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.

Visit Memrise

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

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

Fluent Forever App Review – Lots Of Potential But Not There Yet

Fluent Forever App

Rating 3.2

★★★

★

★★

Summary

The Fluent Forever mobile app is a language learning program currently available in eight languages. The approach it takes is based on the methodology described by Gabrial Wyner in his book, Fluent Forever. It uses flashcards and a spaced repetition algorithm to help the learner create meaningful connections with the language and commit language items to long-term memory. It’s best for people who are able to dedicate ample time and supplementary resources to learning a new language.

Quality 2.5

★★

★

★★★

I noticed some spelling errors in the language I was learning. The activities aren’t super intuitive.

Thoroughness 3.0

★★★★★

Pronunciation is explained very well, but I was hoping for some grammar explanations as well. Some features are still in development.

Value 4.0

★★★★★

The price is reasonable, and the time spent using the app is productive.

I Like

Creating my own flashcards was usually easy, fun and memorable.
The pronunciation activities were enlightening and practical.
Using the same sentence to learn multiple words got me speaking longer sentences quickly.

I Don’t Like

I wanted to have more control over what I practiced and when.
Creating flashcards was sometimes time-consuming and difficult.
There are no explanations for grammar points.
There’s no offline functionality, and the app is only supported on mobile devices

Price

$9.99/month when paid on a monthly basis. $53.94 for a 6-month subscription ($8.99/month) $95.88 for a 12-month subscription ($7.99/month) $167.76 for a 24-month subscription ($6.99/month)

Visit fluent forever

My first introduction to the world of Fluent Forever was a TEDx talk done by its Founder, Gabriel Wyner.

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Fluent Forever App Review – Lots Of Potential But Not There Yet Read More »

KoreanClass101 Review – Good But Not A Standalone Course

KoreanClass101

Rating 4.0

★★★★★

Summary

Koreanclass101 has developed thousands of, mostly audio, lessons for Korean language learners. It’s excellent for those who want to improve their listening. The grammar and vocabulary content is also really good, being both clear and detailed. It can, however, be difficult trying to find the right lesson at the right time and the lack of a clear learning path could cause problems. It’s a handy tool to use alongside other resources or lessons but probably shouldn’t be used as a standalone course.

Quality 4.0

★★★★★

Mostly good, but some of the older lessons weren’t great.

Thoroughness 4.0

★★★★★

A ton of material for beginner and intermediate levels but limited at the advanced level.

Value 4.0

★★★★★

The vast library of listening material makes a subscription worthwhile.

I Like

Tons of listening material from the beginner up to the intermediate level which can be tricky to find in Korean.
The lesson notes were great for getting the grammar across and offered a lot of detail.
Really good to use on your phone, whether it was vocab or a quick lesson I wanted to fit in when I had some time, it was good to have an integrated app.

I Don’t Like

The presenters spoke in English a lot, which at the higher levels should probably have been reduced.
If you’re at an advanced level or looking for reading, writing, or speaking practice this probably isn’t going to be of much use for you.
The learning flow was very chaotic, trying to find lessons or knowing if they were of good quality was sometimes a crapshoot.

Price

There are three subscription plans $4 for Basic, $10 for Premium, and $23 for Premium Plus.Use the promo code

“ALLLANGUAGERESOURCES” to save 25% on a subscription to KoreanClass101.

Visit KoreanClass101

KoreanClass101 is a part of the huge range of language education resources produced by the Innovative Language company. This, as the name implies, is part of the Korean catalog and it offers thousands of audio lessons, alongside some video lessons, starting at the absolute beginner level and moving all the way up to the advanced level.

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KoreanClass101 Review – Good But Not A Standalone Course Read More »

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.

VISIT UTALK

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.

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

There’s No Babbel (or Busuu) Korean Course – Try These Alternatives Instead

Have you decided that you want to learn Korean?.

Have you gone online in search of the best language course, discovered either Babbel or Busuu, and then been disappointed to learn that they don’t have a course for Korean learners?

…

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There’s No Babbel (or Busuu) Korean Course – Try These Alternatives Instead Read More »

Living Language Online Course Review – Not Very Good

Living Language Online Course

Rating 0.0

★★★★★

Summary

UPDATE – it appears that the online course Living Language no longer exists. This review covers the old course when it did exist. You can however find a series of books with this name available on amazon.

Quality 3.0

★★★★★

Though the information itself is useful, Living Language’s presentation reads more like a database than an educational/interactive tool.

Thoroughness 3.0

★★★★★

Again, a lot of the information is there, but it’s scattered. Additionally, some of that information appears incorrect.

Value 2.0

★★★★★

Cheaper options offer the same amount of content with more interactive features.

I Like

You can hop around between levels and topics, including Beginner and Advanced materials.
The subscription comes with a grammar guide, glossary, and forum access.
There’s a decent variety of games, including some games I hadn’t played before.

I Don’t Like

Although the games are fun, they get stale pretty quickly. It’s easy to guess at answers, thereby completing levels without really having learned.
The system doesn’t keep track of your mistakes, so it’s hard to know what areas you need to improve in.
I found several translation and presentation errors that made me question the rest of the material.

Price

An annual plan costs $150, and half a year costs $75. Three months is $50 and 1 month is $39.

Visit Living Language

An Overview of Living Language

Living Language offers you the opportunity to choose between over 20 languages. Once you pick your language, you’re taken to the home screen which has options for Essential, Intermediate, and Advanced categories. You can start with any of these options and jump back and forth between them.

