Great review and I fully understand the camera comment. As an English teacher myself, there is nothing worse than staring at 5 blank screens all class. I understand that students have their reasons for not turning on their cameras, but from a teacher's perspective, it really takes away a lot of the enjoyment from the class. I like to see faces :)
The teacher turning off the camera and then asking for a good review is definitely not normal. And I’m an English teacher for Lingoda. I hate the 5 black boxes of death! 😁
Maybe his camera had an issue . Had an off and on camera at work once and didn’t notice until a colleague pointed it out. I had to disconnect and reconnect .
I completely agree that not being able to contact the teachers outside the classes sucks. After taking the Sprint and sticking around on the platform with them for a few months more it was like saying goodbye forever to a bunch of friends who I had just didn't months cultivating relationships with.
in brief: In this video, the speaker shares their experience and thoughts on the Lingoda language learning platform. They discuss the teachers, program content, and the platform itself. Key points: 1-Teachers: The speaker liked 80% of the teachers but found 20% not as great. The best teachers were direct, helpful, and able to maintain class flow. Some teachers struggled with this, making the class awkward. The speaker advises noting down the teachers you like and dislike to better tailor your experience. 2-Program content: The speaker found grammar and skills classes the most valuable, while vocab and reading classes were less useful. They appreciated the flexibility in class choices and being able to skip content they already knew. The content also includes homework, tests, and transcripts for revision. However, they didn't like being kicked off the program after completing the sprint. 3-Platform: The Lingoda platform uses Zoom for video calls, which mostly worked well. The speaker experienced a few connection issues but was able to resolve them by contacting Lingoda. They felt that the platform needs better search filters when looking for classes. Overall, the speaker had a positive experience with Lingoda, finding the content helpful and the majority of teachers effective. However, they suggest some improvements to the platform and advise students to find the right teachers and classes to suit their learning style. The speaker discusses their experience with the Lingoda Sprint, a language learning program that offers a 100% refund if you attend every class. They were initially skeptical but found the pressure to attend daily classes helped them stay on top of their French. They warn potential participants to read the terms and conditions thoroughly, as most negative reviews came from people who lost due to not understanding the rules. The speaker believes the Sprint is worth it and plans to do it again in the future. They provide a referral link for a discount and mention an upcoming video with tips on how to win the Sprint. Overall, they emphasize the importance of planning, staying organized, and enjoying the process of language learning.
Hey there! We've revamped our Language Sprint rewards and are excited to share the news! No more 100% cashback, but get ready for something even better: more free classes to celebrate your achievements! 🌟 Complete the regular Sprint, attend 30 classes in 2 months, and score 40 free lessons as your reward. Opt for the Super Sprint, complete 60 classes, and unlock 75 free lessons! 🥇🏆 Plus, don't forget: your language skills will soar, and you’ll learn for free even after the challenge ends! 🚀 Ready to level up your language journey? Let's go! 🎉
Bonnie, thank you SO much for this detailed review! I'm preparing to start the German super sprint, and this video was very helpful. I am actually an experienced language teacher, and I find Lingoda to be a fascinating (and potentially brilliant) concept for a language learning program/course. Guess I will soon see for myself!
@@teeksGG I'm only halfway through the current Super Sprint for German, so I can't really give a full review. I like the diversity of teachers and classes, but I'm finding some teachers to be quite incompetent pedagogically. This could be because I am an experienced language teacher myself with a Masters in Education and have been teaching English to adult ELLs for over 10 years. So, I try to keep things in perspective. Most of the teachers I've met (about 90 percent) have been good, but when I get a bad one, I feel frustrated. The best thing to do is just jot down the name, look at the profile and picture and then make sure to avoid booking classes with that teacher again. Lingoda admin are very good about returning emails and following up on concerns, so this is a plus. As far as learning the language goes, I began at A1.1, and I have found German quite difficult. The course is giving me a bit of a foundation for how the language is structured, but I don't have any illusions of being able to speak that much more when my course ends in six weeks. However, I also don't have the time to apply myself outside of classes right now because I am a busy teacher and doctoral candidate. I will give an updated review in November when I am finished.
