Michael – Perapera

JapanesePod101 Coupon Code

Michael — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:37:45 +0000

These JapanesePod101 coupon codes have been tested and confirmed to work as of Feb 12th, 2023.

Japanese is a dynamic language spoken by about 128 million people, mostly in Japan. It is also a challenging language, especially if you’re learning on your own!

Fortunately, with an abundance of great Japanese courses available, there has never been a better time to learn Japanese than now. In our opinion, JapanesePod101 is the most well thought out and fun language learning program out there (Read our full JapanesePod101 review to find out why!).

Plus you can now get an excellent rate why you buy with JapanesePod101 promo codes when you enter the JapanesePod101 coupons at checkout.

Both new and existing customers can take advantage of these 77%, 60% and 30% promo codes for JapanesePod101.

77% or 60% Off Promo Codes for JapanesePod101 (Premium Membership Only)

Click the blue button below to access the secret sales page and read more about the 60% or 77% lifetime discount offer and japanesepod101 promo codes (the best discount available). This unadvertised promotion might not be for everyone, as the up-front subscription cost is high, but if you plan on studying long-term then it’s a great way to save a good bundle when you buy through the sales page (with promo codes already entered).

77% Off JapanesePod101Lifetime Membership Promotion

30% Off (Any Membership) JapanesePod101 Coupon Code for 2022

Here is the discount code to activate your JapanesePod101 lifetime account and get up to $165 off JapanesePod101.com (based on a 24-month PremiumPlus subscription – both the premium subscription & basic subscriptions are cheaper). Your 30% discount code is automatically applied to your subscription plans at checkout when you sign up using the link below:

JapanesePod101 CouponGet Up To $165 Off

Existing JapanesePod101 users can also receive the discount by using the promo code. Read on for more information on using it with your account.

How to use the JapanesePod101 Coupon Code

First-Time Users

Snagging your discount for JapanesePod101 is as easy as 1-2-3. Even so, we have listed the steps and included pictures, so you can easily follow along and get the best deals for all subscription plans.

1. Click here for your JapanesePod101 Discount Code

You will be directed to JapanesePod101 site. Please note that the discount coupon has already been applied to the listed prices.

2. Choose your Subscription Plan

Here, you will be asked to choose from a JapanesePod101 Basic, Premium or Premium PLUS subscription plans. Each monthly subscription plan will be covered in more detail later in this article.

3. Enter Payment Info

Next, you will enter your payment information including your verified billing address. Accepted forms of payments include Visa, MasterCard, American Express and PayPal.

4. Choose a Subscription Term

Then, you will choose the length of your subscription from one to 24 months at checkout. The monthly charge for JapanesePod101 drops significantly the longer your subscription length. Coupled with your 30% discount code, you can save loads of money by opting for a longer membership for JapanesePod101.

5. Verify Your Account

Finally, you will be directed to enter your email address and verify your account. You can now begin one of the most in-depth programs for learning how to speak Japanese and master the language online.

Existing JapanesePod101 Users

If you are already enjoying learning the Japanese language and culture online with the JapanesePod101 content, you are eligible to save, using codes, coupons, promotions, and offers. Follow the steps below to take advantage of this offer.

1. First, you must log in to your JapanesePod101 account.

2. After you’re logged in, come back to this page and click on our discount code link:

JapanesePod101 CouponGet Up To $165 Off

3. You will then be asked to choose your subscription plan. This is an excellent time to upgrade to Premium or Premium PLUS if you have been using the Basic monthly subscription plan.

4. Next, you will be asked to update or verify your payment information and choose the length of your subscription. As mentioned, the monthly cost for JapanesePod101 is cheaper when you sign up for a longer period of time (in addition to when you apply the JapanesePod101 promo code).

5. Once you click “Complete” at the bottom of your screen, you will be able to continue enjoying JapanesePod101 as you were or with your upgraded features (with coupons now applied).

Does the JapanesePod101 Coupon Code Work Everywhere?

Yes! You can use these promo codes for JapanesePod101 from anywhere you have access to the internet.

JapanesePod101 by Innovative Language is the leading language learning program in many areas around the globe. This truly exemplifies the phrase learning-on-the-go.

Should I Choose Basic, Premium or Premium PLUS Subscription?

Basic

The Basic monthly subscription grants you access to the extensive video and audio lesson library. Download and print PDFs of your lessons to study over later. You will be able to access JapanesePod101 basic on desktop, laptop, Android, iPhone or iPad and you will have access to hundreds of core words and phrases every month.

Opt for the Basic monthly subscription if you:

have limited funds to spend
would like to “test the waters” to see if you want to learn Japanese more in-depth
would like to learn key phrases and terms to get along while traveling to Japan

Premium

The Premium monthly subscription includes all the same features in the Basic subscription plus interactive lesson quizzes & interactive learning tools. You’ll receive full access to flashcards, HD video, thousands of core words and phrases, daily Japanese lessons, voice-recording tools, audio dictionary and grammar bank.

Opt for the most popular Premium monthly subscription if you:

have tried the Basic subscription and would like more in-depth study materials
want to be quizzed on what you have learned
want to work toward becoming fluent in Japanese
want to understand Japanese movies or music or converse with Japanese-speaking friends
enjoy daily lessons and tips to keep new material fresh in your mind

Premium PLUS

The Premium PLUS subscription is the best way to immerse yourself in all things Japanese. You will have complete access to video and audio lesson libraries, as well as one-on-one access to a native Japanese speaking teacher.

Other features included with the Premium PLUS subscription include everything included with the Premium subscription plus ongoing professional assessments, personalized learning plans and personal assignments.

Consider opting for the Premium PLUS monthly subscription if you:

plan to become a fluent Japanese speaker for business or personal reasons
enjoy the convenience of one-on-on instruction
would like to know where you stand with professional assessments
want a learning plan designed especially for you (not limited to a set syllabus)

Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Subscription

We are so glad you have signed up with JapanesePod101 to begin your journey to Japanese fluency. Whether you are just starting out or continuing on your adventure (with a better rate using our coupons, of course,) the following tips can help you make the most out of your subscription and study time.

Carve out daily time to study. Even 30 minutes a day is helpful when learning a language.
Opt-in on Word of the Day and Daily Lesson emails for daily refreshers.
Use downtime driving in traffic or riding the subway to listen to Japanese Podcasts.
Print lessons and read over them when you cannot watch or listen to them.
Use all learning tools in your subscription for different approaches to learning.
Ask your teacher questions – Premium PLUS subscribers.
Keep track of your progress on your dashboard, and earn points.
Seek out groups, watch movies, and listen to music or podcasts in Japanese to enhance understanding.
Invite your friends to use this discount code offer, too, so you can learn Japanese together.

JapanesePod101 CouponGet Up To $165 Off

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

JapanesePod101 Review

Michael — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:10:43 +0000

Thanks for checking out our JapanesePod101 Review! Information on this page was last checked and updated on Feb 12th, 2023.

When I started out on my path to Japanese fluency, resources such as textbooks and audio courses on CD were the only realistic way to make progress with this challenging language. Thankfully, there’s now a lot more options and learning tools when it comes to studying Japanese online.

The problem that students of Japanese now face is one of quality rather than quantity. So which solutions give you the best bang for your buck?

In my humble opinion, JapanesePod101 is one of the better online courses out there for people who are serious about making significant progress in the language. As promised, I’ve finally got around to writing a complete JapanesePod101 Review, so here goes!

Already made up your mind and looking for our promo code?

JapanesePod101 Review: Summary

JapanesePod101 uses a combination of video and audio lessons to teach you everything you need to improve your Japanese. The course provides supplementary written materials & listening comprehension exercises that go into more detail for each lesson. This audio + video + written immersive technique has a proven track record of success for students of many languages, and that’s why it’s used by JapanesePod.

Name: JapanesePod101

URL: www.japanesepod101.com

Price: From $4 to $23 per month

Currency: USD

Operating System: Web Browser and Mobile App

Application Category: Language Learning Software

Description: JapanesePod101 is a real world language learning software that teaches Japanese language mainly through video and audio lessons.

In a Nutshell: I’ve been a JapanesePod101 user for a few years now, and overall it’s been extremely helpful for learning Japanese. No product is perfect, but the JapanesePod team is continually producing high quality new content and lessons that are easy to understand, making this an exceptional resource. Highly recommended. Read our full review below.

Quality of Learning Materials:

Quantity of Lessons:

Effective and Efficient:

Teaches Useful Japanese:

Price:

 4/5

 5/5

 4/5

Overall Score: 4.4

 4.4/5

The Goods

The Bads

❝ Now I communicate with Japanese people on a daily basis, and I am positive it all has been possible thanks to JapanesePod101.❞ ― Victor Trejo

Why Learn Japanese in the First Place?

Learning a new language is one of the most rewarding skills a person can acquire throughout the course of their life. It enriches the soul, unlocks new ways of understanding, and helps understand a different culture. It even deepens your understanding of your own language and culture.

Research has been done by universities around the world about the benefit that learning languages brings; and the results are immensely positive. A variety of University studies have even gone as far to suggest that learning new languages increases cognitive abilities in many other areas. The research is there, and a whole new world awaits for anybody looking to expand their horizons with new language skills.

Japanese is spoken by about 128 million people throughout the entirety of Japan and the Japanese diaspora. Japanese learners can benefit in their Japanese learning by understanding a language that can be valuable in business; or if you’re just looking to understand your favorite anime or Japanese drama.

The problem is: Japanese is also one of the hardest asian languages to learn, and it has a reputation for being challenging amongst first time language learners and polyglots alike.

Let’s take a look at how well JapanesePod101 performs as an effective Japanese learning program and set of learning tools to help you learn new words, grammar and vocabulary.

The Pros: What We Like Most About JapanesePod101

Pro #1: Structured Lessons for Optimal Learning

When it comes to learning a new language, there are two things that are of great importance:

QUANTITY – That is, listening to and reading a LOT of content.
QUALITY – Choosing content that is not only interesting and engaging, but suitable for your current level of knowledge, challenging you just the right amount.

So how does JapanesePod101 shape up on the basis of quantity and quality? Well, first off, an incredible amount of content is on offer. At the time of writing, a JapanesePod101 membership includes 6935 video & audio lessons. Pretty incredible, as the staff continues to add high quality audio and video content regularly. The breakdown by learner level was as follows:

Absolute Beginner: 1,629 audio and video Lessons and 445 assignments spread over 67 lesson pathways
Beginner: 1,641 audio and video lessons and 320 assignments spread over 58 modules
Intermediate: 894 audio and video lessons and 199 assignments spread over 27 modules
Upper Intermediate: 584 audio and video lessons and 203 assignments spread over 17 modules
Advanced: 632 audio and video lessons and 124 assignments spread over 17 modules
Bonus: 1555 audio and video lessons and zero assignments spread over 10 modules

That’s literally 10’s of thousands of hours of content which, if tackled systematically and mastered, would provide a solid base of Japanese proficiency. So it’s double thumbs up on the quantity front for japanesepod101 com.

How about quality? The lessons are professionally recorded and engaging. Certainly above and beyond your average Japanese audio course. There was clearly a lot of love and effort put into the content creation. The tutors go out of their way to explain any cultural information and to keep the lessons light hearted and fun.

Pro #2: Gradually Phasing Out English

I do like how English is used for the early lessons, but then gradually lessened and then later removed entirely. This is a nice way to wean you off English over time, until you’re learning 100% in Japanese.

Pro #3: Extremely Thorough Lesson Materials

Another cool aspect of the JapanesePod101 library is the level of detail they have put into the formats and resources provided. With each lesson, you get:

The complete lesson (audio or video)
Line-by-line transcript (with recording feature)
The Japanese dialogue only (no English)
Lesson notes
Kanji close-up
Lesson checklists
Downloadable MP3 file & PDFs

In short, the resources provided are very thorough. With so many incomplete courses out there, it’s nice to see a provider that cares about its audience and covers all the possible bases.

The Cons: Things We Didn't Like About JapanesePod101

Assuming that you steadily learn the content and put in the necessary time, JapanesePod will give you a solid foundation in spoken Japanese. Period. However, no one language course can be 100% exhaustive. As I’ve written before, you should always use multiple resources to make progress in any language. With that said, here are some of the things that you won’t find included with this course:

Con #1: Lack of Speaking Practice

JapanesePod101 is great for building up your passive vocabulary and getting used to hearing the language spoken naturally. What it won’t give you is improved speaking proficiency. At least not immediately. For that you need to actually speak the language with friends or, better, a private tutor. JapanesePod doesn’t provide this with the Basic or Premium subscriptions, but the PremiumPlus membership does include 1-1 teaching time.

