LingoHackers Mini-Review: Lots of Potential, Help It Grow!

LingoHackers

Rating 2.7

★★

★

★★★

Price:

Free

Summary

LingoHackers is a community centred site that helps language learners develop their writing skills. It is managed by a small group of volunteers who are passionate about language learning. Although it is relatively new and still in the development phase, joining the community can help it grow! You can choose to respond to a series of challenges and then receive feedback from others who are both learning that language and who are native speakers. A ‘challenge’ consists of responding to prompts, such as describing a photo, creating a story with 3 random nouns, conjugating irregular verbs, or writing in a daily journal. You can set personal goals for how many challenges you want to complete per week, and you are highly encouraged to provide feedback to others’ writing. By completing goals and contributing to the community, you can gain ‘reputation points,’ which allow you to create your own thread on the community forum. As the community is quite small at the moment, you will probably be more likely to connect with others on the site. If you want to be part of a growing community and contribute to the development of the site, you can join LingoHackers for free. However, if you are looking for a similar resource with a larger community, check out LangCorrect.

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Lingolia Mini-Review: Clear Grammar Explanations

Lingolia

Rating 4.0

★★★★★

Price:

10.49€/quarter, 20.99€/half-year, 41.99€/year

Summary

Lingolia is a reference site that supports you in understanding grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation for school or work; it can be used as a tool to support your language studies when you require clearer explanations of these concepts. English and German are currently the only languages that contain additional sections on vocabulary with listening and reading exercises, although it’s possible that the Spanish and French sections will develop these in the future. Each page provides a simple explanation of your chosen topic, and then an exercise (or more if you get the premium plan) to practice your comprehension. The best part about the exercises is that they give you immediate feedback about whether or not your response was correct, providing you with the opportunity to reflect on your mistake and correct it. If you don’t want to invest in a premium plan, you can use Lingolia’s free exercises and then check out other resources that provide similar exercises for free, such as SpanishDict or Conjuguemos. Unfortunately, there is no audio on the site to train pronunciation, but Lingolia does seem to fulfill its mission of providing simple explanations to support your learning.

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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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Wlingua Mini-Review: A Clear Learning Path

wlingua

Rating 4.0

★★★★★

Price:

Freemium, $10.99/mo, $21.99/quarter, $64.99/year

Summary

Wlingua relies on two methodologies for learner success: staggered repetition and progressive exposure. Staggered repetition seems identical to typical spaced repetition methods, while progressive exposure ensures that all new words and concepts are based on what you have previously learned. This ensures that there are no gaps in knowledge when it comes to tackling more advanced lessons. Additionally, each lesson focuses on one concept at a time in order to avoid overwhelming the learner, and there is a clear path for what you will be learning from beginner to the end. Each new word is “linked to its precise meaning or use” so that you can use them in context. The program consists of new vocabulary, grammar, exercises, reading practice, and audio by native speakers with different accents. The downside is that there seems to be more focus on reading and comprehension than on listening and speaking. Only Spanish and Russian are currently available from Beginner to Upper-Intermediate. Other languages are available at the beginner and elementary levels. You can use the app without registering for an unspecified number of days. There is limited basic content available for free, while the premium plan offers unlimited access, practice reviews tailored to your learning, and downloadable PDF lessons.

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Magic Lingua Mini-Review: Pricey But Potentially Worth It

magic lingua

Rating 3.1

★★★

★

★★

Price:

Courses cost between $31.99 and $499.99

Summary

Magic Lingua provides a series of individual courses for language learning. They advertise that you will gain enough confidence in speaking that you will be able to not only start a conversation with anyone, but do so without thinking about grammar and vocabulary. The full courses are offered for beginner, intermediate, and advanced speakers depending on the language (advanced is considered the B1 level). The voice-recognition software seems to do an adequate job of recognizing which words you are pronouncing correctly, and it does appear to help improve speaking abilities by actively reenacting dialogues with you. Therefore, the app alone may help develop your confidence to start conversations in your target language. Although not subscription based, each full course must be purchased individually. The 2-3 week crash courses seem more reasonable for the price, but the full 10 week courses are a hefty $200+. They consist of 10 modules plus hundreds of video lessons and speaking exercises. There is the option to complete the modules with live tutor sessions, or alone. Magic Lingua is probably worth your time if you don’t mind spending a lot on one app, but with the current price it might be better to look for alternatives. There are some free lessons available on their website for you to test out, but check back for more languages and levels in the future.

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Lingoni Mini-Review: Comprehensive German Lessons

Lingoni

Rating 4.3

★★★★

★

Price:

Quarterly memberships start at 49€, 299€ for lifetime access

Summary

Lingoni evolved from YouTube’s popular channel, German with Jenny. This web application provides video lessons, vocabulary training, and podcasts for A1-B2 German and French learners. Each lesson and vocabulary training is accompanied by a series of exercises, including but not limited to: translation practice, sentence building, listening practice, and correcting mistakes in pre-written sentences. The podcast also includes a worksheet where you can fill in the blanks while listening to improve your listening comprehension. Lingoni encourages 70% comprehension before allowing you move on to the next lesson. Overall, it seems to provide effective support for both beginner and intermediate learners to advance their skills. If you’re interested in checking out Jenny’s teaching style, there are lots of free videos available on her YouTube channel.

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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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…

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Early Indo-European Online Mini Review: Translation-Heavy

Early Indo-European Online

Rating 3.0

★★★★★

Price:

Free

Summary

The University of Texas at Austin Linguistics Research Center offers 10-lesson classes in Albanian, Armenian, Armenian – Romanized, Baltic, Old English, Old French, Gothic, Classic Greek, New Testament Greek, Hittite, Old Iranian, Old Irish, Latin, Old Norse, Old Russian, Sanskrit, Old Slavonic, and Tocharian. They are focused on translation and can be dull but will support you through reading short extracts from the classics.

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LyricsTraining Mini-Review: Listening Practice Through Songs

LyricsTraining

Rating 3.3

★★★

★

★★

Price:

Free

Summary

Lyrics training is a free app that claims to improve your ability to recognize the different sounds in your target language. Through listening to different songs, you can reinforce vocabulary, expressions, and grammar concepts. Although it does not provide any translations or explanations for these skills, it does seem to train listening comprehension and memorization. While listening to your chosen song, you will be provided with a choice of 4 words to help fill in an increasing percentage of lyrics; by the advanced level, you will be responsible for filling in 100% of the lyrics. Each of the 14 languages available seem to have a wide variety of song choices, and even if you don’t understand what the lyrics mean, you will probably be able to sing along. If you would prefer an app that focuses more on comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar, check out Lirica.

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