NewsInSlow

[Ccaesar]

Hello everyone
I stumbled across the website NewsInSlowItalian and one in Japanese. Does anyone here on the forum subscribe to those websites? Or can anyone recommend them? Give a sort review or tell me why I shouldn't give it a go?

https://www.newsinslowitalian.com/

https://newsinslowjapanese.com/

To me it seems quite similar to the Assimil approach which I like

[jeff_lindqvist]

Last year, I used it for Italian. 200 mini podcasts (i.e. the Intro sections) helped me to improve my listening skills. I think you get a lot more if you subscribe, but this was more than enough for me at the time.

[SCMT]

Hello everyone
I stumbled across the website NewsInSlowItalian and one in Japanese. Does anyone here on the forum subscribe to those websites? Or can anyone recommend them? Give a sort review or tell me why I shouldn't give it a go?

https://www.newsinslowitalian.com/

https://newsinslowjapanese.com/

To me it seems quite similar to the Assimil approach which I like

I have used the free section for Spanish. I like it for listening practice. It's clear, actual native speech on familiar topics, and it has a full transcript. Some of the topics were dated, but I assume that's because I was on the free side.

Don't they have an introductory free section for those languages? My suggestion would be to try it and see what you think.

[jeff_lindqvist]

They rebuilt the interface of their websites, but I managed to find the news that I listened to - they are available under the Intermediate section - just click on any episode and then Intro, e.g. https://www.newsinslowitalian.com/inter ... /345/intro

[Bex]

The educational licences for homeschooling or study groups offer large discounts.

But you need at least 3 people to share the cost....
I was often tempted for Spanish intermediate but I never found 2 people to share the cost with.

[coldrainwater]

I used it for Spanish to help make the transition from reading and listening with a transcript to pure listening. Right program, right time and it was a great confidence booster in that respect. It is more or less beginner only for me due to the ''slow'' part. Remembering back, I used it right alongside Veintemundos and the combo made for a very nice comparison and even compliment. Newsinslow has a great layout and I remember that it had very solid options for acquiring vocabulary. Their grammar and idioms sections are also quite timely and helpful. For my current German studies, I used it in a [very] minimal capacity grabbing the free audio-only mainly due to the glut of German learning materials (mostly very high quality also). The presenters at Newsinslow do quite a lot to make an otherwise repetitive subject interesting. In short, it did what I hoped and seems consistent between the two languages I have tested it on. If you are wanting the paid material, probably the most economical route is to buy a month and take from it what you need. To the best of my recall, they implicitly build that option and use-case into their pricing structure. I believe they also emphatically do not believe in recurring charges, which I found a pleasant relief. There is so often that nagging question of, how on earth do I cancel this thing when I am done? Newsinslow makes that painless.

[mentecuerpo]

I have the German 7-day trial subscription, I am on day two.

The one thing I have noticed is that there is no way to download the audio file, and you pretty much are forced to use an audio recording app such as audacity to extract the audio as it is streaming.

The transcription is in German only, there is no other language translation.

I have used the Microsoft Office Word to paste the German transcription and then used the "translate" feature on word and I get a very good English translation that it is so good that it seems as if a human has made the translation. So, this solves the problem with the translation.

You can download the PDF file of for each lesson, but as I said, you need to get your own translation if you need to. In my case, because I am at beginners level, I need to translate the document.

The News in Slow German comes with an Android App that simplifies the lesson, it gives you the audio for stream with your cellular data plan or you can download it within the app in a "cache." However, the folder where the file is downloadable cannot be found in the "My Files" folder on Android, therefore the Download file can only be found from within the app and there is no way to extract the down load file to share in other MP3 player apps.

The App is very handy and once you have downloaded the lesson in the app, you do not need the cellular data. To delete the file, just go to the upper right corner of the app with three vertical dots and tap on "Delete Cache."

I don't have a SD card on my phone but it looks like the files can be download on an SD card, in that case it may be possible to extract the file, but I am not sure about that or what format it is downloaded. Does anyone know?

The other thing that I like about News in Slow German, is the price, it appears that is about $10 USD, way less than Italian and French, I think.

[mentecuerpo]

It is a weekly program, but it gives enough content to be digested in a week period. So, the frequency is just right for me.

I like the quality of the content and the sound of the language with standard neutral German pronunciation with no regional differences. You have two voices, a male and a female voice.

There is news broadcast style content with current events read by one of the voices and after there is conversation between the two broadcasters discussing the news that has just been read.

The content is interesting with topics of current events that I am familiar following the international news. It also has a cultural section and review of interest aspects of the Grammar.

It is recommended for intermediate level language learners, but I think a language learner who has learnt other languages, can enjoy the content, having the translation provided by Microsoft word that give an instant high-quality translation. (note, Microsoft word translation features only works when the user is connected to the internet).