LingoDeer: A Five Star App for Learning Asian Languages

Hi everybody! It's been a while. Today, I wanted to introduce you to an app I recently discovered. I kept hearing about LingoDeer through the language-learning community grapevine (yes, that is a real thing), and all I heard was good things. I was excited to try it!

LingoDeer is an only an app at this point. But it's definitely one you want to have if you are learning Japanese, Korean, or Mandarin Chinese.

I got under a cozy blanket and spent at least twenty minutes working on this cool app. I might have actually spent more time as I lost track of it.

The app is very fun and game-like. When you get an answer correct, you hear a Ka-Ching! sound with is a positive sound, in my opinion.

The game will have you drag and drop characters onto the board to construct a sentence. It will also have you practice writing the characters. Every feature of the game was fun. There was no part I didn't like.

The voice was good and clear, too!

Ready for the best part? I found myself remembering the words that I had learned. Sometimes, I try out a course for Mandarin Chinese, and I forget the vocabulary immediately. (Mandarin is one of the tougher languages for me to learn.) But with LingoDeer that didn't happen! Now, I want to shout about it from the rooftops.

If you're leaning any of the three languages they offer,

GO. GET. LINGODEER. RIGHT. NOW.

(Can you tell I'm excited about this app? Lol)

Linguti

http://www.linguti.com

Linguti vs. Duolingo: A face off?

At first glance, it looks like Linguti might just be the new Duolingo. It has many similar features, including a streak, money to buy power ups, and a general gamified learning environment. I decided to review Linguti and find out what made it stand out! And whether it's competition has anything to worry about. 

Linguti offers a few languages that Duolingo doesn't. Korean and Japanese, for example. But I decided on French, because I struggled with it on Duolingo. (Mostly due to the robot voice.)

The course starts out with vocabulary. The first thing I noticed, and this is definitely a pro, was a human voice said the words. Not a robot voice! I think Duo is great, but that robot voice is horrible and will always be a con in my book.

After the vocabulary, you start learning simple sentences right away. This is similar to Duolingo, but you are treated to real pictures throughout the course, not just for vocabulary. This is a huge pro for visual learners. 

The listening tests and midterm reviews were also nice features. Unlike Duolingo, Linguti makes you take two tests, a midterm review and a review, before you can move on to the next part of learning. Definitely a pro!

Now for the downside, because there always seems to be one. Linguti didn't seem to have any community or forum discussion. So unlike Duolingo, you can't discuss grammar concepts with other learners. This might be a pro for solo learners who would be distracted by the community environment, but for me it was a definite downside. I did see a spot for notifications of friend requests but no actual place to find friends. 

Another con of Linguti is that they don't accept alternative correct answers. They do allow you to report bugs like this, though. While this definitely can hinder the learning experience, I think it is something the site will improve over time.

They are also very strict about accents. But for those who want to make sure that they are always spelling the words correctly, with accents in place, this is definitely a pro!

Overall, I did like the look and feel of the Linguti learning experience, and I will probably visit this site from time to time.

If your target language is Japanese, Korean, or (coming soon) Chinese, you'll definitely want to give Linguti a chance!

Pros: Completely free

Human voice

Many pictures 

Tests

Offers Japanese and Korean

Cons:

Strict about accepting answers

No discussion forum

Languages: French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish

Similar to: Duolingo, Mondly, Rosetta Stone

ASL Resources

Here's a quick list of sites for you to bookmark if you're looking to learn ASL.

https://www.signsavvy.com

Dictionary, blog, learning area, and more!

http://lifeprint.com

First 100 signs, videos, and more!

http://aslpro.com

Dictionary, Quizzes, and Sign Language for babies!

http://asl.ms 

Fingerspelling practice

http://asl.bz

Number Practice

http://www.signlanguage101.com

Absolutely free ASL instruction!