I’m of the opinion that learning to speak Japanese doesn’t need to be rushed. This goes for double if you’re a beginner-intermediate learner and don’t live in Japan yet. Focus on building up your passive knowledge first, which will give you a wider vocabulary and overall grasp of the language. Once you are understanding a fair amount of the dialogues, you can upgrade your membership or jump online and hire a private tutor to get some practice hours in. But only when you are ready. Far too many people go too quickly, perhaps feeling obligated to start speaking immediately.

Con #2: The Kanji Basics

Although JapanesePod provides extremely thorough lesson notes and introduces new kanji systematically, you’ll still need a grounding in the kanji to get the basics down before these notes are useful. There are a number of ways to achieve this, but studying on your own will produce faster results than any offline Japanese class.

I personally recommend the Heisig Approach (previously covered in this article) to get to grips with the kanji. Even if you don’t fully master all 2000 of the commonly used characters, the Heisig course will get you comfortable with the radicals and general concept of kanji.

Con #3: Information Overload

Whilst the quantity of lessons is amazing, it can also leave you feeling overwhelmed and lost for direction. For those who like to be hand-held through a language course and follow a strict curriculum, the JapanesePod101 methodology might be a bit of a struggle.

It’s unsurprising that the syllabus is a bit messy given that JapanesePod101 is the flagship program of Innovative Language with the largest library of lessons, and is getting constantly added to. They did try to counter this problem by grouping lessons into pathways, and believe it or not, there is actually a natural progression to the lessons. That being said, however, without a decent amount of independence and self-assessment, you can easily be left with gaps in your knowledge and a lack of motivation. For this reason, some learners may benefit from using JapanesePod101 as a supplementary tool alongside a more structured textbook.

Top Tip: The Premium+ membership will provide you with a fully personalized learning program with professional assessment and 1-on-1 language instruction. We highly recommend this option for those who like to have more structure and guidance in their learning progression.

Useful Extra Features & Tools

To aid you in mastering Japanese, there’s a bunch of extra tools that are available to use within the platform. It’s very nice to have these options for whenever you get bored during the lessons or just want to take a break. Browsing around these extra features was quite enjoyable – for example, we loved building up our own flash card decks, and categorising them all into interesting topics.

Flashcards

Similar to Anki or Quizlet, the flashcard feature within JapanesePod101 allows you to create your own flashcard decks, or choose a premade deck from a list of over 100 possible decks. You can go through and study each word in isolation and then test yourself when you’re ready, based on the audio, Kanji, transliteration or an image (your choice). It’s also very encouraging to see that the comments section is super active, with some decks having hundreds of comments from other learners just like yourself.

Word Bank

Ever learnt a new word only to forget it again the next day? The word bank ensures you never lose a word. At any point during a lesson or when learning new vocabulary, you can hit the plus icon and add a word (or phrase) to your word bank for you to review later. You can even categorise them into groups and export your entire list as an excel file. A great way to keep track of all your new vocabulary.

Most Common Words List

A comprehensive list of the 2541 most common words in the Japanese language. You can filter by category and by ranking (the most common 100 words, 200 words etc.) – very useful for selecting which vocab terms to learn, ensuring you don’t go off track by learning outdated or obsolete vocabulary.

Topical Vocab Lists

100s of lists based on fun & interesting categories such as ‘Top Anime Words & Phrases’, ‘Inspirational Quotes’ and ‘Gossiping Phrases’.

Japanese Dictionary

Quite useful to have. Also includes expletives!

‘Word of the Day’ Emails

An added optional bonus. You’ll receive a new word to your inbox every day.

Japanese Grammar Bank (Love This!)

Got a niggling question about a specific grammar point? Can’t quite remember how to conjugate a verb? The grammar bank is really something unique that we haven’t seen in other programs by Innovative Language. You can search and filter by level, spelling and category, and get a detailed breakdown of the grammar with examples. The grammar bank is always being updated and added to – there’s over 400 articles at the time of writing this.

Japanese Key Phrase List

A list of useful phrases to get you started. Things like ‘good morning’ and ‘what’s your name?’.

Top tip: Click slideshow, toggle off the English, and select loop. You’ll then get a full hands-free audio rundown of all the phrases. Allow your brain to absorb the phrases as listen to the phrases whilst cleaning your room, doing some exercise or stretching. Perfect for beginners.

Mobile App

The mobile app acts as a mirror-image of the browser based application, providing all of the same content. Having it all accessible from your mobile device is a huge selling point as it means you can practice lessons and review flashcards from anywhere.

JLPT Practice Tests

One great addition is the JLPT practice tests, so you can test your knowledge before the actual exam. Our only complaint is that they are only for N4 and N5.

What are the Lessons like?

Audio Lessons

The audio-only lessons are informative, usually engaging, and are presented with an easy to use media player with pause & play functions. There are sometimes additional tools to maximize the value of each lesson.

Video Lessons

The video lessons are well-produced with nice graphics. The speakers are professional and concise in their dictation.

PDFs

Sometimes watching videos or listening to audio files doesn’t give someone all the tools they need to learn. Many people (like myself) need to read and study written material with structured lesson notes in order to best commit it to long term memory. Each and every lesson has an accompanying set of lesson notes that can be downloaded as an easy-to-read PDF.

A Sneak Peek Into Some of the Lessons

To give you a better idea of what to expect from the lessons we thought it’d be a good idea to actually show you 3 sample topics from the beginner, intermediate and upper intermediate levels:

Level 2 Lesson Pathway (Beginner)

Level 3 Lesson Pathway (Intermediate)

Level 4 Lesson Pathway (Upper Intermediate)

Level 2 Lesson Pathway (Beginner)

Level 3 Lesson Pathway (Intermediate)

Level 4 Lesson Pathway (Upper Intermediate)

Who Should Buy JapanesePod101?

Japanese is an excellent learning resource that will be incredibly useful if you are someone who:

Has plans to live & work in Japan, and is looking to learn functional everyday language
Wants to start a business in Japan and is looking to understand the business culture
Is looking to take the JLPT exams to qualify for a university in Japan
Has a keen interest in Japanese culture, food and traditions
Enjoys the freedom of independent learning, from anywhere, at your own pace

Who Should NOT Buy JapanesePod101?

JapanesePod101 is not for everyone. The methodology goes against the norm of the traditional textbook approach, and so it’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea. You might want to look elsewhere if you are someone who:

JapanesePod101 vs. Competitors

When it comes to learning Japanese, there seems to be no shortage of content out there in the world to help you achieve this (admittedly challenging!) feat. Whether you are a casual learner seeking to expand your horizons, a businessperson with connections in Japan with a need to learn, or an avid language expert, there are lots of options out there. How does JapanesePod101 stack up to its competition?

JapanesePod101 vs Rocket Japanese

Rocket Languages is a language learning company that has made it their mission to use technology to its fullest extent to help people learn languages. Their Japanese language program is very immersive and is offered at a competitive price to that of JapanesePod101. Their key selling point is that their content is offered at one price for life (They also offer a tiered membership level similar to JapanesePod101). The structure of the lessons is also similar to JapanesePod101 in that there is heavy emphasis placed on audio content.

Read our Review of Rocket Japanese here.

JapanesePod101 Vs. FluentU

FluentU is a language immersion company that has placed a big emphasis on video content to engage learners and teach 12 different languages. Their approach is unique in that they take videos from Youtube and add interactive captions. The concept is unique and interesting but one of the main complaints about FluentU’s platform is that they lack in content, and some of the content is from advertising/commercials. In a world where we are constantly inundated with advertising, the last thing we need is commercials in our language learning.

Read our full review of FluentU here.

JapanesePod101 Vs Duolingo

Duolingo is great because it’s free! While they do offer a paid version that adds a few features and removes advertising from the site, the free version is great as is. From short lessons that focus on teaching Japanese from the ground-up, to gamifying your language learning effort to have you collect virtual currency; DuoLingo is a fun and interactive way to learn Japanese at your own pace. Whatever your current level, if you’re serious about learning Japanese you might want to look elsewhere, and use Duolingo as a sort of secondary service to reinforce the lessons learned in a more comprehensive program to learn Japanese.

Read our in-depth review of Duolingo Japanese here.

How Much Does JapanesePod101 Cost? Is it Worth The Money?

JapanesePod101.com offers three levels of membership at different price points to help accommodate people of varying budgets. Anyone looking to sign up for a membership with JapanesePod101 should consider how serious they are about learning Japanese and also their budget.

The three tiers are branded as Basic, Premium, and Premium plus and the price points run at $4, $10, & $23 respectively. The basic membership offers the bare minimum of access to the site’s extensive list of features such as Japanese audio podcasts and lots of regular new lesons, while the Premium Plus membership offers everything you would ever need to have to learn japanese plus the kitchen sink! The $10 version offers a healthy medium of value and affordability, and would be our suggestion for anybody serious about using JapanesePod101 as a way to learn Japanese.

JapanesePod101 Basic vs Premium vs Premium Plus: What’s the Difference?

The three tiers of membership are curated towards the interest and seriousness one has in learning Japanese. While the Basic Plan for $4 includes access to the thousands of lessons and their corresponding notes, there is plenty more content and features that are under ‘lockdown’ for premium memberships only.

The Premium membership, which starts at $10 per month, includes a wealth of features including, but certainly not limited to; HD video lessons, 1900 more core words and phrases, word banks, vocabulary slideshows, voice recording tools, and interactive lesson quizzes.

There is also a Premium Plus membership, and for $23 per month you can have a teacher assigned to you from JapanesePod101 that will custom tailor you a lesson plan and give you ongoing professional assessment, assignments, and curriculum for as long as you pay the monthly recurring fee. If you’re serious about learning Japanese, the PremiumPlus membership is for you.

Use Our Promo Code To Get 30% Off

We have a special deal going with JapanesePod101. If you sign up through our link, you’ll get 30% off the regular price. For this value, I can wholeheartedly recommend getting a membership.

Here’s the link:

We’re not sure how long this one will last, so take advantage while you can!

The Secret Lifetime Membership Option (Up To 77% Off!)

For those that don’t like monthly payments, JapanesePod101 has a special secret lifetime membership package designed for those who want to make learning Japanese, and other languages, a lifetime pursuit.

They don’t really like to advertise it, but for a one-time payment of $599, you can purchase lifetime access to the ever-expanding JapanesePod101 content of materials at the Premium level. That means if you use the program for 5 years, you’ll be saving 60% off the regular price.

There are other deals too: an additional 2 languages for $999, and even the option to purchase the entire Language Pod curriculum spanning 34 languages and hundreds of thousands of lessons, all at a premium membership level.

This deal might be a head-scratcher for some. I mean: who really needs access to learn 34 languages? That said, there are people this might appeal to. For example if you are an avid world traveler and want to learn a bit of the language from every new country you visit, you could have one purchase to take care of all of your language needs forever.

JapanesePod101 Review Conclusion: One of The Best Options For Self Study of Japanese

So, is JapanesePod101 worth it? As someone who’s tried countless Japanese courses, I think JapanesePod101 is an excellent resource for learning Japanese, from beginners to advanced. For beginner to intermediate there are tons of lessons that cover a wide range of useful vocabulary, topics and cultural learning.

In the past, high intermediate and advanced learners may have complained that there was not quite enough material at their level to be worthwhile, but that has been addressed in recent years.

The teachers are — for the most part — entertaining and fun, which makes it feel less like a classroom, and the language used is both authentic and natural. JapanesePod101.com is a great way to learn Japanese and get some exposure to Japanese culture.

The course creators are constantly creating new and interesting lessons that are actually useful if you live (or want to live) in Japan. I certainly would have made even faster progress as an absolute beginner with my studies if I’d had this course back when I started learning Japanese!

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

Yoyo Chinese Review

Michael — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 05:41:49 +0000

Editor’s Note: This Yoyo Chinese Review has been checked for accuracy and updated as of Aug 10th, 2022.

What’s the best way to learn Chinese? Over the past year, our editors have tested and compared the most popular Chinese language learning resources available. Read on to find out what we thought of Yoyo Chinese, one of the more popular language programs, in our Yoyo Chinese review!

Already made up your mind and looking to start your free trial?

Yoyo Chinese Review: Summary

Name: Yoyo Chinese

URL: www.yoyochinese.com

Operating System: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Currency: USD

Price: Subscription (to all courses) is $29/month, $149/6 months or $249/year. Lifetime access to everything is $399.

