of dedicated learners, but you’ll have to do some searching.

Thoroughness 4.0

The app is easy to use and the language tools are helpful, but you could end up relying on google translate.

Value 4.5

Both the basic and VIP membership provide great value. The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it however.

I Like
  • It’s exciting to practice communicating with real people
  • The built-in language tools are helpful
  • It’s easy to pick up and put down whenever you like
I Don’t Like
  • It’s too easy to rely on google translate
  • It can be hard to find good partners
  • The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it
Price

The basic features of HelloTalk are free. Audio lessons require a separate subscription after a short trial period.

HelloTalk VIP is available for:

$6.99/month and $45.99/year or $175.00 for lifetime access

Learning a new language when you’re nowhere near other speakers of that language can be tricky. For example, I’m currently in Nepal and trying to learn Italian. I don’t exactly get a lot of opportunities to practice Italian here.

HelloTalk Review – Make Friends & Practice Languages Read More »

An Honest Review of Memrise With Image of Man Holding Phone

Memrise Review – Useful But Don’t Overuse It

Memrise

Rating 4.0

Summary

Memrise is a super popular language-learning app available online and on mobile. It functions much like a gamified flashcard app, and it offers a lot of content for free. A lot of the content is user-created, and there is a premium subscription that provides access to additional features. Memrise can be a great tool in your arsenal, but you’ll need more to learn a language seriously.


Quality 4.0

The mobile app looks great and is easy to use, but the website is clunky. Works very well for memorization.

Thoroughness 4.0

There are quite a few official Memrise courses, and the number of user-created courses is massive, but you’ll benefit from using additional resources.

Value 4.0

The free version of the app provides a lot of value, but the paid version doesn’t offer much more.

I Like
  • The spaced repetition software is effective for memorization
  • The huge range of available content
  • It’s more interactive than other flashcard apps
I Don’t Like
  • It’s not enough for continued language learning
  • Website navigation is clunky
  • Premium version isn’t much more valuable than the free version
Price

For the full version of Memrise, the subscription prices are:

$8.99/monthly $59.99/annually $119.99 – lifetime subscription

Signing up for a free account with Memrise automatically gives you access to limited versions of their official courses.

What do you get when a Grand Master of Memory and a Princeton neuroscientist team up to create a language learning app?

Memrise Review – Useful But Don’t Overuse It Read More »

An Honest Review of uTalk with Image of Person on Computer

uTalk Review – For Beginners Who Want To Learn Key Words & Phrases

uTalk

Rating 3.7

Summary

uTalk is a software program and mobile app offering learning material in over 140 languages. Its approach is based on learning keywords and phrases through gameplay. It covers a wide range of phrases, each spoken by a female and male native speaker, consequently offering listening and pronunciation practice. uTalk is most useful for beginners who want to get started in a language by learning key phrases. It could also be useful for intermediates looking to fill gaps in their vocabulary and pronunciation, but it does not offer any in-depth language instruction or grammar explanations. It’s also worth mentioning that for some languages, such as Basque, the occasional overly literal translation leads to small errors and unnatural phrasing creeping in. However, we haven’t seen instances in which this would result in you being misunderstood, and there’s no denying uTalk’s value for languages with fewer learning resources.


Quality 3.5

The app is very user-friendly, and the content is mostly useful, but little variation in practice activities can become repetitive.

Thoroughness 3.5

The app does a good job of teaching key words and phrases, but review opportunities aren’t as transparent or comprehensive as they could be.

Value 4.0

The price is very low, there’s a lot of content, and the right learner could get some serious practical use out of the resource.

I Like
  • The number of languages on offer is staggering.
  • Each phrase is recorded by a male and female native speaker. This was especially helpful in learning pronunciation.
  • You frequently get to hear recordings of yourself producing the language. I found this motivating and informative.
I Don’t Like
  • The Memory Game exercise felt like a waste of time. It’s difficult to get a perfect score even if you know the language well.
  • I kept wishing there was a way to choose which phrases I could practice in games instead of them being randomly selected.
Price

$11.99 a month that can be cancelled anytime. 6 months costs $59.99 and for one year it is $99.99. 

This was my first encounter with uTalk, so I didn’t know what to expect before trying it out. A quick search on the internet showed third-party reviews saying everything from “It’s just ok” to “Become fluent in another language with uTalk.” My experience was something much closer to the former.

uTalk Review – For Beginners Who Want To Learn Key Words & Phrases Read More »

An Honest Review of BulgarianPod101 With Image of Bulgarian Architecture

BulgarianPod101 Review- Better As A Supplementary Resource

BulgarianPod101

Rating 4.0

Summary

BulgarianPod101 offers audio and video lessons (though they’re mostly audio) for learning Bulgarian. They’re similar to a podcast with two hosts teaching the language with the help of natural dialogues. They take the time to explain key grammar points, vocabulary, interesting cultural information, and so on. Their tends to be more content for beginners and the lesson structure could be improved. As such, it’s better as a supplementary tool for improving your Bulgarian, rather than a standalone course.


Quality 4.0

The lessons are generally well-made, though quality can vary depending on when it was added.

Thoroughness 4.0

Although there’s a lot of content, it’s not structured particularly well.

Value 4.0

Good value for a low cost.

I Like
  • It’s extremely useful for getting extra listening practice.
  • They teach using natural dialogues, while explaining important grammar, vocabulary, and interesting cultural information.
  • As you move up levels, English is used less.
I Don’t Like
  • Too much English is used in the lessons.
  • The platform can be confusing to navigate and the recommended lesson pathways aren’t always the best.
  • Although there are lots of extra features, only a few of them are actually useful.
Price

There are many subscription lengths available which lower the cost. But, a one-month subscription costs:

Basic: $4/mo Premium: $10/mo Premium Plus: $23/mo

Use the promo code “ALLLANGUAGERESOURCES” to save 25% on a subscription to BulgarianPod101.

Here at All Language Resources, we take great pride in writing comprehensive reviews of language learning resources.

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