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Mandarin Chinese

Flowlingo Mini-Review: Has Potential, Still Developing

flowlingo

Rating 2.6
Price:

$19.99/month

Summary

Flowlingo allows you to browse websites and news articles in your target language while providing instant audio and visual translations when you tap on unknown words. They use an SRS based flashcard system to help you remember words you don’t know, and will automatically save flashcards from words that you translate.  This does mean, however, that you have less control over what is recorded in the flashcard deck, especially with the possibility of accidentally tapping on words you already know. The free content on Flowlingo’s app allows you to search the web and have access to instant translations. With a premium subscription, you can watch popular TV shows and movies, and upload your own books. The app seems to still be under development, and it is unclear whether the flashcard system only records unknown words with a premium subscription, or if the app currently has a bug. Either way, this is probably a good app to look into at a future time, but there are currently more refined apps that provide similar content. Check out Yabla to learn languages through videos or Readlang for flashcards and translations from webpages and other texts.

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Hey! Lingo Mini-Review: Has Useful Phrases

HeyLingo

Rating 3.0
Price:

$5.99/mo, $24.99/year, and $39.99/lifetime access

Summary

Hey! Lingo, with its flashy, modern, desktop interface, offers a series of phrasebook-like flashcard courses in 26 languages. Each language is divided into 50 lessons, the first 20 of which don’t require a subscription. A premium subscription will allow you to filter flashcard formats, focus on which cards have been difficult for you, and specify which cards you would like to learn in one lesson. The lessons focus on specific skills and each have 10 flashcards. They use both the official alphabet of the target language and a transliteration of the alphabet. The audio pronunciation for each card seems to use a lower quality text-to-speech program than we’ve seen in other apps, which can detract from the learning experience. Although Hey! Lingo is a phrasebook app, it does not focus on typical travel phrases, like how to order food at a restaurant. Instead, it teaches you practical phrases that get to the heart of expressing oneself. Here are some example sentences in the Korean 1 course: “I feel lonely,” “I envy him” and “Stop following me”. The lessons don’t seem to provide a solid foundation for beginners, and they probably won’t help you have conversations in your target language. However, if you enjoy learning useful phrases and already have a basic foundation of the language, Hey! Lingo could be a good option for you.

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Language Learning WIth Netflix Mini-Review: Easy to Use

Language learning with Netflix

Rating 4.0
Price:

Freemium, Free Trial, $4.95/mo

Summary

If you want to make language learning more accessible while watching Netflix, this chrome extension is for you. The free version allows you to skip subtitles forward and backward in case you didn’t catch what was said, and you can also choose to automatically pause the movie or show after each subtitle. The full transcript is also displayed on the side. By hovering over a word you can see a short translation and hear an audio pronunciation, or you can click on the word for more context and further links to various dictionary sites. With a Pro membership you can save words or phrases, receive translations that are closer to the meaning in the original language, and create subtitles for dubbed movies. LLN’s catalogue can help you find Netflix movies or shows with high-quality subtitles to improve your experience,

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Brainscape Mini-Review: Adaptive Flashcards

Brainscape

Rating 4.0
Price:

Freemium, Premium subscriptions start at $9.99/mo

Summary

Brainscape is a flashcard app that uses a Spaced Repetition System, also often referred to as ‘adaptive flashcards’, to help you memorize new vocabulary and facts. It has a team of scientists, engineers, and education experts working to optimize their program for effective learning. Brainscape is quite similar to Anki, but has a more modern and colourful interface. They also have Certified Classes, which are decks that seem to have been developed by experts in the chosen topic. The app adds what they call Intelligent Cumulative Exposure (ICE) to some of their Certified Classes; it seems to combine a Spaced Repetition System with gradually introducing new concepts, increasing the difficulty of the concepts, and providing context so you can build your own sentences. It has several Certified Classes for various languages (and other topics), and many more decks created by users. Unlike Anki, edits that creators make to user decks seem to sync up even after you have downloaded the deck. With the free version, you have limited access to premium decks but unlimited access to user-made decks.

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An Honest Review of Ling With Image of Man Looking at Phone

Ling Review — Gamified Practice in Less Common Languages

Ling

Rating 3.2
Visi Ling

Summary

Ling is a gamified language-learning app with courses on over 60 different languages. Practice happens through short themed lessons, making for convenient and entertaining study time. It isn’t the most comprehensive resource out there, especially for more popular languages, but it can make a decent way to get started with a less common language.


Quality 3.5

The app is easy to use and visually appealing, but I found some mistakes in the material.

Thoroughness 3.0

There aren’t many explanations, and the materials are the same for each language, but practice is varied.

Value 3.0

For many of its less common languages, there aren’t a lot of viable alternatives, but the price feels high.

I Like
  • It uses native speaker audio.
  • The activities are enjoyable and don’t become overly repetitive.
  • It’s easy to use and is visually appealing.
I Don’t Like
  • There are very few grammar explanations.
  • There are no translations for individual words.
  • Some activities can be buggy.
Price

Monthly is $8.99, Annual is $79.99, Lifetime is $149.99

Gamified learning is here to stay. The large pool of language-learning apps that leverage gamification in their courses is continually growing, and frankly, I’m happy about it..