…

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Living Language Online Course Review – Not Very Good Read More »

Drops App Review – Decent As A Supplementary Resource

Drops App

Rating 3.9

★★★

★

★★

Summary

Drops is a phone app for iPhone and Android that covers 33 languages. Daily games test the user on thousands of vocabulary words, and many of these words are ideal for everyday use. Drops has an entertaining, user-friendly interface, but it also lacks grammar lessons, and it works better for some languages than others. For anyone looking to supplement their vocab lessons, this app is worth considering; however, the free version might be more worthwhile than the paid version.

Quality 4.0

★★★★★

Though cute and easy to use, some visuals are hard to distinguish.

Thoroughness 3.0

★★★★★

Drops will teach you thousands of words and phrases, from transport and hobbies to astronomy and spices. Some languages, such as Japanese, have extra modules for culturally specific vocabulary.

Value 3.0

★★★★★

The free app is a great supplementary tool to help round out your vocabulary, but the paid app doesn’t offer many useful extras.

I Like

The daily reminders keep me accountable.
If you already know a word, you have the option of swiping up and removing it from your lessons.
Though the app works better for some languages, the sheer amount of languages is a plus.

I Don’t Like

It can be difficult to tell certain images apart, which means you’ll likely identify them incorrectly during your review.
Some of the categories seem to include random, unrelated words.
In languages where a noun’s grammatical gender or case isn’t obvious from the article, you won’t learn that information.
Drops only teaches you vocabulary, not grammar.

Price

A monthly subscription costs $9.99, a yearly subscription is $69.99, and a lifetime subscription is $159.99. You can use the app up to five minutes every ten hours for free.

Visit Drops

I’d previously heard about Drops on Reddit, where it achieved rave reviews and some pointed criticism.

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Drops App Review – Decent As A Supplementary Resource Read More »

Talk To Me In Korean Review – Good But Not Enough By Itself

Talk To Me In Korean

Rating 4.0

★★★★★

Summary

Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) offers audio, video and text materials for Korean learners of all abilities. They have a variety of free and paid courses available. The main course is well laid out and the supplementary lessons are all great quality offering some really fun and interesting ways to learn. However, there aren’t many ways to practice what you’ve learned, as such, it’d be best used alongside other resources and not as a standalone course.

Quality 4.0

★★★★★

The video lessons have high production value and can be fun to watch.

Thoroughness 3.5

★★★

★

★★

Not enough material or opportunities to practice to only rely on TTMIK.

Value 4.5

★★★★

★

A ton of free content!

I Like

Some of the courses are really creative and offer an interesting way to engage with the language.
The majority of the content, including the entire grammar course, is free.
Wide range of materials for all levels.

I Don’t Like

Learning can be too passive as you’re rarely asked to use the Korean you’ve learned.
Some of the courses have pretty low educational value.

Price

$19.99/month or $10.19/a month when paying for a year

Visit Talk To Me In Korean

Since 2009, Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) has been servicing Korean Learners of all abilities with their creative learning resources.

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Talk To Me In Korean Review – Good But Not Enough By Itself Read More »

90 Day Korean Review – My Experience Trying It For 3 Weeks (revised in 2024)

90 Day Korean

Rating 4.7

★★★★

★

Summary

90 Day Korean is an excellent Korean course. The way that the material is structured and the simple manner that it’s explained make the language feel much less intimidating than I expected. Split up into four 90-day modules, 90 Day Korean can take you from not knowing any Korean and get you to a relatively high level. I highly recommend it!

Quality 4.5

★★★★

★

There are some small things that could be better but overall I was very impressed.

Thoroughness 5.0

★★★★★

Very thorough without making you feel overwhelmed.

Value 4.5

★★★★

★

A great course that’s priced affordably.

I Like

The content is explained in such a simple and straightforward manner that it’s hard not to understand it.
From the first lesson, you’ll learn how the language works instead of just memorizing phrases.
The option to have unlimited access to your own personal Korean coach.
The challenges really push you to apply everything you’ve learned and take it a step further.

I Don’t Like

There’s nothing major that I dislike about 90 Day Korean, just a few small things here and there that could be slightly improved.

Price

90 Day Korean offers two subscription plans. The Inner Circle Course (without coaching) costs $35 per month or $299 per year. The same course but with coaching costs $59 per month or $500 per year.

Visit 90 Day Korean

Upon hearing of the name, 90 Day Korean, my initial reactions were something along the lines of, “There’s no way you can get fluent in Korean in 90 days. If that’s what they’re claiming, then it must be a scam.”

…

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90 Day Korean Review – My Experience Trying It For 3 Weeks (revised in 2024) Read More »

Lingodeer Review – A Better Alternative To Duolingo, Busuu, Rosetta Stone, etc.

Last Updated on December 12, 2023.

Lingodeer

Rating 4.3

★★★★

★

Summary

Lingodeer may not be as well known as other language learning apps, but it’s actually better and cheaper than most of them. You’ll practice the language by completing lots of different types of exercises. They also include plenty of grammar explanations and opportunities to review what you’ve studied. All in all, it’s one of the better options for getting started learning a language.

Quality 4.5

★★★★

★

It has a great design and everything works well with only a few minor issues.

Thoroughness 4.0

★★★★★

Not as thorough as some other courses but it’s good for what it is.

Value 4.5

★★★★

★

Quite a bit of content is free and the premium plan is very affordable.

I Like

Lots of different exercise types in the lessons.
Detailed grammar explanations.
Clear audio recordings.
Inexpensive!

I Don’t Like

The content isn’t always ordered well with some unusual words thrown in too early.
Not sufficient for developing oral communication skills.

Price

$14.99/mo, $39.99 for 3 months, $150.99 for a year. There’s also a lifetime option for $299.99. You may also occasionally find sales, such as the yearly rate dropping by 50% to $79.99.

Visit Lingodeer

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Lingodeer Review – A Better Alternative To Duolingo, Busuu, Rosetta Stone, etc. Read More »