Application Category: Language Learning Software

Description: An online Chinese language learning company that focuses on quality video production to teach Chinese to students around the world.

In A Nutshell: As a program that began as the result of a Youtube video gone viral in 2007, founder Yangyang Chen has been passionately pursuing her goal of making the Chinese language accessible for people around the world. With over 8 million lessons delivered to over 120,000 students worldwide, the consensus is clear that Yoyo Chinese is making good on Chen’s goal to teach Chinese to the world in a structured and effective manner.

Quality:

Quantity:

Effectiveness:

Practicality:

Price:

 5/5

 4/5

 5/5

 4/5

 3/5

Overall Score: 4.2

 4.2/5

The Goods

High quality professional video lessons
Teaches Chinese Characters effectively
Very engaging and likable host
Brilliant grammar explanations
Courses are logical and structured very well
Integrated spaced-repetition flashcards, review quizzes and lesson tracking
The first 45 lessons are free!

The Bads

Uses more English instruction than competitor programs
Limited to beginner & advanced learners
Somewhat expensive
No mobile app for on-the-go lessons
The Chinese character courses only focus on simplified Chinese
Better programs exist for Chinese writing (like Scritter, for example)

Yoyo Chinese Review: Overview

Yoyo Chinese is always being updated and improved, and it’s gone through some pretty major changes since when we first wrote this review over a year ago, however the essence of the program is still the same – high quality video lessons delivered by the very likable host (and founder) Yangyang Cheng.

The program actually consists of 6 unique courses, focusing on both conversational Chinese and the Chinese writing system. These courses are:

Beginner Conversational (60 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L1-2)
Intermediate Conversational (60 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L3-4)
Upper Intermediate Conversational (48 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L4-5)
Chinese Characters (300 commonly-used characters spread over 24 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L2)
Chinese Characters 2 (300 commonly-used characters spread over 24 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L3)
Chinese Character Reader (6 books over 30 units, roughly equivalent to HSK L3)

Each unit contains between 2 and 5 lessons and focuses on a single topic or aspect of the Chinese language (for example, ‘Talking About Hobbies’ or ‘Measure Words’). Some units are also there to review what you’ve learnt so far in the course.

The Pros: Here’s What We Liked Most About Yoyo Chinese

Pro #1: Makes a ‘Difficult’ Language Easy

The Yoyo Chinese curriculum and language is broken down for complete beginners, using concepts that are easy for English speakers to understand. The lessons often utilize mnemonic devices, songs and even some rather comical raps to help you remember what you’ve learnt! Within a few lessons you’re already learning usable vocabulary and building basic sentences in Chinese.

Pro #2: Consistently Good Quality Lessons

One of the things we loved most about Yoyo Chinese was the fact that the program gives off the appearance that the founder, YangYang Cheng is our personal Chinese instructor. You’ll find that every lesson is delivered by her and she maintains the level of engagement and professionalism throughout the entire course (something that can’t be said for some more botched-up curriculums like ChineseClass101).

This sort of personal dedication to the quality of the content by the founder of the company is something that is almost devoid amongst competing Chinese language learning programs and was something we thought makes Yoyo Chinese really stand out amongst the competition.

Pro #3: It’s Very Motivating

Yangyang is very upbeat and positive, always saying ‘good job’ and praising you at the end of each lesson. Now that they’ve introduced the progress tracker into the platform, there’s an extra motivation to maintain your study streak and see your progress bars fill up. The study schedule is also a great help. Knowing exactly what to study on each day, right down to a checklist, really helps you to see the end goal and stay motivated.

Pro #4: Downloadable Resources

Yes, everything can be downloaded (apart from the videos). This allows you to study completely on your own time and fit your learning around your busy schedule. You can listen to the audios whilst driving to work, at the gym or on a lunch break. The Chinese books can be uploaded onto your kindle to read before bed, and you can browse through vocab lists when sitting on the toilet.

Pro #5: Active FAQs & Social Media Channels

In case you didn’t know already, Yoyo Chinese has a BIG YouTube presence – over 300,000 subscribers! They give a lot of their content away for free and are constantly uploading new videos. But it’s not just their social media that’s growing but the course itself. They are always coming out with new updates and adding more content to the blog.

Similarly, the FAQ section for each lesson is always brimming with comments from other students and is definitely worth browsing through. It’s encouraging to see that the support team responds to almost every message, clarifying any confusion and providing further explanations.

Pro #6: Focus on People and Culture

You’ll often get a lesson which is slightly different from the usual ‘stand in front of a digital whiteboard and talk’ kind of lesson and instead takes you out into the streets of China, into a restaurant, or supermarket. These interviews provide you with an insight into how the language is used in context and how people actually speak. Most of the time people don’t use complete sentences or correct grammar, so it’s really useful to get this kind of exposure to the language. It’s also a great way to test your listening skills.

The Cons: Yoyo Chinese Is Very Good, But Not Perfect

So what’s the catch? It’s true, Yoyo Chinese is a brilliant resource for learning Chinese but it’s not perfect. Here’s a few of the things we didn’t like as much.

Con #1: Simplified Chinese Only

Yoyo Chinese only teaches Simplified Chinese characters and completely ignores the traditional characters that are widely used in places like Hong Kong and Taiwan. So if you are looking to base your travels or the majority of your Chinese speaking in either of those places, then Yoyo Chinese might not be the language learning program for you.

Con #2: No Mobile Application

Yoyo Chinese is a great program on a desktop computer, and even works well on a mobile browser. but in the age of the mobile application, we see that as a significant downside, especially given the fact that the majority of Yoyo Chinese’s competitors offer great mobile apps that can be easily used on the go.

Note: They have promised that the new app will be coming out soon, but when exactly is anyone’s guess.

Con #3: Too Much English!

To learn a language you really need to get as much exposure as possible, seeing it being used in different contexts over and over again. Unfortunately, the video lessons contain more English explanations than spoken Chinese which can be quite limiting and even time consuming when you just want to hear the language being used. The street interviews are great, but there’s not many of them. So you may want to supplement the course with outside material if you want to progress faster.

Con #4: The Writing Lessons Could Be Better

There’s better options out there for learning how to write in Chinese, for example Scritter. Yoyo Chinese simply shows you the stroke order and lets you get on with it, but Scritter actually provides real-time grading and stroke-level feedback which is really important for any pictorial language, especially Chinese.

Con 5: Limited To Beginner/Intermediate Learners

While the quality of content contained within Yoyo Chinese is very high, there is a limited amount of content. Each module contains between 100-200 lessons and those lessons tend to be on the short side.

Learning Chinese is no casual affair, and while we believe Yoyo Chinese is great for beginner and intermediate learners of the language, the program does not contain materials that will help someone become completely fluent in the language. You’ll need to supplement the course with extra materials and look elsewhere for an advanced course.

The Main Dashboard & Course Layout

The new update brought about a new sleek facelift to the main dashboard and how everything is laid out. In the top left you have 3 options: Me, Learn, & Mastery.

‘Me’ is where you can see your own personal profile and your learning stats; your current learning streak, number of completed lessons etc. You can change your name and enter your details here, and your profile picture will get changed to your Zodiac animal – pretty cool!

Clicking on ‘Learn’ will take you straight to the meat of the course – the lessons. You can toggle between the 6 courses and move between all the levels. Completed lessons will be shown with a green ring around them.

Finally, the ‘Mastery’ option gives you access to further learning through additional learning resources, namely the integrated spaced-repetition flashcards, a pinyin chart, and access to the download center.

The interactive pinyin chart is super useful for drilling your pronunciation. It’s a chart showing all the possible sounds in the Chinese language, including the tones. Yangyang even has videos demonstrating how to create each sound correctly, and you can listen to each sound by hovering your mouse over it. It’s something that we found ourselves returning to time and time again.

The download center is an absolute treasure trove of content! Here you’ll find all the lesson notes (for every course), complete study schedules, vocab glossaries, all the audio files, quiz worksheets, ebooks, HSK word lists, Chinese resume templates, infographics… the list goes on.

So, what are the lessons like?

Every lesson follows the same basic format. First, you have the video, where Yangyang usually reviews what you’ve previously learnt and then builds upon it by introducing new vocabulary, explaining the grammar, and providing many examples. These videos are very engaging, and you can easily find yourself binge watching your way through them with all the interesting examples and cultural cues.

Yangyang giving a lesson on Chinese Characters.

A typical anime-style reading lesson.

Yangyang giving a pronunciation lesson.

Underneath the video there’ll automatically be a full list of all the vocabulary and phrases from the lesson. You can click on each one independently to listen to the audio again. You can also toggle on/off the English, Chinese characters or pinyin. Plus, you can select either a fast or slow pronunciation.

There are 3 ways to practice what you’ve learnt in the lesson. First, you can click ‘Practice’, which brings up the flashcards onto the screen for you to test yourself and record your own pronunciation. Second, you can listen to the audio which prompts you to repeat the words and phrases in the lesson.

And finally, there’s the FAQ section which is sometimes very useful since you’ll often find other students have exactly the same questions as you, and the support team are very quick to clarify them. Plus you can ask you’re own.

Once you feel you are ready, you can take the lesson quiz. You’ll be guided through 10 questions, asking you to translate specific phrases/words, write down what you hear, put the words into the correct order etc. It’s not necessary to get 10/10 to continue; however if you get anything below around 7 they’ll recommend you review the materials and try again.

The lesson quiz has a variety of diffent question styles.

Who Is Yoyo Chinese For?

Those who’ll benefit the most from Yoyo Chinese are those who:

are serious about learning Chinese and can dedicate time each day to completing the lessons
are independent learners who can study in their own time
plan to travel or work/study in China
are looking for an all-in-one structured beginners course for learning the Chinese language

Who Is Yoyo Chinese NOT For?

Those who might not find Yoyo Chinese as helpful and may want to look elsewhere are those who:

Yoyo Chinese Alternatives

Chinese is indeed a challenging language, and it’s not something you can pick up just by passively watching Chinese TV. It requires dedication, commitment, and a lot of memorization.

Thankfully, there are many different options out there. When compared to competitors such as Rocket Chinese and FluentU, we believe Yoyo Chinese stands as the strongest competitor for self-study of Chinese.

ChineseClass101 Is Our Favorite Alternative

The one program we’ve tried that really competes is ChineseClass101. That said, which one you choose will really depend on your learning style preferences, and which personality you want teaching you Chinese. We’d recommend reading our review of ChineseClass101 and signing up for both free trials to see which one you like more.

Free trial of ChineseClass101

Free trial of Yoyo Chinese

Yoyo Chinese Pricing

Yoyo Chinese used to be only available for a one time fee which restricted you to a specific course (unless you bought them all). However, you’ll be glad to know that they now offer a subscription plan so you don’t have to make that big commitment from the very start. There are 3 subscription options:

Monthly -> $19.99 (full access to all 6 courses, over 1000 video lessons and all the downloadable resources)
Every 6 months -> $89.94 (25% off)

Personally, we recommend the 6 month subscription since it’s unlikely you’ll still be at a beginner/intermediate level after a year of regular study. YoyoChinese do still offer the lifetime option, which gives you full lifetime access to everything and all their future additions/updates:

Lifetime access (pay once) -> $299

Click here to see the current discounts available for Yoyo Chinese.

You can use the Coupon Code PERAPERA10 to get 10% off now.

Yoyo Chinese Review: Conclusion

We loved reviewing this product and are more than confident that Yoyo Chinese will help make you a better Chinese speaker from day one. YangYang’s expertise being a Chinese language instructor for the past 15 years is well-reflected in this product. We believe that the combination of lessons focusing on both Chinese grammar and Simplified Chinese characters will make you a very capable and adept Chinese speaker in a short period of time!

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

VietnamesePod101 Review

Michael — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 16:45:24 +0000

Note: This VietnamesePod101 Review is our honest opinion after spending hours testing out the program. There are affiliate links in this post — if you use them, it helps support our site. This review has been checked for accuracy on Feb. 13th, 2023.

There are plenty of reasons to learn some of the more romanticized and popular languages out there, like Japanese or Spanish or even French. But what happens when you want to study a language that most people overlook?

Vietnamese is one of those languages that is often forgotten by the language-learning crowd, despite being spoken by more than 75 million people. In the past, if you wanted to learn the Vietnamese alphabet or learn how to speak Vietnamese, you may have had some trouble getting the help you needed.