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Speed Learning Languages Mini-Review: Nope, Nope, Nope

speed learning languages

Rating 2.0
Price:

2 levels cost $197, 4 levels cost $394

Summary

Most of Speed Learning Languages’ content, except for perhaps the Italian course, seems to be a refurbished version of the 100% free FSI courses. This program is only recommended if you want to pay almost $200 for a clearer font and a few extra resources. Since Speed Learning Languages and the FSI courses seem to be essentially the same program, it should be noted that both will help you learn the language quite effectively; they are intensive programs that place a strong focus on listening to train your ear to understand native speakers, in addition to extensive exercises for grammar and vocabulary. If you follow along with the audio and respond to the prompts in each drill, you will also develop more confidence in speaking. Each full language course takes about 250 hours to complete, with each unit taking about 3-5 hours. Unfortunately, a lot of vocabulary is outdated, including both sexist and obsolete language. Additionally, the course was created for diplomats, so some topics are less relevant to most people’s everyday life. If you are interested in using Speed Learning Languages, use the free FSI courses instead for (comparatively) infinite return on your investment. Here’s the link again – all you need is an email address: FSI Language Courses

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50 Languages Mini-Review: Basically an online phrasebook

50Languages

Rating 2.8
Price:

Free

Summary

It is clear that 50Languages aims to make language learning accessible to anyone with an internet connection There is no signup required to use the site, so its resources are both free, and anonymous. You can find 100 free downloadable audio files of native speakers and ‘lessons’ in over 50 languages, in addition to vocabulary, alphabets, quizzes, and games. Unfortunately, none of these resources follow a cohesive learning path, nor does the platform help you memorize any of the information provided. Only one section, the Translation Trainer, aims to help you retain phrases. However, if you have saved phrases in multiple languages, all of them will be bunched together into one review without an indication of which language you should be translating into. The audio files and phrasebook lessons contain a series of phrases that do not seem to build on what you have previously learned; learning from this website is essentially like referencing a phrasebook you might buy for a trip to another country. 50Languages has a lot of information available, but it doesn’t seem like it can be used as a standalone language resource. Perhaps you can take phrases and vocabulary that interest you and compiled them into an Anki deck to help with retention.

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Mandarin HQ Mini-Review: Accessible, Real Spoken Chinese

mandarin hq

Rating 4.0
Price:

Freemium, Courses cost between $67-$87

Summary

Although a tad expensive for the quantity of content provided, if you have ever struggled with understanding different accents or slang terms when listening to native speakers, Mandarin HQ’s videos will certainly help make real conversations more accessible. Each of the 150 lessons focuses on one question, with six different people asking and responding to the question in order to familiarize your ear to different voices and accents. The format of each lesson goes through the process of listening, listening and reading [Chinese subtitles], listening and reading [English subtitles], and then a quiz. The dialogue is at a natural speed, accompanied by a transcript to help you study the material. The website has a lot of free, high quality content, such as short video lessons and interviews. There are also sample beginner and intermediate videos available under the “course” section, so you can check out if Mandarin HQ matches your learning style before deciding if you want to purchase the full course.

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An Honest Review of Assimil With Image of Woman Reading Book

Assimil Review — A Fresh Look at a Longstanding Resource

Assimil

Rating 4.0

Summary

Assimil is a French company that has been selling language-learning resources since 1929. Assimil materials are available as books, CDs, and downloadable e-courses; there are a variety of available course types, and instruction is based on interacting with phrases in the target language. The popular Sans Peine or, With Ease, courses are for absolute or false beginners that would like to reach the B2 level, but we think you’ll need to incorporate some other study materials to make this happen.


Quality 4.0

The language materials are reliable, the audio is high quality, and the program is fairly easy to use after a bit of practice.

Thoroughness 4.0

Assimil is chock-full of explanations and thorough translations for all material, but you might need more to reach the advertised B2 level.

Value 4.0

There are cheaper resources out there, but Assimil provides super solid instruction for the price.

I Like
  • The audio quality is great.
  • The culture notes add a lot of value.
  • There are plenty of grammar explanations, but they aren’t a focus.
I Don’t Like
  • The mobile app isn’t super intuitive.
  • The pronunciation feedback method could be better.
  • The exercises aren’t especially engaging.
Price

Prices vary by course. The Spanish e-course is €49.90, the Spanish With Ease book (no audio) is €26.90, and the Spanish With Ease Superpack is €74.90

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LangCorrect: Unlimited, Free Writing Practice With Feedback

LangCorrect

Rating 5.0
Price:

Free

Summary

LangCorrect is a free community-driven writing site where users can both contribute to editing others’ work and receive feedback on their own writing. After writing your piece, you may submit it to receive feedback from other site users. In order to ensure accurate feedback, multiple users can cross-check the corrections that were made and add comments. Volunteers and Patrons have access to writing in up to 10 languages, but typical users can write in a maximum of two languages at a time. Everyone is encouraged to both write and correct others’ work on the site. If you are looking to improve your writing skills in one of the over 100 languages available, trying out this resource is a must! However, if you’re studying a less common language and not finding many users to give you corrections, consider trying the exercise section in italki’s community features.

The rating is our best guess, but we haven’t yet had the opportunity to fully test and review this resource.

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