@@KillerofGods I can't recommend Lingoda for group classes, unfortunately. But I will add that I am a trained and very experienced language teacher and researcher in second language acquisition, so my expectations (for an online course) are likely almost impossible to meet. I don't think that Lingoda's admin or the majority of their teachers have the depth of knowledge in pedagogy for language teaching that is needed, particularly for students at the lower levels. That said, Lingoda's customer service is quite exceptional. And, I did successfully complete and pass the Super Sprint. I received my refund in full over a week ago. They are a solid company and can be trusted. They just have some work to do in quality control.
This is a late comment, but just wanted to let you know that your video inspired me to sign up for the super sprint for French! I only have 19 lessons left and all is going well so far! Can't believe how fluent I became in just 71 days! I finished B1.3 and about to start B2.1 so thanks a lot! P.S. could you share with us the setup you use for filming your youtube videos because they seem very professional! Keep going!
I know what you mean about something being missing! Even I would see the same students again and again. It would have been nice to practice together or something. Maybe they should add a forum for sprint participants, or just a forum or meeting place in general. That would really elevate the whole platform.
Thank for you a very thorough review. Like you, I, too, have done a Supersprint with Lingoda, and managed to successfully satisfy all the requirements. The undertaking was difficult, and there were 3 times when I thought that I had failed, but, learned that there were technical issues on Lingoda's end--each of the 3 times, there were connection issues from their side. Just as you had stated, contacting Support as quickly as possible, along with screen shots and a detailed explanation helped me get credit for each of those clases. As you had stated, each teacher has his or her own style, and in general, I've had very good experiences with the teachers in the classes. For the lecture/reading and vocabulary classes, what some teachers do in order to relieve the dryness of the material has been to engage us in discussions about the text after having read a page--e.g. ask a particular student to give a summary. As for vocab, because the language that I'm studying is Spanish, sometimes a word or expression is not always generally used in all countries and the basic question from me has been if it's used everywhere, only in Spain, or in specific parts of Latin America. I would suppose that if I were studying French, I'd ask if the term or expression is common in all French speaking countries, unique to France or Canada, or specific to certain regions. If not, what would be the equivalents. For the few times when a teacher would toggle the screen off, during my experience, that occurs occasionally when the connection on their end is a bit unreliable, and disabling the video helps keeps the audio on their end stable. I would comment accordingly in my feedback that the connection impacted the communications, but not the quality of the teacher's effort. Has there been a noticeable impact to my learning the language? Absolutely. Would I do a Supersprint again? Most definitely.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I have discovered lingoda today and consider to start a Super Sprint but couldn't be sure. It seems an amazing challenge and plus you get refund? Omg. Btw did you really get your refund? Besides, I also wonder how they test your level at the beginning. Did you take a test in advance or you gathered with different levels of people at the same class. How does it work?
@@cerolyn Yes, they refund you via however you paid. If by credit card, they'll credit back each of the charged amounts about 1.5 months after the Supersprint ends. They'll notify beforehand via email that they are in the process of doing so, assuming of course, that you had followed the guidelines and rules of the Supersprint. Or, you could tell them that you wish to apply the refund directly to continue with a subscription, but at a special reduced rate because you were a sprint student. Hope your Supersprint goes smoothly!
@@cerolyn So, you can evaluate yourself using a test that provide. However, you are not restricted to pick the level they suggested. You're free to choose and change your level depending on your comfort level. I opted to continue with them because I enjoyed the small classes, the different topics, and the different teaching styles and accents of the teachers. I requested my refund to be applied to starting a subscription at a reduced rate. But, you don't have to. You can just get your refund and try a different course. Your choice.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I'm currently doing the Super Sprint for French (started mid-Jan and finishing mid-Apr). I personally went into this knowing I want to do the classes at the same time every single day so I build a proper habit out of it in my mind. Definitely means that I might not get the best teachers all the time. I've seen quite a few people say to take note of which teachers you like best and try to find them when you book your classes but I'm unfortunately adamant on doing it the same time everyday 😅I did luck out for a period of time bc one of my fav teachers was consistently teaching at that time. I agree with the limitations of the platform in terms of not being able to contact the teachers outside of the class! I have a few in mind that I might want to potentially reach out to personally for after the sprint or even practise speaking with during bc they already know what I've been learning. At the same time, I don't want to disrespect class time and message them privately during it. Alsooooo I've seen advice from others as well saying to skip vocab classes and just go through the material by yourself - and I would agree somewhat - but I started as an absolute beginner and feel like they're really helpful for pronunciation. But yeah, I feel like if you're at a higher level with a much more solid grasp on pronunciation, they should be skipped 😬
