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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 Ouino With Image of Man on Computer

Ouino Review – My Experience Testing Their Spanish Course

Ouino

Rating 4.4

Summary

Ouino is a software program and mobile app with more than 500 lessons and 1,000 exercises in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. It’s curriculum-based with an academic approach (as opposed to relying on gameplay like some other language apps). It covers the basics such as vocab and pronunciation, but can also help you improve your conversation skills and master verb tenses.

Ouino would be great for you if you want to pick a language back up after not using it for a while, if you love structure, or if you want lots of practice. It could also be a good resource for language students who want to keep their skills sharp in between semesters.


Quality 4.2

The usability and content quality are great, but the layout and structure of the exercises take a minute to get used to.

Thoroughness 4.5

The lessons explain the topics in depth and give several examples.

Value 4.4

A lot of solid content and useful exercises are included for a relatively low cost.

I Like
  • Ouino accommodates both auditory and visual learning styles. Each lesson is read aloud as well as shown on screen. Exercises incorporate sound and pictures. Important words are color coded, read aloud quickly, and then repeated slowly.
  • You can access all the lessons at any time. You don’t have to work through a topic you already know if you don’t want to.
  • It’s very affordable, especially if you’re willing to commit to a six-month plan. A subscription gives you access to all courses.
I Don’t Like
  • The pronunciation section doesn’t grade you. You have to compare your recording with a native speaker and decide for yourself if you’re close enough.
  • The structure of the exercises is the same for every lesson in the section. It can get repetitive and boring.
Price

The 3-month plan is a one-time payment of $38.58.
The 6-month plan a one-time payment of $59.94.
The 12-month plan is a one-time payment of $83.88.
The Lifetime plan is a one-time payment of $95.76

Limited time offer. Lifetime Access is only $95.76!! You can get an additional language for 50% off, OR you could get all 5 languages for life for $191.52. You should know that Ouino enjoys one of the lowest product return rates in the industry. 🙂

I had never used Ouino before this review and wasn’t sure what to expect as there’s not a ton of impartial information about the program online. So, I decided to try it out.

Ouino Review – My Experience Testing Their Spanish Course Read More »

An Honest Review of Living Language Online Course With Image of Man on Computer

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.

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.

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

An Honest Review of Drops App With Image of Woman on Phone

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.

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

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

LingoDeer Review

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.

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

Transparent Language Review

Transparent Language Review – Not Exciting, But Language Offering Is So Vast That You May Need It

Last Updated on December 13, 2023.

Transparent Language

Rating 2.3

Summary

Transparent Language markets itself as “the most complete language-learning system for independent learners.” While there are lots of different exercises for you to work through in their Essentials Course, I thought that the material wasn’t all that helpful and that it got very repetitive. Although the courses might not be all that useful or in-depth, with over a hundred languages on offer it might be worth checking out if you want to learn the very basics of a more obscure language such as Buriat, Kazakh or Turkmen.


Quality 2.5

While the exercises are for the most part well-designed, diverse and easy to use, it is the core material itself that I found lacking.

Thoroughness 2.0

I hardly came across any explanations at all; practice was almost exclusively memorizing words and phrases.

Value 2.5

I would only consider using if I was studying a very rare language.

I Like
  • I really like the fact that they offer up courses in languages that are usually overlooked.
  • It’s pretty well-designed, easy to use and has lots of different activities to work through.
I Don’t Like
  • The core material is severely lacking in my opinion; it’s hard for me to imagine you’ll learn much grammar or how to form even a basic sentence yourself.
  • It gets very repetitive and so I didn’t find it that fun to work through.
  • You learn virtually nothing about the different cultural contexts of the languages you’re learning.
  • Their teaching methodology was the biggest issue for me, leaving you memorizing lots of words and phrases in isolation.
Price

There is a free two-week trial period for you to try it out. Otherwise, it is $24.95 per month or $149.95 for a whole year if you just select one language. If you want access to all of the languages it is then $49.95 per month and $249.95 a year.

Transparent Language Review – Not Exciting, But Language Offering Is So Vast That You May Need It Read More »

Michel Thomas Method Review – Avoid At All Costs

Michel Thomas Method

Rating 1.7

Summary

One of the most famous language teaching courses out there, Michel Thomas is a household name. The platform advertises itself as “The method that works with your brain” and boasts a teaching method “with no books, exercises, memorizing or homework” in several of its course descriptions. It’s available in 18 languages with courses that have material suitable for absolute beginners. I tried out the French foundation course and found it to be severely lacking and as such cannot recommend it at all. You may, however, have more luck with the other language courses that they offer.