Http://www.deaftv.com

Videos in ASL

http://howyousign.com

Links to many ASL resources

http://aslized.org/

Journal of American Sign Language and Literature

http://ideafnews.com

World Wide News For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing

http://www.oicmovies.com

News, information, and entertainment in American Sign Language

Mondly.com

Hello, everybody! I know it's been a while since I blogged. I thought I'd run out of language courses. But today I came across one that is definitely worth talking about. It's called Mondly and it uses the "gamification" method of learning.

I like to pick a language I don't know well to review the course in. So for Mondly, I picked Chinese.

You start here with what looks like a travel map.

And once you pick your destination you will have a set of lessons. See the stars? They reflect how well you did the lesson.

Mondly feels a lot like a crossover between Duolingo and the old LiveMocha. You start off seeing pictures and hearing names. Basically, this is a total immersion course.

For each wrong answer you lose a heart.

Mondly's method is even more "sink or swim" than Duolingo as you don't get translations of the words and they will throw you expressions you haven't heard yet. I highly recommend combining it with a vocabulary course such as Memrise.

So why bother with Mondly when there's Duolingo? Well, here's one good reason. They have quite a few languages that Duolingo hasn't even begun to hatch yet such as Mandarin and Afrikaans.

Overall, I really like Mondly and I think you should give it a try.

Languages Available: English, German, French, Spanish, Romanian, Hungarian, Czech, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Korean, Swedish, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Indonesian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Afrikaans

Games For Language

http://www.gamesforlanguage.com

 

 

I found this course a while back, but it wasn't really complete when I found it. Now that it is, I want to review it for you. Okay, actually I'm addicted to it.

 

It's super fun.

 

First off, they treat learning languages entirely as a game.

 

 

There are five or six different games that teach you selected vocabulary and phrases. Oh, and these aren't random either. All of the vocabulary being taught is going to be used in a story that you get to read after you are finished with the lesson. There is no rote repetition at all. Just fun games that test you on your listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The collection of games covers all the important bases of language learning.

 

You can also record yourself speaking which is a huge bonus and benefits you. Oh, and this another site that's completely free. You just need to register. So go sign up!

 

 

Hope you enjoy it,

 

Love Destiny

 

 

 

Languages: English (for Spanish speakers), Italian, German, French, and Spanish.



Fluencia

There are things I like about Fluencia. It has a nice layout and is pretty easy to use. You learn vocabulary by listening to a conversation. Then you are quizzed on it. I was having fun even though I was mostly practicing stuff I already knew.

The environment is sort of like a game or quiz. This is a big plus.

But here is the con. Fluencia is not free. Much like Babbel, Fluencia gets you hooked and THEN throws you their pitch. I'm moving through the course, enjoying myself, when suddenly a box  pops up  and informs me I only have a few more lessons until I will have to pay.

What? Yep, a hundred dollars a year. It's less expensive than Rosetta Stone, but I'm not crazy about the fact that they tried to trick me either. Are these courses afraid that if they don't state that they cost money up front we won't bite?

Maybe it's because free language courses are the wave of the future with courses like Duolingo leading the way. Even ad based courses and courses that offer a basic account tend to do better than totally paid courses.

If you are learning Spanish go ahead and try Fluencia. You can at least take the first fifteen lessons. If you like the style and can afford the subscription, it's totally worth it.

# Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua da Destiny (tradotto dalla fantastica comunità Duolingo)

English note: This is my list of 10 tips for language learning translated into Italian by the awesome Duolingo community. Woohoo!

# Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua da Destiny

ultimamente non ho trovato nessun nuovo corso, ma volevo comunque scrivere un articolo. Così eccolo. Dieci consigli per imparare una lingua straniera.

1\. Etichetta tutto Esatto. Ho detto etichetta tutto. gira per casa ed etichetta tutto nella lingua che stai imparando. Se stai imparando lo spagnolo allora metti una etichetta "la pared" sulla tua parete e "la puerta" sulla tua porta . Se vedi le parole continuamente, ti si stamperanno in mente.