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry any more. The same people that brought us JapanesePod101 and ThaiPod101 have developed one of the most extensive and thorough online Vietnamese courses available on the internet right now.

VietnamesePod101 can help you master the language faster than you thought possible. Here is everything you need to know about the program to help you decide whether it’s right for you!

Already made up your mind and looking for our unique discount code?

VietnamesePod101 Review: Summary

Name: VietnamesePod101

URL: www.vietnamesepod101.com

Operating System: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Currency: Depends on region.

Price: 7-Day Free Trial; Free content is also available, whereas subscriptions run from US$8.00 for a 1-month Basic subscription to US$47.00 a month for Premium+ subscriptions. Price depends on subscription period and type.

Application Category: Language Learning Software

Description: VietnamesePod101 is a language program that’s created for beginners, and right through to advanced learners of the Vietnamese language. The extensive library of podcasts, videos, grammar lessons, interactive quizzes, authentic dialogues and additional learning features that can be bought on a subscription model gives the learner tons of information & resources to effectively learn the Vietnamese language, in a way that is both structured and complete. The breadth and overall quality of the material is excellent and even advanced learners get great value for money.

In a nutshell: Learn the Vietnamese alphabet, phrases, expressions, and more with VietnamesePod101, a platform developed by the popular Innovative Language Learning company that gives you video, audio, and other resources to learn Vietnamese quickly and efficiently.

Quality of Learning Materials:

Quantity of Lessons:

Effective and Efficient:

Teaches Useful Vietnamese:

Price:

 5/5

 4/5

 5/5

Overall Score: 4.1

 4.1/5

The Goods

A Well established suite of grammar notes and vocabulary tools (such as flash cards, vocab lists and word banks)
Distinguishes between northern & southern Vietnamese dialects
Over 1300 audio & video lessons, taught by knowledgeable and energetic native speakers
Convenient mobile app for on-the-go learning

The Bads

VietnamesePod101 Review: Overview

The lessons are arranged neatly into five levels of difficulty, absolute beginner to advanced. Those who are just beginning their studies can start with a placement test to see what they already know, or just jump right into the level 1 beginners course. Each level corresponds roughly with the standard CEFR framework with level 1 equating to A1, level 2 to A2, and so on – right up to level 5 (C1).

Every lesson introduces real-use language that is relevant to daily life, whether that’s going to the grocery store, introducing yourself or asking for directions. The lessons are not repetitive at all, and you can select from a diverse range of topics from the lesson library. Regardless of what you choose to learn first, every video or podcast is packed full of new language. The lessons are well thought-out and are delivered by a variety of very enthusiastic and engaging language tutors from Vietnam.

VietnamesePod101 Features

Aside from the free subscription, every membership option (discussed later) gives you access to the following features:

Extensive library of video and audio lessons
Downloadable lesson notes, transcript & checklist
Responsive flashcard app for on-the-go studying
English to Vietnamese dictionary
Interactive quizzes
Grammar and word banks
Printable worksheets
Pronunciation reviews via an interactive voice recorder

The Pros: What We Liked About VietnamesePod101

Pro #1: Hundreds of Videos and Audio Files

VietnamesePod101 is an excellent place to learn Vietnamese, because you get access to more than 800 videos that range from a basic level all the way to advanced. You can find topics on almost anything, so whatever your goals for learning Vietnamese, you can achieve them easily.

Not only that, but the videos are designed to be interesting and refreshing. You never feel like you are being forced to memorize words or follow a boring textbook. The main idea and methodology behind VietnamesePod101 is one of independent learning, meaning the syllabus is completely down to you.

Maybe you just want to be able to introduce yourself in Vietnamese? Then the basic boot camp pathway will be the one for you. Or maybe you want to learn more about Vietnamese food and culture? There’s another learning pathway dedicated specifically for that. You can pick and choose any learning pathways that pique your interest and add them to your main dashboard, where you’ll be able to track your progress and get recommendations for what to study next.

Pro #2: Easy To Use

What is easier than listening and repeating after a native speaker? VietnamesePod101 immerses you first in the language and then dives deep into the nuts and bolts of how the grammar works with the new vocab. The interface for both the computer-oriented program and the mobile app is clean, crisp, and intuitive. You will find everything arranged by level, category, media type, and so on.

Best of all, you can take the downloadable resources with you wherever you go. Gone are the days of worrying about whether the language app will work on airport WiFi – everything (including the mp3s) can be downloaded for offline learning.

Pro #3: Excellent Features

If you are willing to pay for a subscription (which you should), you’ll unlock hundreds of additional goodies that help keep you motivated. The basic account alone gives you access to full transcripts of the podcasts and flashcards. Premium accounts provide more customized study plans, and if you opt for Premium+ you’ll receive full access to one-on-one tutoring with a native Vietnamese speaker.

Pro #4: Skill-based Learning

When learning a new language, it’s important to focus on all four language skills – reading, writing, listening & speaking. Listening is usually the bottle neck for most people since authentic audio content at the right level can be very hard to come by. This is why VietnamesePod101 is our language program of choice. For listening specifically, it’s second to none.

Research has long been shown that listening to the language whilst reading along with the transcript repeatedly and breaking down the meaning of what you’ve just heard is a very effective way of learning a language. Thankfully, every lesson on VietnamesePod101 is structured exactly this way, usually with some kind of dialogue with the option to listen again to each line in isolation whilst reading along with the transcript.

But what about the other 3 skills? Although the program doesn’t give you direct speaking practice with a native speaker, there is the option to record yourself and compare your pronunciation alongside a native speaker. Not quite as good as a real life dialogue but still a brilliant way to really nail those difficult tones and get you sounding like a local.

For reading and writing, there’s many lesson pathways that are dedicated specifically to improving these skills. In fact, you can filter all the lessons by specific skill type and you’ll quickly discover lessons that cover such things as miniature books and writing exercises.

Pro #5: Cultural Exposure

What’s better than learning Vietnamese? Soaking one of the oldest and most fascinating cultures in the world, of course! As you might expect from a comprehensive language program like VietnamesePod101, there’s a huge cultural emphasis integrated into all the lessons.

You’ll discover the best of Vietnam’s mouth-watering foods like Phờ (rice noodle soup) & Xôi (steamed sticky rice), the most popular festivals and holidays, influential Vietnamese writers, musicians and leaders. The tutors go well out their way to explain the cultural significance of the language and to share their traditions and how society functions. Learning this way keeps the lessons fresh and interesting, and the language becomes far more memorable and fun.

The Cons: What We Didn’t Like About VietnamesePod101

There’s no language program that’s perfect, and VietnamesePod101 is no exception. Here’s a few things we didn’t like.

Con #1: Lack of Community

Since Vietnamese is not widely spoken or learned, the community is not as active as other forums on the same site. This makes finding learning partners difficult, especially if you are looking for someone to practice conversations with. While this is not entirely the fault of the program itself, it can be a bummer for more extroverted learners.

Con #2: Lack of Speaking Practice

Although, like we already mentioned, VietnamesePod101 does allow you to take oral quizzes and practice your pronunciation, it can get repetitive, because you are simply saying phrases over and over again. You are not getting real speaking practice, unless you purchase the most expensive subscription plan—an option not financially viable for everyone.

Con #3: Geared Towards Beginners and Low Intermediate

The content, while broad and interesting, can also be too basic for some learners. If you are someone who has lived in Vietnam for a while or is wanting to brush up on the language after taking a break from it, you will not find a lot of content that will challenge you. Granted, it is good for review, but you probably won’t learn anything new, even in the advanced section of the video and audio.

What Does A Lesson Look Like?

Every lesson first starts with the video or podcast. It’s recommended to listen to the dialogue several times to listen for language you may already know before studying the transcript. You can then listen again, line-by-line and record your own voice. The vocab section gives you a full list of the new words you encountered, and the option to listen again, record yourself, or add a word to a flash card deck or into your word bank. This ensures you never lose a word, saving it to review later.

The lesson content is then summarised concisely into the lesson notes, which includes a grammar section and cultural insights. Finally, you can test yourself by taking a multiple choice quiz before marking the lesson complete and moving on. This process is summarised in a downloadable checklist should you wish to structure your lessons this way – otherwise you’re free to use the platform as you like (for example, just listen to the dialogue, or focus on a specific grammar point).

Find yourself still struggling? You can go to the dictionary that provides hundreds of words with example sentences, sound clips, and pictures to help with recognition. You will also see the Vietnamese written out a couple of ways to aid in pronunciation, as well.

In short, you will never be at a loss about what to learn or how to study. The courses are structured to build upon one another. You can then supplement your studies with vocab lists, customizable flashcard decks, your personal word bank, most common words list, ‘word of the day’ emails, the mobile app, and so much more.

Who Should Buy VietnamesePod101?

VietnamesePod101 is ideal for the following people:

Who Shouldn’t Buy VietnamesePod101?

VietnamesePod101 is not recommended for the following people:

VietnamesePod101 vs. The Competition

Because Vietnamese is a lesser known language that is rarely studied in learning institutions or by travelers, the amount of resources available, including competition for programs like VietnamesePod101, pale in comparison to the competitors for, let’s say, JapanesePod101, which is made by the same company.

That said, there are a couple of language learning platforms that offer similar programs, such as Loecsen, Duolingo, Babbel, and Memrise. Since the last three mentioned are severely limited in their Vietnamese lessons, we can’t truly call them competitors, can we?

That leaves Loecsen. Like VietnamesePod101, you can find the course by simply searching “learn Vietnamese audio” into google, since it utilizes podcasts, free grammar and essential phrases downloads, and video to teach you common phrases. The speakers are native, too. Loecsen’s Vietnamese program is entirely free of charge, including all the resources. The downside, however, is the quantity of study material.

While VietnamesePod101 has over 800 audio and video files at your disposal, Loecsen’s resources will only give you a general understanding of Vietnamese. It’s great for a passing traveler but not for someone who wants to get fluent in the language.

Is It Worth The Money?

The free membership, as mentioned earlier, can be limited, so it is highly recommended that you make the commitment and choose a subscription if you are serious. Otherwise, free access gives you content such as pronunciation practice, grammar practice, information about verbs, the Innovative Language 101 app, and access to the “Daily Dose of Vietnamese.” This might be enough for you right now, especially if you are looking for a taster.

However, if you know that you want to learn Vietnamese, this language learning platform is one of the best on the market and worthy of your money. With a Basic subscription, you can access the language and culture collection, print out notes, and get complete access to archived audio.

Premium and Premium+, which are $120 and $220 for 6-months, respectively, offer up one-click downloads, lesson specific tools like grammar checkers, interactive voice recording, review quizzes, flashcards, transcription translation, and so much more. When you consider other language learning software, like Rosetta Stone, the price on 6-months or even 24-months (at $240-$549) is honestly a bargain that is too good to pass up.

In short, is it worth the money? We think so.

How To Get 30% Off VietnamesePod101

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Pod101 language programs. So we’ve asked the Innovative Language team for the biggest discount they offer — 30% off!

Check this page for the latest VietnamesePod101 discounts.

The Lifetime Membership Option

This option is not well-advertised (in fact, it was difficult for us to get access to), but if you don’t like subscription payments, you can get a lifetime membership to VietnamesePod101 as a one-time payment of $599. Here’s the link in case you’re interested:

On the same page they even offer a lifetime access to ALL their language programs.

If you’re really serious about becoming a polyglot in multiple languages, the lifetime access to all languages option could be worth checking out:

I think this is actually an amazing deal, despite seeming expensive at first glance. The Pod101/Class101 programs are often the best language courses available for Asian languages (we haven’t tried their others yet!). They’ve got some really smart people on staff building their curriculums, and it shows.

VietnamesePod101 $1 Offer

As soon as you sign up for VietnamesePod101 you’ll get offered a 30-day trial of the Premium membership for only $1. We’re telling you this now because once you click off the page you won’t be offered this again. It’s excellent value, and highly worth it if you want to try out the platform for a longer period of time before buying. Do bear in mind though that after your 30 days are up you’ll be automatically rolled onto the monthly $25 payment plan.

VietnamesePod101 Review: Final Thoughts

Our Verdict: VietnamesePod101 is a Superior Learning Tool For Learning Vietnamese Quickly and Efficiently.

As with many offerings from Innovative Language, VietnamesePod101 is an undisputed champion for studying and gaining fluency in Vietnamese. The course provides you with everything you need to gain confidence with learning this beautiful language. Whatever your goals may be, VietnamesePod101 can elevate your listening, speaking, and reading abilities much higher than the competitors or traditional classrooms.

