How expensive is your language journey?

[jacquemarie]

For me, I can't tell you the hundreds of dollars I have spent on Mandarin only to be able to say "I do not speak mandarin well".

I'm doing better with French, I found a free grammar book online, and I've only spend money on FlashAcademy and Memrise. I also just signed up for FrenchPod101, but at $25/month we will see if I keep it. My theory has been if I use it at least a month, it's worth the money, and so far these are the only things I'm still using a month later (besides duolingo, but I would never pay the money for duolingo).

I know there are several language programs that are extremely expensive (Pimsleur, for example).

My question is, how much (or little) have you spent so far? Do you buy all the resources or do you have a more frugal approach? Do you think spending the money you have has helped or do you think you could have done without? Feed my curiosity, please!

[zenmonkey]

Very Expensive.

I try to keep away from expensive language programs but I do take classes. In the past, I've paid for Assimil, Living Language, xxPod101, Memrise, Babbel, audiobooks and other things. Some are worth it and others, not so much.

Currently I pay only for one subscription service (I'm going to cancel end of 2019) and recurring classes (I keep myself to about $50 a month). So that's actually limited.

But I collect books -- and there? Well, if I tell you I'm going to have to kill you...

[DaraghM]

Extremely expensive.

I think the most expensive single items I purchased were Linguaphone Russian and French in Action. Pimsleur Hungarian and Rus' were a bit pricey. I've also bought a lot of Assimil course which are slightly expensive. I don't tend to notice the lower priced items, but these all add up as well. For French, I purchased, and somehow completed the following.

Living French
Assimil French
French in Action 1
French in Action Workbook 1
Grammaire en Dialogues - Niveau Debutant
Vocabulaire en Dialogues - Niveau Debutant
Hachette: Grammaire Pratique du Français
Vocabulaire Expliqué du Français - Niveau Débutant
Grammaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire
Grammaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Avancé
Communication Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire
Vite et Bien 2 (B1)
Vocabulaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire
Vocabulaire Expliqué du Français - Niveau Intermédiaire
Alter Ego 1
Guide Alter Ego 1
Alter Ego 2
Guide Alter Ego 2
Alter Ego 3
Bescherelle : La Grammaire Pour Tous
Le Monde
Point de Vue
Vocabulaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Avancé
Version Originale 4
Version Originale 4 - Cahier
Version Originale 4 - Guide
Grammaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Perfectionnment
Les 500 Exercices de Grammaire B1
Les 500 Exercices de Grammaire B2
Édito - B1
Édito - B2
Tu Sais Quoi
Alter Ego 4
Alter Ego 5

I also bought,

Price Comprehensive Grammar
LeRobert dictionary
Larousse dictionary
Bien-Dire
Penguin Stories
French Grammar and Usage
Dites-Moi un Peu
Referential B1
Diccionaire Mythologie
Outils
Oxford dictionary
Vocabulaire Anglais
Grevisse Un Bon Mot
Mot a Mot
Using French
Berlitz Dictionary
French Grammar in Context
Routledge Frequency dictionary
French Short Stories
Collins Dictionary

And that's just for French ...

[Axon]

By far the biggest costs I've had were classes, though I took several through my university and so didn't end up paying anything extra past my tuition.

I paid something on the order of $1200 for a year's worth of tuition at a university in Indonesia, though inflation meant that I paid around $50 less for the second semester. I spent around $400 a month living pretty comfortably there, though I did some freelance work and ended up offsetting a lot of that cost and it wasn't entirely a language learning cost anyway.

Basically I tend to scrounge for free resources whenever I can and the purchases I do make are either relatively large to make up for that or tiny throwaway things.

I had two years of Clozemaster Pro ($120) and two years of Glossika ($350), plus I spent some $150 on their older courses. A few years ago I had to subscribe to Yabla ($30) and then Rosetta Stone ($25?) for my college German courses. I paid for a month of Readlang but didn't use it more than a few times.

My parents love used bookstores and book sales, so virtually all of my language book collection in the US was got for pennies on the dollar. I did buy a couple of Kauderwelsch courses ($20), and Penguin Parallel texts ($30) new. In Indonesia and China I spent a little money on books in and about the local languages.