Quality 2.0

Very easy to use, and the audios are decent quality, but I found that Michel Thomas’ discouraging manner flustered students, which detracted from the content’s quality in my experience.

Thoroughness 2.0

In my opinion, Michel Thomas doesn’t go into much depth and any explanations he offers up are just at a surface level.

Value 1.0

I wouldn’t use these even if they were free due to Michel Thomas’ teaching style which ruined the material for me.

I Like
  • Um…in all honesty I’m not sure if I enjoyed any of it!
I Don’t Like
  • Michel Thomas never praises the students, often interrupts them and creates a negative learning environment.
  • The pacing of the lessons often seems off to me and in certain places they feel very hurried.
  • I thought all of the lessons were almost identical and so it got quite monotonous working through them.
Price

There are several different courses available with prices ranging from $11.99 to $100.

Before working my way through the French foundation course, I had never tried a Michel Thomas course despite hearing so much about it.

Michel Thomas Method Review – Avoid At All Costs Read More »

Grammar Hero Review – I Like It A Lot, But Wish It Were Cheaper

Grammar Hero

Rating 4.2

Summary

Grammar Hero is a product from Olly Richards, the creator of I Will Teach You A Language. It follows the story-based method of teaching languages, but this time with a focus on the most difficult grammar points. You start out by reading a story and the grammar point is underlined, later you learn the rules, then you re-read the story with explanations, and finally you’ll practice using the grammar point to express your thoughts and opinions. It’s a comprehensive method that’s meant to help you internalize the grammar.


Quality 4.5

The stories are unique and interesting, while highlighting the grammar points.

Thoroughness 4.5

Covers the most challenging grammar in each language.

Value 3.5

I wish it were cheaper so that more learners can take advantage of it.

I Like
  • The stories are different for every language.
  • Enjoyable to read, clear audio recordings, and more interesting than other ways to study grammar.
  • Focuses on only the most challenging grammar points.
I Don’t Like
  • It’s pretty expensive.
  • The final “Activate” section is just a worksheet. It’s useful but hardly exciting.
Price

It costs $197 to purchase Grammar Hero in each language. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee.

Olly Richards is the creator of the very popular blog, I Will Teach You a Language. He speaks 8 languages and provides a ton of good advice to language learners.

Grammar Hero Review – I Like It A Lot, But Wish It Were Cheaper Read More »

Mimic Method Review: Trying Out The Elemental Sounds Courses

Mimic Method

Rating 3.2

Summary

Created by Idahosa, the Mimic Method’s ‘Elemental Sounds Masters Classes’ are not your traditional type of language learning course as you won’t learn any grammar or vocabulary. The focus is instead on learning the elemental sounds of the language. This is because once you can conceptualise them, then you can train your ear to hear and understand them and afterwards train your mouth to produce and pronounce these sounds. Useful for both beginners and advanced learners, you would obviously need to use it in conjunction with a couple of other resources to progress in your target language.


Quality 3.5

Easy to use and navigate, the production quality is fine without being amazing.

Thoroughness 4.0

Quite technical throughout most of the course, Idahosa thoroughly explains the method and sounds in each language.

Value 2.0

Very expensive for what it is, I think it is as interesting take at learning pronunciation but you won’t get anything else from it.

I Like
  • Some of the homework exercises are really interesting and quite unlike anything you’ll find on other language courses.
  • Idahosa goes into quite a lot of depth on how to pronounce the different elemental sounds of each language. At the end of the course you will know all the different sounds from the language that you are learning.
  • It was a fresh way of learning a language that I had never contemplated before
I Don’t Like
  • I found the course to be very technical and while other people will surely find it interesting, it didn’t resonate so much with me unfortunately as it just wasn’t that fun to follow.
  • You would certainly have to use the course alongside other learning resources which actually teach you the grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, speaking and cultural context of your target language.
  • You do not get much material for the high price that it costs.
Price

For lifetime access to a course, the Mimic Method website has slashed its cost from $394 to $197 although I am uncertain if it always stays that price.

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