If you are determined to learn Vietnamese, you have nothing to lose with this program and everything to gain!

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

Japanese Uncovered Review

Michael — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 13:34:13 +0000

The following is our honest Japanese Uncovered Review. Please note that there are affiliate links in this post, but most importantly: we only recommend products that we’ve have thoroughly tested and believe in!

The information in this review is up to date as of February 16th, 2021.

There are a variety of reasons to learn to speak Japanese. First, it is often included as one of the most important languages to learn for global business. Next, Japanese is a language and culture so different from our own that it can be an exciting adventure to learn something so new. If you are ready to take on this adventure and learn to speak Japanese, check out our review for Japanese Uncovered.

If you’re looking for the free trial of Japanese Uncovered, click here.

Japanese Uncovered Review: Overview

Japanese Uncovered is taught by Olly Richards, a fluent-Japanese speaker who also speaks seven other languages. Olly has a team of two others that help explain the writing system, grammar, culture, and pronunciations. Richards uses his own immersive StoryLearning method to teach you how to speak Japanese.

A pronunciation lesson with Ai Sensei

You are expected to read and listen to the story without committing anything to memory. A portion of the quirky story is told over the course of 20 lessons. You begin by learning simple words and phrases and build upon this foundation as you advance.

Japanese Uncovered promises to:

help you learn Japanese quickly through immersion instead of memorization
help you memorize and retain vocabulary by seeing it used
help you understand the language because of extensive listening
help you learn Japanese grammar without memorizing the rules

Good Points About Japanese Uncovered

Less Intimidating than Other Courses

The very idea that Japanese is so different from our own language can scare people away from learning to speak it. However, once you begin the first lesson, Richards and co-instructor, Ai Sensei, make you feel at ease like it is possible to learn Japanese regardless of your preconceived ideas about it. You aren’t expected to begin memorizing, but instead to simply listen and practice speaking.

Japanese Uncovered’s hosts: Olly Richards and Ai Sensei

Learning all Writing Systems

While many programs begin with romaji, or the Romanization of Japanese, and eventually turn over to the Japanese writing systems, Japanese Uncovered begins giving you hiragana along with Romaji right away. Eventually, katakana and kanji are also introduced to get you used to thinking like a Japanese speaker.

Japanese Uncovered introduces writing hiragana right off the bat.

Comprehensive and Structured

Because of the complexities of speaking Japanese, any self-teaching course must be comprehensive. Each Japanese Uncovered lesson covers vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, pronunciation, culture, and writing. It also covers Keigo, the levels of formality and politeness to use in various situations.

High Production Value

From the quality of the videos, to the PDF layouts and course design, it’s obvious that a lot of time, money and attention have been paid to production value. Japanese Uncovered ‘feels’ like a premium product, and the video quality is one of the best we’ve seen in a language course.

Bad Points About Japanese Uncovered

Lack of Learning Tools

The majority of your learning will be through video, which can feel redundant, at times. You can download and print the writing worksheets, but there are no voice-recording tools to practice and hone your pronunciation. You also won’t find flashcards or other game-like activities if you need a break from lessons.

Lessons can be Monotonous

Richards can sometimes give long introductions and explanations about lessons, which left us spacing out somewhat. On the other hand, there are times where you almost feel as if there is too much being crammed into one lesson, which also left us drifting away. It is a love/hate relationship with Richards’ teachings in that it is interesting, personal, and comfortable, but sometimes drawn out.

Who would like Japanese Uncovered?

Japanese Uncovered is a great resource for those with little to no knowledge of Japanese up to low-intermediate speakers. If you plan to become fluent in Japanese, this is an ideal beginner course that strongly mingles the language and culture as it is in real life.

Who would NOT like Japanese Uncovered?

Because this course is structured and comprehensive for learning to speak Japanese, it would not be relevant for those who may just want to learn quick travel phrases or the like. The goal of this course is to give the beginner a solid foundation into speaking Japanese.

Features of Japanese Uncovered

Welcome and Introduction

Olly Richards offers a warm welcome to introduce you to the course and show you how to use it. This is important, because ultimately you are responsible for recording whether you’ve completed a lesson or not. Richards is encouraging and friendly, making this feel like you are learning from a friend.

20 Chapters

Each chapter consists of seven lessons along with an introduction to the chapter, review quiz, and additional listening resources. Your first activity in Richards’ StoryLearning method is to Listen & Read. A Japanese speaker narrates a story, and there are transcripts to follow along in Romaji. After this activity, you will advance through the lessons about what you’ve read.

Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation

Richards and Ai host the next videos which point out key vocabulary and grammar in the text. Most of these videos consist of Richards highlighting onscreen words and word combinations. The pronunciations are usually hosted by Ai, and because you are watching her in the video, you can learn exactly how she forms her words. This helps you learn your own pronunciation. Both hosts feel like friends, but some of these videos last up to 40 minutes and can feel too long.

Screenshot from a vocabulary lesson

Learning the Script and Language & Culture

We really enjoy Learning the Script lessons. You can print out the writing worksheets to easily follow along with Ai as she shows you hiragana and eventually, katakana and kanji. We would recommend getting Japanese writing pens in order to give yourself the most genuine experience with Japanese script. It can also make this section more enjoyable.

Richards covers the Language & Culture lessons and generally explains the differences between English and Japanese. For example, in English, we say “your friends.” In Japanese, we say “Alex’s friends” instead of using you or your.

Keigo

The Keigo lessons cover the way you speak in Japan. Some instances will be much more formal than others, and Keigo covers speaking to others and showing respect. It also encompasses how to speak humbly about yourself.

Each Chapter has an accompanying Keigo lesson to help you better understand its use

Speaking Activities

These activities can be completed alone or with a Japanese instructor. Print these activities and practice speaking with another.

Quizzes and Progress Reports

The quiz is a short multiple-choice test over what you have learned in the chapter. Though it can be useful for review, it really isn’t significant enough to cover the entire chapter.

Progress reports are a way for you to get feedback from your instructors. You are asked what you need help with, how the chapter could be improved, and what you liked the best. This gives you a chance to ask questions or share your input.

Bonus Lessons

Bonus lessons include the Deadliest Chopsticks Sins and Japanese Golden 100. The chopsticks lesson teaches some etiquette about how to use them and what not to do with them. The use and placement of chopsticks have very certain roles in Japanese culture, so this bonus lesson is much more important than many might initially think.

Additional Resources

This section includes transcripts of the story in kana and kanji, vocabulary lists, slow and regular speech recordings, and the chapter syllabus.

Click the images below to see screenshots of PDF transcripts in the Kana version and Furigana:

How Japanese Uncovered Compares to Other Popular Japanese Programs

Japanese Uncovered vs. JapanesePod101

JapanesePod101 is a monthly-subscription language-learning program brought to you by Innovative Language. It uses a combination of videos, podcasts, and learning tools to help you learn to speak Japanese. Higher-priced premium subscription plans grant you the ability to speak one-on-one with your instructors and receive personal learning plans. New materials are added regularly to each subscription level, so the content can feel endless. You will also find a variety of game-like tools to help you retain information you’ve learned.

JapanesePod101 offers a huge variety of lessons, from beginner to advanced

Though we cannot argue about the comprehensiveness of JapanesePod101, it feels much less personal than Japanese Uncovered. We like having the option of posting comments or questions after each lesson and receiving answers to those questions. With JapanesePod101, you only get access to your instructor after paying a higher monthly rate for it.

You can read our full review of JapanesePod101 here.

Japanese Uncovered vs. Pimsleur Japanese

Pimsleur Japanese is based on a similar concept as Japanese Uncovered in that it uses a more organic approach to learning to speak another language. Pimsleur consists of Japanese podcasts for lessons. You are only expected to listen and absorb the language just like you did your native language. There are two monthly subscription rates to access Pimsleur, and you can listen to the podcasts anywhere you go.

The Pimsleur Japanese Dashboard

Unlike Japanese Uncovered, there is very little taught about Japanese culture and formality norms. We think this can leave you wanting for more, and Pimsleur might be better used as a supplemental program.

You can read our full review of Pimsleur Japanese here.

How Much Is Japanese Uncovered?

The Japanese Uncovered beginner course is $297 and includes 20 chapters loaded with content. Once you have completed this course, you may want to try the intermediate Japanese: Conversations course to further your knowledge. This course is $197 and includes 20 chapters of conversations also using the StoryLearning method. Once you’ve purchased a course or courses, you have access to the lessons and content for life. You can also access it on all of your electronic devices.

Purchase Japanese Uncovered

Japanese Uncovered Review: Final Thoughts

Is Japanese Uncovered worth the money? For a serious beginner student who wants to learn Japanese at their own pace, we say it definitely is. This is a very comprehensive course with a unique teaching method that will keep you motivated to study. Some of the information can feel monotonous, but that is to be expected of learning any new language.

Probably our favorite aspect of Japanese Uncovered is the hosts. Both Olly Richards and Ai Sensei are encouraging and welcoming. This helps give you the confidence to overcome the idea that Japanese is too difficult and intimidating to learn.

Overall, we give this course a 4.2 out of 5. If you’re on the fence, you can use this link below to get a free trial of Japanese Uncovered:

7-day Free Trial of Japanese Uncovered

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

Yoyo Chinese Discount Code

Michael — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 05:07:33 +0000

So you’ve decided to learn Chinese with Yoyo Chinese — good choice. It’s the language of roughly one fifth the world’s population, so it should come in handy! Here is our Discount Code to get you an extra 15% off Yoyo Chinese!

Haven’t decided yet? Read our review of Yoyo Chinese here.

Yoyo Chinese Discount: 10% Off Coupon Code

How to get 10% off the Yoyo Chinese:

1. Click the button below. It will open the Yoyo Chinese sales page in a new window:

10% Off Yoyo Chinese (Verified)

2. Choose which courses you want. (Check out our review of Yoyo Chinese to help you decide)

3. Then, at checkout, enter this code in the box that says “Coupon Code”:

perapera10

After that, the discount will be automatically added to your purchase.

Thanks for using our discount code and good luck with learning Chinese!

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

JapanesePod101 Lifetime Premium Account

Michael — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 12:18:46 +0000

The well-kept secret of nabbing JapanesePod101’s lifetime Premium account is out. If you have been wanting to start learning to speak Japanese with one of the highest-rated Japanese language programs, now is the best time. You can save loads of money while learning all things Japanese on your own time.

Find the most up-to-date coupon codes for JapanesePod101 here.

How to get a Lifetime Premium Account

Click the link below to choose which lifetime account is right for you. Upon signing up, you will receive unlimited access to the largest lesson library for learning the Japanese language. You will also receive a direct line to your personal customer service representative— a feature unheard of in most monthly subscription programs.

JapanesePod101 Lifetime Account

What is the cost of a JapanesePod101 Lifetime Account?

The one-time $599 cost of a JapanesePod101 lifetime account can save you hundreds of dollars over a monthly subscription plan if you are a serious user. Let’s face it, we all get busy. If you are paying monthly for your subscription and do not find the time to use it, you might feel like you’re throwing your money away. With a lifetime subscription, you don’t have to stress over losing money when you don’t have the time to study.

Get a Lifetime Premium Account for 1, 3, or All 34 Languages

If learning more than one extra language is your goal, Innovative Languages’ Pod101 Premium lifetime account has you covered. As mentioned, a JapanesePod101 Lifetime Premium account is $599. You can choose lifetime access to two more—for a total of three—Pod101 languages for a one-time payment of $999.

Perhaps your business or personal ventures require some knowledge of many different foreign languages. In this case, you can purchase lifetime access to all Pod101 languages—a total of 34—for a one-time payment of $1499. A few of these languages include Dutch, German, Norwegian, Cantonese and Korean. This is the best deal yet and allows you the most flexibility in learning.

JapanesePod101 Lifetime Account

JapanesePod101 Lifetime Premium Account Discount

There are no additional discounts available off the cost of the JapanesePod101 Lifetime Premium account. However, if you were to study Japanese for five years—a minimal amount of time recommended for intermediate fluency—at a monthly Premium subscription cost of $25, you will save 60% by purchasing lifetime membership for $599.

Your savings increase when you sign up for the 3- or 34-language lifetime accounts.

Conclusion

If you are committed to and serious about learning the Japanese language, you cannot go wrong with a lifetime JapanesePod101 Premium membership. You save loads of money in the long run, avoid making monthly payments, and you don’t need to stress over unused months you’re paying for. This is a great way for anyone looking to learn multiple languages to get unlimited life-long access to the most comprehensive language learning program out there.