I plan to buy a Japanese phonetics video course and probably a few more books in Chinese over the next year, but these days I've found so much free and legal content that I don't really even think about spending money on materials. Certainly the vast majority of my time-on-language has always been with free (if not always legal) content.

Say $2000 over the last seven years?

[jacquemarie]

For French, I purchased, and somehow completed the following.

Not to go super far off an a tangent but as a fellow French learner - is there anything you purchased (for any level) anything you feel is a "must have" in your book?

@axon that's so neat that you have loved abroad. That's one of those things I talk about doing but who knows if I actually will.... Maybe I should look further into that since I'm back to school and I feel as though it'll be easier to do a study abroad semester than try to hack it on my own.

$2,000 over 7ish years isn't bad at all. That's just under $300 a year, which I feel is reasonable for the more expensive programmes that are out there.

[Lianne]

Not expensive at all. I have paid for a few leisure guide classes over the years, which have been about $100 for a 9 week course. But the expensive French classes I took a couple years ago were paid for by work. (Yay!) I don't have any subscriptions; the websites I use are free (Duolingo, Memrise, etc.) Most of my books have been bought at used book sales for a couple of bucks (aside from a couple of new books like my 501 French Verbs book). I take stuff out from the library.

[SGP]

Very inexpensive.
Used books (on purpose). 10€ for 5 or 10 of them.
Electricity.
Internet connection.

[NoManches]

Very expensive. Although the same results could have been obtained for a lot cheaper had I done things differently.

My biggest costs have been on tutoring lessons (both online such as iTalki and also face to face). I know there are some people on this forum who are for tutoring, and many who don't think you need it. I am all for it and continue to pay for lessons since they are more specialized at this time in my language learning journey.

The second biggest cost has gone towards books. I love books in their physical format, especially grammar/reference books, and after a while they really start to add up. Even though Kindle books are cheaper, they still add up and cost $$$ in the end. A few years ago I donated a ton of books since I was moving and didn't have the room for them. Many of these books were Spanish novels and grammar books...I sure hope they are being put to good use by somebody.

I have never had to pay for a traditional language course which I am very grateful for. I went to college for free because of the GI Bill, and I took advantage every opportunity that was given to me (research projects in Mexico, many Spanish language classes, and the opportunity to speak with native speakers while going to school near the US/Mexican border.

I view language learning as a hobby, and something that is really fun and rewarding. There are many benefits to language learning in the long run, and I often times view it as exercise for my brain. I should also mention that Spanish has helped me out tremendously in my job and while traveling, so I think the cost has been worth it.

*Edit*

Fixed some spelling mistakes

[Axon]

@axon that's so neat that you have loved abroad. That's one of those things I talk about doing but who knows if I actually will.... Maybe I should look further into that since I'm back to school and I feel as though it'll be easier to do a study abroad semester than try to hack it on my own.

I forgot that I did take regular (inexpensive) Russian group classes for several months, so it's probably closer to $2500 if I figure there are other little things I'm not remembering from my college years.

A lot of people here don't like classes, but I've always found that I've made the most progress in languages that I have classes for. As much as I like to imagine I'm a self-learner, the structure of a class and the motivation from everyone's expectations is a big boost for me.

I know there are tons of study abroad programs for Mandarin in China and Taiwan! If you're willing to be more adventurous and go to a school that isn't as well known, you're likely to be able to get it fully funded through a scholarship.

[Cèid Donn]

In the past I have spend a ton of money on learning Gaelic and if I had to estimate a total, I'd put it in the high 4-digit range. But nowadays, I have virtually no disposable income, and any money I spend on language learning means I have to do without something else, so most months I spend $0, unless you count the expense of maintaining a desktop PC and paying for internet and a Netflix sub, all of which I use for languages but also other things.

In the past 2 months I've indulged and spent about $50 on books, but that's hardly a common thing. The overwhelming majority of my current resources are free or were obtained without purchase one way or another.

The only paid language learning service I currently have is Memrise Pro, but that is because Memrise offered me a major discount to re-sub to it last June, and I used it as an excuse to get myself back in to language learning (and it helped). There are a couple of things I'm considering subbing for later on this year, but if I do, it will be when I am healthy enough and have the time and motivation to use those services because I just can't throw money away these days.