2\. Trova qualcuno con cui parlare nella lingua. Potresti trovare qualcuno che parla la lingua e che sta imparando la tua per video-chattare con lui. Oppure se sei timido puoi usare messaggi istantanei o una chat room come "Espanglish Chat".

3\. Fai delle schede didattiche. Puoi trovare delle Flashcard in un negozio locale nel reparto scuola di solito a prezzi contenuti. Dovrebbero costare un dollaro o meno quelle che hanno le linee su un lato. Crea un mazzo di schede usando un grosso evidenziatore nero in modo che le parole siano facili da vedere

4\. Usa le flashcard per giocare. Gioca a diversi giochi con le flashcard. Puoi giocare a Memory

Memory

Per giocare a Memory scrivi la parola nella lingua che stai imparando su una carta e nella tua lingua madre su una carta separata. Disponi le carte in una griglia o trova qualcuno che lo faccia per te Per giocare, devi accoppiare le parole della lingua che stai imparando con le parole che hanno lo stesso significato nella tua lingua madre.

a pesca di parole

Questo è un po' più incasinato è un pò più ridicolo e potrebbe essere più semplice per i ragazzini. Si può giocare anche contro un amico.

Per questo hai solo bisogno di carte con una parola sul fronte e sul retro. Ammucchia tutte le carte Questo è il lago Ora a turno raccogliete una carta. Indovinate cosa significa la parola. Se hai indovinato continui tu a pescare la carta. La persona con più carte alla fine del gioco vince.

5 Investi in un vocabolario se parli inglese e stai imparando lo spagnolo, allora investi in un vocabolario spagnolo-inglese. Ottieni l'idea Ogni volta che scrivi o ti eserciti e hai bisogno di cercare una parola puoi semplicemente aprire il dizionario e ricercarla.

6\. Trova uno spettacolo in lingua da guardare. Quando stavo studiando tedesco trovai uno show chiamato Lauras Stern che guardavo su youtube. Ho guardato un episodio dopo ogni lezione di Tedesco che prendevo. Penso di aver aumentato abbastanzala mia comprensione Mi dava anche una carica di sicurezza quando capivo molto di quello che stavano dicendo.

7\. Gli esercizi di scrittura sono necessari. Potete non essere d'accordo con me ma non eravate soliti scrivere gli esercizi a scuola per imparare la vostra lingua madre? se sei timido puoi semplicemente scrivere esercizi e scrivere cosa sai su un pezzo di carta se ti senti coraggioso puoi inviare i tuoi esercizi su http://www.lang-8.com che è un sito specifico per imparare le lingue e fare esercitazioni

8\. leggi nella lingua E' IMPORTANTE ESSERE IN GRADO DI LEGGERE NELLA LINGUA SCELTA,SOPRATTUTTO SE SIETE INTERESSATI ALLA SUA LETTERATURA. la lettura può anche aiutarti a capire l'ortografia e la pronuncia delle parole che altrimenti potresti confondere puoi leggere libri in lingue diverse su http:/www.childrenslibrary.org. hanno libri in diverse lingue oppure puoi cercare i libri nella lingua che stai imparando su eBay

9\. PARLA AL TUO CANE NELLA LINGUA SCELTA. O AL TUO GATTO. Oppure al tuo pesce rosso oppure al tuo peluche favorito si, sembra sciocco. Ma probabilmente parli con il tuo animale domestico tutto il tempo comunque,quindi perché non parlare a loro nella lingua scelta? loro non vi giudicheranno e questo vi fornisce un modo libero da giudizi di praticare la lingua. Avanti così.

10\. non smettere di studiare Mantieni la pratica Perchè una lingua straniera è un giardino che ha bisogno di essere innaffiato o morirà. Se le persone non usano una lingua straniera spesso la dimenticano. chiedi appunto ai tuoi genitori se ricordano qualcosa del loro corso di lingua alle superiori quindi studia un pochino ogni giorno

Spero che questi suggerimenti di apprendimento linguistico vi aiutino!

Con amore,

Destiny