If you are still not sold on a lifetime subscription, that’s okay! Sign up now for your free account at JapanesePod101.com and choose the $1 Premium Subscription trial for one month. This will give you all the features you can expect from a lifetime JapanesePod101 membership at minimal cost and risk to you.

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

UrduPod101 Review

Michael — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:31:56 +0000

This UrduPod101 Review is up to date as of Oct 18th, 2021.

Urdu is a language spoken by an estimated 170 million people in mainly Muslim communities in Pakistan, India, the UK, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Urdu Speakers Worldwide (Average)

The UK alone boasts about 400 thousand Urdu speakers, and Urdu is also the official language of Pakistan.

Though systematic and orderly in word construction and sentence structure, Urdu is written from right to left. This can prove challenging to many who are used to a left to right system. There are informal and formal verbs, and nouns are either masculine or feminine. Similarly to English, it has an array of words with irregular spellings with no real pattern.

Spoken Urdu is nearly identical to Hindi for everyday matters; however, they are written in different scripts.

This means that Urdu and Hindi speakers can understand each other in conversation, but not in written language. In order to master this somewhat challenging language, a comprehensive language learning program is essential. Read on for our honest UrduPod101 review.

Already made up your mind and looking for our UrduPod101 discount code?

UrduPod101 Review: Summary

Name: UrduPod101

URL: www.urdupod101.com

Operating System: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Currency: USD

Price: Free lifetime account. 7-day trial period. Basic subscription is $4/month. Premium subscription is $10/month. Premium PLUS subscription is $23/month.

Description: Brought to you by Innovative Language, UrduPod101 proclaims to quickly and easily teach you how to speak Urdu in a fun way. They offer ways to take your learning on the go and seamlessly fit it into your already busy lifestyle.

In a nutshell: UrduPod101 is a comprehensive and orderly program designed to allow you to work at your own pace learning how to speak Urdu.

Quality of Learning Materials:

Quantity of Lessons:

Effective and Efficient:

Teaches Useful Phrases:

Price:

 4/5

 5/5

 4/5

 3/5

Overall Score: 4.0

 4/5

The Goods

Lessons are fun and relevant for today’s culture
Daily mini lessons help keep you on track when busy
New lessons added regularly
Interactive learning tools
Native speakers host podcasts and videos

The Bads

UrduPod101 Review: Overview

Signing up for UrduPod101 is as simple as entering your email address and making up a password. Once you do, you have access to UrduPod101 Premium for free for seven days and a free lifetime account. This grants you access to:

On-the-go video and audio lessons
Mobile Applications
Vocabulary learning tools like flashcards and word-of-the-day
Core Urdu word lists and phrase lists
Line-by-line dialogues and ‘record yourself’ feature

Should you choose to further your learning, you can upgrade to any of three monthly subscription packages. These subscriptions allow access to UrduPod101’s extensive library of thousands of lessons, daily mini-lessons delivered to your email, tips on quickly mastering Urdu, and even one-on-one instruction.

The Pros: What We Liked About UrduPod101

As you can see from our review summary, we highly recommend this course for those who are serious about learning Urdu. Here are 3 reasons we liked it:

Pro #1: Variety of Lessons

There are quite a few different teaching methods within UrduPod101 and this means that no matter your desired learning technique or pace, there will be something for you. You do not have to listen to hours of a repetitive podcast or watch endless videos with obsolete scenarios. UrduPod101 keeps courses fresh and interesting to keep you motivated.

Pro #2: All Skill Types Included

From the lesson library you can filter through all the possible lessons by category and skill type, allowing you to focus on your specific weaknesses whether they be reading, writing, speaking or listening. Unfortunately you won’t be able to get full feedback on speaking skills without working with an actual tutor (only included in the PremiumPLUS subscription). However, for all the other skills there’s many interesting topics to choose from that actually teach those skills specifically.

Pro #3: Comprehensive Lessons and Study Tools

There are loads of different ways to study and commit Urdu to memory. You will find interactive quizzes, custom word lists, audio dictionaries, voice recording tools, and vocabulary slide shows. Not only are these tools fun, but they are designed to lead you to fluency in Urdu in a logical progression.

Pro #4: Learning Flexibility

Since you can download apps for your mobile, listen to podcasts, and use study tools on your desktop, you study whenever and wherever you like – even without wifi! Furthermore, the methodology of the program is one of customizability. You personally have full control over your syllabus and can choose what to improve upon, allowing you to study the way you learn best.

The Cons: What We Didn’t Like About UrduPod101

All that said, the program isn’t perfect. Here are a few things that we didn’t love about it:

Con #1: Somewhat Expensive

Though the free and Basic subscription plans offer thorough instruction and practice with learning Urdu, to get the full effect, you will need to upgrade to the Premium or PremiumPLUS subscriptions. Though the cost is still negligible when compared to the cost of a course at a university, it may be a little steep for those on a budget.

Con #2: Very Small Community

Urdu does not seem to be a popular language to learn, and as such the online community of language learners is rather small. This could limit one’s potential to practice speaking Urdu with others. Still, if speaking practice is desired, you can get it with a PremiumPLUS subscription.

Con #3: Too Much English

Though not a deal-breaker, I’d personally like to see more immersion into the language itself rather than videos and podcasts that talk about the language a lot in English. This really depends upon your preference and it’s important to strike the right balance between being exposed to new content in context and ensuring you understand it’s usage, cultural background and grammar rules.

One can lead to confusion and the other to boredom, with the optimal ground keeping you challenged yet still aware of what’s being taught and how to use it. Unfortunately, I felt that there was a little too much explaining going on, without enough authentic language for you to form your own patterns of how the language works. That being said, this learning style will suit many people who want a direct explanation of how the language works.

What are the lessons like?

The lessons are built in a way that helps you to easily and quickly pick up the language. They are available via video, podcast, interactive tools and quizzes.

Though you do not have to take the lessons in order, they slowly build upon each other to lead you to fluency.

Not only are the lessons engaging and entertaining, but they also provide you with bits of culture surrounding the Urdu language. This gives you a well-rounded experience in learning the language.

There are five levels to choose from including Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Absolute Beginner will start you out with pronunciation practice and lead you up to basic introductions, ‘thank you’, ‘you’re welcome’, ‘hello’ etc. Progressing through the levels increases your knowledge and fluency.

You can practice or retake lessons as often as you need until you feel comfortable moving on. You will also find in-depth notes to help explain things that might have been missed during the lesson itself.

Once you have reached the Advanced level, lessons will shift into learning more about Muslim culture, Pakistan government, and traditions.

Some Sample Lessons - A Sneak Peek

To give you a better idea of what to expect, we’ve broken down three example lesson pathways that you have the option to take, for 3 different levels.

Level 2 Urdu (Beginner)

Level 3 Urdu (Intermediate)

Level 4 Urdu (Upper Intermediate)

Level 2 Urdu (Beginner)

Level 3 Urdu (Intermediate)

Level 4 Urdu (Upper Intermediate)

Extra Vocab Tools & Features

Everyone learns differently, so it really helps to have lots of different options to choose from when learning a new language, especially when it comes to memorizing new vocabulary. Thankfully, UrduPod101 has a few different built in tools to help you build up your bank of vocabulary.

Spaced Repetition Flashcards

Spaced Repetition Flashcards help you to increase your vocabulary in a fun way by choosing from a specific set of premade flashcards and testing yourself through an interactive game – connecting the image or English word to its Urdu equivalent, and vice-versa. You can even create your own flashcard decks and track your progress with the daily stats.

Vocabulary Lists

Similarly to the flashcards, there’s hundreds of pre-made lists of vocabulary for you to explore. This is where you can start to see how UrduPod101 sets itself apart from other programs by including a massive range of trendy and interesting topics. For example ‘Urdu Quotes about Love’, ‘Pakistan Tourist Attractions’ and ‘Most Common Texting Slang’. Each list is almost a whole lesson in its own right!

Urdu Word Bank

Your word bank is where you can save any vocabulary you want during any of the lessons or time spent browsing flashcards and vocab lists. You can categorise them, add labels and export your entire list at any time.

Most Common Words List

A super handy list which allows you to cut through all the obsolete language and go straight for the jugular – the most used words. If you’re someone who hates to waste time and just wants to learn only the most used words and basic building blocks in the language, then this list is for you. You can filter by category and even reduce the list to only the 100 most common words in Urdu.

Word of the Day Emails

A free service that you can opt into. They will email you every day with a new word, it’s cultural background and how it is used in context. A great way to keep you ticking along with continuous learning.

Who Is UrduPod101 Good For?

In our opinion, UrduPod101 is a great option to learn Urdu for those who:

Who Shouldn’t Buy UrduPod101?

Language learning programs are rarely one-size-fits-all. Though we think most will benefit from UrduPod101, those who may struggle include those who:

UrduPod101 vs. Competition

We were hard pressed to find much in the way of a comprehensive Urdu courses online. There are loads of YouTube videos claiming to teach you to speak Urdu as you drive or otherwise listen in. However, we could not verify whether these videos were made by certified language teachers or not. Youtube and free podcasts can be a good option to test the waters in a new language, but we recommend a structured course for serious language learning.

There were multiple free websites like ilanguages.org that offer loads of phrases and vocabulary words. Some sites even allow you to hear how the word or phrase is pronounced. Though this type of tool is useful in conjunction with a comprehensive Urdu course or if you simply need to quickly find the words to ask something in Urdu, it will not build a foundation to learn a language.

UrduPod101 vs. Mangolanguages.com

One of the few competitors we found was mangolanguages.com.

For $7.99 per month, you can access Urdu lessons one through ten on Mangolanguages.

These lessons focus on salutations, food, drink, transportation, money and compliments. The goals of these lessons are to be able to speak conversationally with others in Urdu.

Grammar goals of these lessons include being introduced to nouns, verbs and adjectives and to learn sentence structure.

We like that this is one of the few structured Urdu courses out there, and it looks great for beginners. However it somehow feels like it’s not as comprehensive as UrduPod.

To advance beyond a beginner level, you will need to find another course.

Is it Worth the Money?

The short answer is: Yes. With the largest Urdu lesson library in the world (over 150 hours of lessons by native tutors), we think UrduPod101 is 100% worth the money for anyone who is serious about mastering the Urdu language.

Though on the more expensive side, we simply could not find any other online resources that came close to being as comprehensive as UrduPod101.

When you consider costs associated with taking a university course in Urdu, UrduPod101’s PremiumPlus option (which includes a tutor) represents very good value.

If you’re unsure, they offer a 7-day free trial:

Exclusive 30% Off Coupon Code For Our Readers

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Pod101 courses. I’ve been using them for years, and some of our other writers have become converts when testing the courses for reviews.

We approached the makers of UrduPod101 and they offered our readers an exclusive 30% discount if you sign up through this link:

You can check this page for the latest UrduPod101 Coupons and Discounts.

UrduPod101 Review Final Thoughts

UrduPod101 is one of the very few in-depth courses available to learn Urdu on your own time. Aside from private instruction or a university level course, you will not find a better independent study course online. Though it is a bit pricey, we think it’s worth the money for serious students.

We feel that UrduPod101 is an excellent program that will quickly and effectively get you on your way to learning Urdu.

You will have access to the most extensive Urdu lesson library we could find and can learn at your own pace.

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

FilipinoPod101 Review

Michael — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 04:05:43 +0000

Editor’s Note: This FilipinoPod101 review is up to date as of February 17th, 2022. The article contains affiliate links, however we only recommend products that we have personally used and believe in.

The country of the Philippines has recently been designated as Newly Industrial and also as an Emerging Market, so there is no better time than now to learn to speak or polish up on the Filipino language.

Nearly 50 million people living on The Philippines’ almost 7,600 islands speak some form of Filipino.

Filipino is, in fact, one of the most geographically dispersed languages in the world, second only to English. It is likely that whether planning your next exotic vacation, connecting with business prospects, or learning about other cultures, you have come across the Filipino language or one of its close relatives.

FilipinoPod101, created by Innovative Languages, is one of the quickest ways we’ve found to learn Filipino on your own time.

Already made up your mind and looking for our FilipinoPod101 discount?

FilipinoPod101 Review: Summary

Name: FilipinoPod101

URL: www.filipinopod101.com

Operating System: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Currency: USD

Price: Free lifetime account. 7-day trial period. Basic subscription is $8/month. Premium subscription is $25/month. PremiumPLUS subscription is $47/month. Sign up for 3-, 6-, 12- or 24-months and receive a discount.

