Lingoda

All about language programs, courses, websites and other learning resources
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Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
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Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
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Lingoda

Postby Carmody » Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:18 pm

This course is new for me; I wonder if anyone has tried it:

Lingoda

An intro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEb55vx67do

The website:
https://www.lingoda.com/en/french/how-it-works
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Speakeasy
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Re: Lingoda

Postby Speakeasy » Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:04 am

Carmody, thank you for bringing this resource to our attention and for opening a discussion thread for review and comments. I conducted a quick search of the LLORG and came across two separate entries in members’ logs which mention Lingoda. As far as I can tell, to date, there are no other references apart from your own and the two below.

Member "Mihai" - Mihai’s language log (French, German) -- Dec 30, 2017
"...For the live tutoring I'm currently evaluating Lingoda. I scheduled a free trial live session on Skype, to evaluate my language level and define my learning goals."


Member "bretagne" -- My French learning log: A2 to …? Aug 14, 2018
"...Had a free taster lesson on lingoda - the teacher was really supportive and gave me the confidence in progressing towards B1 but reminded me the importance of focusing on confidence and conversational french given my upcoming move. Not sure I will pay for lessons though."


There seems to be a never-ending succession of new and promising language-learning services on the Internet. I would enjoy hearing more about this one. Perhaps Mihai and bretagne could provide us with an update on their experiences? Has anyone else tried Lingoda, would they like to comment?

EDITED:
Typos, of course.
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User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: Lingoda

Postby Carmody » Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:18 pm

Speakeasy,

Thanks for your due diligence on this topic; most grateful.

Must add that the comment
but reminded me the importance of focusing on confidence
was a comment that I personally have not seen discussed before. Yes, people talk of plateaus, etc. but not really on the ways one can build confidence, which is so very critical. At least it is for me.
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Daristani
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:43 pm
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Re: Lingoda

Postby Daristani » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:38 pm

I've never used this service , nor in fact even heard of it, but I did see this Reddit thread yesterday:

https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearni ... goda_with/

I guess that as always , it's 'Caveat emptor'...
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User avatar
Carmody
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1747
Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:00 am
Location: NYC, NY
Languages: English (N)
French (B1)
Language Log: http://tinyurl.com/zot7wrs
x 3395

Re: Lingoda

Postby Carmody » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:55 pm

Wow; chilling!
Thanks.
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Speakeasy
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Re: Lingoda

Postby Speakeasy » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:38 pm

Daristani, thank you very much for the link to the Reddit commentary; sobering, indeed! After reading it, I Googled "Lingoda" and, amongst the myriad of links, I came across the Trustpilot website which contains a surprisingly-large number of effusive reviews of this language service, to which Lingoda replied, expressing their gratitude. There were, however, a couple of complaints concerning billing procedures.

Trustpilot - Lingoda Reviews
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/lingoda.com

As I know nothing of Lingoda, I can neither confirm nor dispute the positive reviews of it on Trustpilot. However, I do not think that it would be an exaggeration to say that it has become increasingly difficult to find reliable information on the Internet. I would be more comfortable were an established member of the LLORG or of the HTLAL to post a review of this language-learning service. Whenever you, or a number of other forum members comment on language-learning materials and services, I pay very close attention to what you say!
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bretagne
White Belt
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:30 pm
Location: London
Languages: English (N), French (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=8845
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Re: Lingoda

Postby bretagne » Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:37 pm

So my Lingoda experience wasn't too bad though I was aware of all the complaints prior. I signed up then had to provide my credit card details for the free one hour trial - something about being charged 20 or 30 euros if I didn't show up.

On the day, I had a very friendly tutor who talked a little about how lingoda works and then took me through a practice lesson. All the lessons are PDF/Powerpoint based and the delivery takes place through Zoom.us - so I got to see a part of the tutor's screen.

It's possible to download the PDF for a lesson in advance. In fact, it seems possible to download any PDF for any lesson from A1 to C2 - not sure if that's done by design?

The PDFs are on topics like Describing Friends or Applying for a Job or Past Tense Verbs and the lesson is based on that PDF. There is the option to request a custom lesson but I am not sure how that would work. The seem to be about 50 pages in length, with about 5 pages at the back for 'homework' which I found out is self-marked.

I was asked to read everything on each page of the PDF out loud, and then where there were pages with instructions/questions/tasks, I would answer these out loud and the tutor would encourage/correct me.

I enjoyed the process as it was one-to-one so I got a lot of speaking practice and by the end I did feel a sense of progression. Compared to using other online tutors through sites such as iTalki I think it was a lot easier to feel as though things were progressing as the class had a framework and if things felt a bit difficult, moving on helped. I think the tutor probably enjoyed the session also because they didn't have to prepare anything in advance.

After the trial I've received a couple of 'sign up now' offers - I think one was for 30% off a month's subscription but can't be sure and can't be bothered to dig it out! I don't know if I will sign up yet. I think the negative reviews about billing problems put me off - and I didn't get to experience a group lesson, which I think wouldn't feel quite so positive.

They also have something called a language marathon. I think that you commit to three months of daily lessons and agree to pay for these lessons. Then, if you attend a lesson every single day for those entire three months, they refund that money. This is incredibly clever psychology - as, like the gym, we start with the best intentions but then life gets in the way. I am drawn to giving this a try but it would be horrible if I couldn't make a lesson for reasons beyond my control and then lose out. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has managed to complete the marathon!

In summary, I love the clear structure and clear lesson plans - they clearly align with CEFR levels so appeal to the DELF-exam-taking side of me. My tutor was great but I am not sure if it's possible to have the same tutor all the time - or at least pick sessions they are teaching. The billing issues I've read about unnerve me and as I haven't experienced the group sessions I am still unsure as to how all the material I covered in a one-to-one trial lesson could be easily done with three other people without there being some loss of learning. Their subscription model is savvy (use it or lose it) and that also puts me off, as circumstances outside my control might mean I lose it - but this is similar to attending face-to-face classes, I suppose.
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2: 11 / 100 Assimil New French with Ease (100 lessons)

Speakeasy
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Re: Lingoda

Postby Speakeasy » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:02 pm

bretagne, thank you very much for your solid contribution to the discussion of the “Lingoda” service. Thoughtful, detailed reviews of language-learning products and services, particularly those based on personal experience, are of a great assistance to anyone visiting the forum. Keep up the good work!
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