Application Category: Language Learning Software

Description: Innovative Language is breaking new ground with FilipinoPod101 and its counterparts. Designed to quickly immerse you in the Filipino language, FilipinoPod101 also lets you learn at your own pace and style. You will find skill levels ranging from Absolute Beginner to Advanced Speaker.

In a Nutshell: FilipinoPod101 takes a logical approach to language learning by offering myriads of podcasts, videos, and assorted learning tools. With mobile apps and desktop tools, how to learn Filipino is completely up to you.

Quality of Learning Materials:

Quantity of Lessons:

Effective and Efficient:

Teaches Useful Phrases:

Price:

 5/5

 4/5

Overall Score: 4.2

 4.2/5

The Goods

The Bads

Filipino vs. Tagalog

Wait, you might think, shouldn’t I learn to speak Tagalog? Isn’t that what is spoken in The Philippines?

The answer is yes, along with many other dialects that are all variations of Filipino. Tagalog is spoken by about 1/3 of the country’s population and is very wide-spread throughout the world.

Essentially, Filipino is the standardized form of Tagalog and is considered the national language.

It is widely used in public communications and government affairs. To better understand the relationship between Filipino and Tagalog, you can compare British English to American English. Both speakers can be understood by each other, and generally the only differences are spelling and dialects.

FilipinoPod101 Review: Overview

FilipinoPod101 boldly proclaims that it will teach you the Filipino language in the most fun, easiest, and fastest way possible. You can quickly try out a free lesson before even signing up. Once you decide to sign up for a monthly subscription, you have a free lifetime account. Then, you can choose your subscription options. A seven-day trial period is absolutely free.

With a free account, you’ll have access to a whole bunch of curated audio and video lessons, learning tools like flashcards, and common Filipino word lists. If you then choose to upgrade to one of the monthly subscription plans, you’ll also receive access to:

English translations, lesson notes, and quizzes
Interactive vocabulary and phrase learning tools
Thousands of video and audio podcast lessons by native Filipino speakers
Mini-lessons delivered to your inbox each day
One-on-one instruction with a native speaker (only the PremiumPLUS subscription)

The Pros: What We Liked About FilipinoPod101

We really enjoyed the time we spent learning on the platform. Here are the things we liked the most:

Pro #1: Complete Access to Video and Audio Library

As soon as you start your subscription you will have full access to thousands of videos, podcasts, and learning tools. There are so many lists of words and phrases that make sense in today’s world. Whether you want to quickly ask someone the way to the gym or where to find a smoothie shop, you will easily find it.

Pro #2: Extensive Lesson Library, Modern Topics

FilipinoPod101 boasts the largest lesson library in the world, with over 215 hours of real lessons delivered by professional language tutors. The range of topics available is just as vast – from ‘A Filipino Feast’ to ‘Essential Filipino for Emergencies’.

Whatever you need, you’ll probably find a whole lesson on it. Plus you can even search through the entire library for the topic you’re after. With so many language programs out there consisting of outdated and boring content, FilipinoPod101 provides a breath of fresh air when it comes to finding something interesting to study.

Pro #3: Mobile Applications

Take your lessons on the go. Instead of wasting time away on the subway or in traffic, listen to your lessons right on your phone. With the ability to learn anytime you want, you can easily review lessons almost anywhere.

Pro #4: Fully Downloadable Content

From the MP3 files to the comprehensive lesson notes, everything is available to be downloaded for offline learning. This way you can listen on the go, and study anywhere you are without wifi. And with each lesson being on average only 15 minutes long, you can really squeeze in extra language practice into your schedule and fit your studies around your life, picking up again exactly where you left off.

Pro #5: Immersive Lessons with Native Speakers

All the instructors on FilipinoPod101 are native speakers of the Filipino language. This means you get to hear the dialect of a true Filipino speaker. It makes pronunciation much more accurate when trying out your skills with other speakers.

The Cons: What we Didn’t Like About FilipinoPod101

No language learning program is perfect and this one has a few downsides. Here’s what we didn’t like as much:

Con #1: Advanced Learning is Lacking

Though FilipinoPod101is an excellent tool for beginning to intermediate speakers, advanced speakers wanting to take their fluency to the next level may not find the content very challenging. If you were once fluent in Filipino and are looking for a refresher course, you may find some decent review topics but lacking in terms of advanced learning content.

Con #2: Higher Price

The price for the PremiumPLUS subscription is one of the highest around. Though the quality and quantity of learning materials is superb, this cost might just be too much for all but the most dedicated learners.

Con #3: Feels a Bit Unstructured

Unlike a traditional textbook or set syllabus, FilipinoPod101 is all about letting you (the learner) select your own lessons from their vast lesson library. For this reason, some students have commented that it all feels a bit disorganised without a clear syllabus to follow.

For some students who prefer to be guided along and find the prospect of taking your own learning into your own hands a bit daunting, we recommend using the course alongside a more dedicated textbook. Otherwise the Premium PLUS subscription will be of great use to you since you’ll be provided with a personalized learning program with a 1-on-1 instructor to guide through every step of the way.

Personally, we feel that the learning methodology is actually a huge advantage to your studies, allowing you to focus on only the topics and content you find the most interesting and need to work on the most. The grammar can always be assimilated as you encounter more and more authentic language in context, which is why we love that almost every lesson contains a dialogue or some kind of authentic audio text, broken down line-by-line for you to study.

What are the Lessons Like

The lessons do not need to be completed in order, which offers you further customization of your learning. However, they are generally structured to take you up the ladder toward fluency. Absolute Beginners start out with learning “hello” and how to introduce themselves. The Beginner level starts with learning “I love you” and other simple phrases.

Intermediate lessons start off with a focus on more conversational topics and interactions with others, Upper Intermediate lessons and Advanced learners begin to learn more about Filipino festivals, about Metropolitan Manila and the government. In all levels of the lessons, the Philippine culture is sprinkled throughout, immersing you deeper into the history of the Philippines.

Within each level, you can select which lesson ‘pathways’ to pursue by selecting ‘Add To Dashboard’. The pathways will then be available from your central dashboard where you can track your progress and see other similar lessons that may be recommended to you.

A learning pathway consists of many individual lessons, centered around either an audio podcast or YouTube-style video. It’s first recommended to listen or watch the video to hear the language initially in context. The instructor also often drops in interesting cultural information and takes their time to clarify any complicated grammar.

The real meat of the lesson then comes next, with the line-by-line dialogue, vocab list and grammar bank. You can now take your time to listen to each line in isolation, and even record your own pronunciation! The vocab list includes any new words that the lesson introduces, each with plenty of example sentences.

Finally, everything is summarised rather concisely into the lesson notes. You’ll probably find yourself spending most of your time studying these since they contain everything from the lesson and do an amazing job of explaining the grammar rules and structure of the language.

You can then test your knowledge by taking a short quiz or assessment (depending upon the pathway type) and move onto the next lesson in the series. And remember – everything is fully downloadable at no extra cost!

Vocab Tools

To help you really expand your range of vocabulary, FilipinoPod101 features some really useful built-in tools for you to utilize at any time, in between lessons or even straight from the app.

1) Vocab Lists

We found the vocab lists to be a great help whenever you get bored during lessons. They cover all sorts of random and fascinating topics, from surviving a zombie apocalypse to Filipino chat-up lines. There’s enough material to keep you browsing away for hours, and constantly adding to your palette of Filipino vocabulary.

2) Spaced Repetition Flashcards

The flashcards work similarly to the vocab lists; however you not only have a large pool of pre-existing sets to choose from, but you can create your own from scratch and share amongst friends. Like the more popular Anki or Quizlet, you can then test yourself by translating the English, Filipino or image. Your progress is tracked and the ones you get wrong the most will be shown more frequently until they are committed to memory.

3) Core 2000 Word List

Want to bypass all the obsolete and useless language and cut right through to the core of what locals actually say? The core 2000 words list is a comprehensive list of the most frequently used words in the FIlipino language. You can even narrow the list further to show only the top 100 or so words and filter by category.

4) Word of the Day Emails

An optional extra that you can opt into. You’ll receive a new word to your inbox daily. A useful tool to keep your language learning ticking over with new language being learnt daily.

5) Word Bank

During any of the lessons or activities you might encounter some new words you don’t want to let slip away. This is what the word bank is for, allowing you to save any word into your personal word bank and even categorise or label them individually. You can also export your list at any time.

Who Should Buy FilipinoPod101?

FilipinoPod101 is an exceptional learning tool for those who:

want to quickly learn useful phrases for an upcoming vacation or business trip
plan to expand their business to the Philippines
do not have time to attend or cannot find classes
want to know how to learn Filipino quickly and effectively
thrive with independent study programs

Who Shouldn’t Buy FilipinoPod101

Since everyone learns best in different ways, you cannot find an all-encompassing language learning program. Those who may not benefit from FilipinoPod101 include those who:

FilipinoPod101 vs. The Competition

There are quite a few other apps and programs out there that promise to teach you to speak Filipino quickly. However, the truth is that most of these free apps are nothing more than a glorified translation dictionary. This means they truly can’t compare to the in-depth learning you will find in FilipinoPod101.

Since Filipino is not a highly sought after language, you will find little in the way of local community college courses and even online materials. Here is a brief comparison of the few that we did find.

FilipinoPod101 vs. MyLanguageExchange.com

My Language Exchange claims to be the best way to learn Filipino. The idea is fairly simple. You are paired with a Filipino speaker who wants to learn English (or your native language.) All lessons are planned by a certified teacher and are hosted on the website.

While we feel that this can be a great way to learn colloquialisms and idioms, the lessons are not as structured or comprehensive as with FilipinoPod101.

There is no educational requirement of your paired speaker, so you may not receive correct information from them. If used in conjunction with another learning application, this could be highly beneficial but not as a primary way to learn Filipino.

FilipinoPod101 vs. Rosetta Stone Tagalog

First, we must note that standardized Filipino language learning programs are few and far between. We did find Rosetta Stone offers courses so you can learn to speak Tagalog. While many speak this version of Filipino, we prefer to start learning with the standardized version first.

That being said, Rosetta Stone offers a 3-day trial period for their latest available lesson. You can then decide whether you want to sign up for 3-, 6-, 12- or 24-month subscription with an increasing discount for the longer the term. You can add tutoring online for an additional fee. Though you receive access to both the desktop version and mobile app, you will need to purchase a microphone and speakers to get the most from this system.

All in all, we found this course wasn’t as comprehensive as FilipinoPod101.

Is it Worth the Money?

Ultimately, that depends on how keen you are to learn Filipino. We recommend testing out the platform first with a free 7-day trial, and then seeing if you find it useful for your level and learning style. This is a great option for those who are sitting on the fence about learning Filipino.

Dedicated learners will certainly benefit from a Premium or PremiumPLUS subscription with one-on-one instruction included. If you’ve already made up your mind and have decided to get a membership, use our link below to get 30% off:

The 1 Dollar Initial Offer

If you’d like to try the program out for longer than 7 days then you’re in luck! After you’ve signed up for your free account you’ll be offered a full 30 days of FilipinoPod101 Premium for only $1. We’re telling this now because once you click away you won’t have this option again.

But be careful, after the 30 days is up you’ll be automatically placed on the premium subscription and charged $25 a month. So it might be best to just sign up for a 3, 6 or 12 month membership from the get-go to make best use of the subscription discounts on offer, in addition to our 30% off coupon code.

The Secret Lifetime Membership Option

I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan of paying monthly (or even yearly) for something. If this is you too, there’s a secret lifetime membership option that you may not have heard about.

For the price of roughly 3-4 years membership, you can get lifetime access to FilipinoPod101. If you know you’re a lifelong learner and are dedicated to a long term goal, this might be your best bet.

For the obsessive polyglots out there, there’s also an option to purchase lifetime premium access to all 34 languages (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, French… etc). It’s not cheap, but could be great value for the right person.

Important Note I think it’s worth noting that Innovative Language isn’t one of these fly-by-night product makers that abandon their products after selling a bunch of lifetime memberships. They’ve been around for years and are constantly improving the interfaces and releasing new lessons. In fact, I’ve been using their JapanesePod program for years!

FilipinoPod101 Review: Summary

We can confidently recommend FilipinoPod101 for both Philippines expats and leisure travelers alike. With a mobile app and online access to FilipinoPod101’s entire learning library, you can easily fit learning Filipino into your already busy lifestyle.

Conclusion: With few ways to learn the Filipino language, FilipinoPod101 makes a great case for being one of the most extensive programs available. In line with competitors’ prices, we think it offers the best value for the self-motivated and determined learner.

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

CantoneseClass101 Review

Michael — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 07:50:49 +0000

Editor’s Note: This CantoneseClass101 Review has been updated with new information on Oct 18th, 2021. There are referral links in this review, however please rest assured that we only recommend products that we actually use and believe in.

Cantonese is a Chinese language which is widely spoken in Southern China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Even though it’s second to Mandarin in terms of number of speakers, its usefulness in business remains high.

There are plenty of options out there for learning Cantonese online, and CantoneseClass101 is one of the more popular options.

After extensively testing CantoneseClass101 these past weeks, as well as testing their main competitors, I feel confident to give my opinion on how this program stacks up.

Read on to find out!

Already made up your mind and looking for our discount code?

CantoneseClass101 Review: Summary

Name: CantoneseClass101

URL: www.cantoneseclass101.com

Operating System: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Currency: USD

Price: Free lifetime account. Free 7-day Premium trial period. Basic monthly subscription is $4/month. Premium monthly subscription is $10/month. Premium PLUS monthly subscription is $23/month (based on a 24-month subscription).

Application Category: Language Learning Software

In a nutshell: CantoneseClass101 is a language learning program that offers visual, auditory, and tactical learning methods, packaged nicely into a library of highly engaging & customizable lesson ‘pathways’.

Quality of Learning Materials:

Quantity of Lessons:

Effective and Efficient:

Teaches Useful Japanese:

Price:

 4/5

 5/5

 4/5

Overall Score: 4.1

 4.1/5

The Goods

Systematic lessons that begin with absolute beginner skill level
Topics are fun, interesting, and relevant to today’s culture
Uses proven methods to improve specific language skills
Many interactive tools and quizzes are available to enhance learning
Immersive and efficient for beginner to intermediate speakers

The Bads

What is CantoneseClass101?

Innovative Language, the company that originally started with just JapanesePod101 have created CantoneseClass101: an extensive library of podcasts, videos, flashcards, quizzes, and mobile apps to assist motivated individuals to learn how to speak, read and write Cantonese. The level of fluency you want to reach, from knowing key introductory phrases for casual use right up to complete fluency, is totally up to you.

Signing up for CantoneseClass101 gets you a free lifetime account, which gives you access to common word lists, hundreds of audio and video lessons, and an extensive suite of learning tools. You can upgrade to one of three monthly subscriptions for access to the entire library of lessons, personal and interactive lesson quizzes, and even one-on-one instruction.

CantoneseClass101 Features

CantoneseClass101 is a language learning program that lets you learn at your own pace on your own time. If you need more practice on a lesson, you can simply take it again. All of the monthly subscription plans include access to apps for your Android or iOS device. This means that you can turn your lunch break, commuting time, or even a workout into a productive learning time.

The Pros: What We Liked About CantoneseClass101

Here are a few positive points that stood out to us while using the program:

Pro #1: Structured Lessons for Optimal Learning

CantoneseClass101 teaches you how to speak Cantonese in a deliberate way, so you get the most out of your lessons. Within a pathway, each lesson builds upon what you’ve previously learnt. With access to these classes at your fingertips anytime of the day, you can review the lessons as many times as you need until you have it down before moving on to your next chapter.

Pro #2: Native Speakers

Native Cantonese speakers teach all the lessons and provide one-on-one instruction with the PremiumPLUS subscription. This is a huge benefit when trying to learn proper tones and inflections. Cantonese (or Lingnan) culture is spread throughout the lessons to further enhance your immersion in the language.

With an estimated 80 million speakers across the globe, Cantonese speakers have the upper hand when it comes to making business connections overseas.

Pro #3: Level-Appropriate Content & Flexible Learning

There are five skill levels: Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced. Each level corresponds roughly to the standard CEFR language framework with Absolute Beginner equating to A1, Beginner A2, and so on. You can go from one level to another at any time, as you feel ready. In fact, the entire syllabus is completely customizable, meaning that you have complete control over what topics and content you choose to study.

The program works by allowing you to browse hundreds of possible learning pathways before deciding on one and selecting ‘add to dashboard’, which saves the pathway to the main dashboard where you can track your progress and get further lesson recommendations. This way you can really take your learning into your own hands, focus on the skills & language points you need most, and stay motivated by constantly discovering new and interesting topics to learn.

Pro #4: On-the-go Downloadable Content

The podcasts are easily downloaded along with the lesson notes, transcripts and lesson checklists for easy learning whenever you find yourself without wifi. The mobile apps and vocab tools are also available offline, allowing you to take your learning anywhere you go, and study completely at your own pace.

The Cons: What We Didn't Like About CantoneseClass101

Every language learning program has its flaws. Here’s what we thought could use some improvement:

Con #1: Structure can be confusing

Since the whole program is based upon the concept of customizable modular lesson ‘pathways’, there’s not much of an overall structure that you’d expect from a traditional language program or textbook. Instead you are expected to piece together your own learning as you go along, with the grammar points and vocabulary being fed to you in chunks here and there.

Con #2: Online Community is Lacking

The online community of those learning to speak Cantonese is small, so you may find that you need an external source for conversation practice. We recommend using a site such as italki to find yourself a native Cantonese language tutor for speaking practice. Practicing what you’ve learnt so far in the course alongside learning new content would be an ideal situation. It’ll also boost your motivation and give you a chance to clarify any questions you might have.

Whilst this methodology does give you lots of flexibility it can feel very disjointed without a clear logical path to follow. If you’re not suited to independent learning, then you might struggle to stay motivated. That being said, for every level there is a recommended curated pathway that you should begin with, though the quality does vary and some of the other pathways are often a better option.

What are the Lessons Like?

As mentioned, there are five skill levels from which to choose.

As an Absolute Beginner, you will start out learning how to speak Cantonese with an introduction to pronunciation, grammar, and writing. By the end of your first lesson, you will have covered question formation and basic introductions/greetings.

Beginner and Intermediate skill levels will build on the solid foundation you gain as an Absolute Beginner with lessons about past tenses, lengths of time, directions, and calling for help.

Intermediate lessons center around some interesting topics such as living in Hong Kong, getting a job, banking, etiquette, and ‘hogging the limelight’.

As an Advanced learner, you will flex your fluency with lessons about various Hong Kong movies, tourist locales, and purchasing tickets. The native teachers speak slowly and enunciate clearly so that you can keep up. With culture notes intertwined into each lesson, you gain fluency in Cantonese as well as a deeper knowledge of the country.

Did you know? Cantonese is also an incredible stepping stone to learning to speak Mandarin, another derivative of the Chinese language. Chinese written characters are used in both, but Cantonese uses more tones than Mandarin. This makes learning Mandarin after Cantonese much easier.

The lessons in every level are usually structured the same way. You are first encouraged to listen to the podcast or watch the video several times. There’s often an authentic dialogue to expose you to the target language that’s being taught in context. At this point you should just do your best to listen to the pronunciation, even if you don’t understand everything.

Next, you can read along with the transcript, with the added option to listen again to the line-by-line audio recordings. You can also click on the microphone icon to record your own voice and compare your pronunciation alongside the native speaker. Finally, you can read through the list of vocabulary, the lesson notes and grammar bank. The entire process is explained in a checklist that can be downloaded with each lesson. Note, the lesson notes, transcripts and mp3 files are also easily downloaded within each lesson.

Extra Learning Tools

The Innovative Language programs are well known for their additional learning tools and interactive features that accompany the lessons. CantoneseClass101 is no exception – there’s a whole suite of useful tools on offer to enhance your learning.

For example, one of the most useful features is the word bank and spaced repetition flashcard decks. At any point during the lessons you can save a word into either your word bank or a given flash card deck. Within your word bank you can categorise all your words with labels, and import them into a specific flashcard deck. You can select from premade flashcard decks or create your own from scratch. This way you’ll never lose a word during a lesson, and you’ll be able to track every vocab term you encounter.

Additionally, you’ll find that there’s 100s of vocab lists to explore on a massive range of trending topics from money-related expressions to chat up lines. A great way to break up your learning and build upon your existing vocab knowledge. Likewise, there’s a list of the 2000 most common words in Cantonese. This allows you to focus on only the most relevant language and avoid wasting your time on words or expressions that are obsolete or outdated. Every word comes with a pronunciation guide and at least one example sentence. The list can also be filtered by category and narrowed down to the most common 100, 200, 300 words etc.

Who Should Use CantoneseClass101?

Those who want to learn Cantonese will definitely benefit from using CantoneseClass101, especially those who:

Plan to do business in Hong Kong or Southern China
Are planning a trip to Hong Kong or other Cantonese-speaking areas
Love Cantonese language, culture, songs, or movies
Have a Cantonese partner, family member, or friend
Are motivated and thrive on independent study

Who Shouldn’t Use CantoneseClass101?

As with all language learning programs, a proper fit is essential for optimal learning. Those who might not benefit from CantoneseClass101 include:

Best CantoneseClass101 Alternatives

While it is easy to find loads of apps and programs that claim to teach you to speak Cantonese, few can provide in-depth lessons. Many free Cantonese apps and programs we tried like Duolingo and Wikihow do not cover much grammar, tone, or pronunciation, leaving you with a glorified translation dictionary. The few Cantonese courses we found and how they measure up to CantoneseClass101 is detailed below.

CantoneseClass101 vs. Learn Cantonese Sheik

This UK-based website is free to use, but you can also make a donation of your choice for access to customized quizzes, expanded vocabulary lists, and access to learning tools. Free accounts are subject to advertisements. Sheik appears to have an extensive library of lessons, but it mostly consists of forum posts by other members.

Though you cannot beat free, there is very little structure to the website, and it feels as if you are lost in a maze at times.

There is no clear cut starting point, which only leaves one to guess where to begin.

Check out Learn Cantonese Sheik

CantoneseClass101 vs. Cantolounge

Cantolounge is run by Hong Kong natives based in Canada. You can download the excellent 127-page “The Complete Guide to Learn Cantonese” PDF for free, which covers what it takes to learn the language. You will also find grammar lessons via videos, vocabulary lists, and transcripts. Also available is a Jyutping chart with over 1500 recordings for pronunciation practice.

This is an excellent option if you’re on a budget and are looking for free resources to learn Cantonese.

Similar to the Sheik program, there is not a clear starting point for beginners, and it’s possible to get lost amongst the abundance of information. That said, as a free resource, this is probably your best bet.

Though lacking the comprehensive lessons of CantoneseClass101, Cantolounge could be beneficial as a supplemental learning program.

Check out Cantolounge

Is CantoneseClass101 Worth the Money?

We think that a person who is serious about learning Cantonese is making a good investment with CantoneseClass101. The lessons, even with the free account, are some of the most informative and engaging that you’ll find.

It’s clear that the CantoneseClass team has invested thousands of hours into creating the most comprehensive course out there. And they continue to improve and add new lessons every week.

While the basic membership starts at only $4 a month, I’d really recommend the premium option ($10 per month) for the additional vocab tools that will be of great benefit if used properly, whilst still being cost effective. We reached out to the CantoneseClass101 team who have kindly offered our readers 30% off their subscriptions.

Important Note: While we do receive commissions for our referrals, we strongly believe in ONLY recommending products we’ve actually tried and genuinely like. If you sign up using our link, you save money AND it also helps support our site.

One-Time Payment Lifetime Membership Option

If you’re like me and you don’t like paying for something every month, there’s a secret lifetime membership option that might be for you.

If you’re serious about learning long-term, this might be your best option.

Better yet, if you’re learning multiple languages, Innovative Languages (the team behind the Pod101 and Class101 programs) offers lifetime access to ALL 34 languages. Mind you, it’s not cheap. But if you think long-term and realize that you’ll get a ton of use out of all the different languages over the years to come, it’s a really good deal.

Find the most up-to-date discounts for CantoneseClass101 here.

Final Thoughts on CantoneseClass101

We find CantoneseClass101 essential for anyone seeking fluency in Cantonese. Those who are simply looking to learn useful phrases for upcoming business or leisure trips to Hong Kong will benefit greatly from the orderly, progressive lessons.

CantoneseClass101 is the best option we know of for learning Cantonese. It’s one of the only programs we found to offer multiple ways to learn on your own time. The website and apps are easy to navigate and you can concieniently keep track of your progress and where you left off. CantoneseClass101 is an essential program for any serious student.

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.