Yaayy! Another French learner 😍 I’ll admit i did the same thing (I had a 3h period after work that I would select classes) instead of prioritizing teachers and also got lucky too! Now that I have more flexibility I select based on teacher bc I think a great prof makes a world of difference. I agree it’s a shame we can’t message teachers or even other students to hype eachother up. I had a teacher give me her email after I told her where I lived (we were both in a small random ass town in the middle of nowhere in France) and we ended up meeting up irl to grab coffee! Also - good point about vocab classes for beginners I didn’t consider that, I suppose in A1 level skipping classes isn’t a good idea haha
@@BonnieVoyage haha yeah and there were also a couple of times where a teacher i really like was scheduled to teach a class but it changed to another teacher later on 😩 and yessss i wish i could privately message other students like you typically are able to on other zoom calls! there have been a couple of students that i feel we're on the same level and it would be cool to practise together outside of class. that's so cool with that teacher! 😯i think lingoda might limit our ability to contact the teachers outside of class bc they want us to take classes via their platform 😅
@@notjustalyssa ahh yeah I’ve had that happen to me! Haha. And yeah good point I have heard some other teachers sites are super strict with contact bc they don’t want the teacher to go direct to the student to do classes and not through them but not sure what lingoda is like. 😂
Thanks for your review! I've gone through and watched all your lingoda videos and they've been very useful. You definitely deserve to be more widely seen
After looking at an endless number of language learning platforms. Your review has help me make a decision. Thank you again for being so thorough and your professional presentation. Andy
Thank you for this video! I am a teacher/learner in different platforms and I struggle to get an in-deph review of what my students really think. It is to hear an honest and complete review :)
I just posted my own Lingoda review! I've been taking Spanish classes with them and I agree with what you said here. It's a great platform and I loved almost all my teachers, but it can be difficult switching between different teaching styles.
Thanks for the tips. It's good to know some teachers won't mark you absent if you're a few minutes late. I worry about this in case my internet would go down right before class starts.
UPDATE: Lingoda has revamped their Language Sprint rewards and are excited to share the news! No more 100% cashback, but get ready for something even better: more free classes to celebrate your achievements! Complete the regular Sprint, attend 30 classes in 2 months, and score 40 free lessons as your reward. Opt for the Super Sprint, complete 60 classes, and unlock 75 free lessons! Plus, don't forget: your language skills will soar, and you’ll learn for free even after the challenge ends! Ready to level up your language journey? Let's go! Use my link to get 20€ or $25 OFF: referral.lingoda.com/6sBqWz
Hi Bonnie, You have been sooo detailed throughout the process of clearing everything about Lingoda program😍. Would you please still recommend their English programme (3/6 months marathon) to someone who is hardly struggling with speaking and confidence and really keen to improve it? I will surely do some deep research before I jump in to that. But having your opinion with this is way more helpful as you are someone who already played with them. Thank you.
Hi there - thanks for this! Agree on most of your points. I do not know if it is different in a sprint but doing a half marathon (or some such) and find I can click exactly the classes I want (under book classes) and the days/times and it only brings up those. I feel like figuring out the booking system is its own beast really. Thanks again.
Excellent tips, especially regarding whether to use USD or EUR to convert AUD for paying. Are you able to select either USD or EUR each month, or are you locked into using the same method that you used on the first month for each subsequent month?
Thats a good question! I think you can change at any time in settings but I would double check just in case the sprint rules say you’re not supposed to. ;)
I love your channel. I hope you don't mind answering a few more questions for me about Lingoda. I just wanted to know: 1. Do they usually run courses that start in the summer as well? They have 1 that starts at the end of this month but I can't afford it for the next couple of months. Do they have 1 that starts around June/Julyish? I found one in 2019 that was June/July/August - is that fairly common? I tried writing to Lingoda to ask this but they didn't write back to me. 2. If I wanted to do just speaking and writing classes - would I have to choose classes from different levels or could I choose just speaking and writing at B2.1, for example? 3. Do they offer corrections of your speaking and writing (I would prefer this) or do they just let you talk to improve your confidence? It would be so appreciated if you could answer these for me!!
Hello! :) by start of summer I guess you mean in America? They run four a year so I’d assume yeah ;) one after the other so it would be three months after the next one starts. Each level like A1 our B2 have levels inside like B1.1 & B1.2 so I doubt you’d have to switch level although if you do the difficulty jump isn’t that much from the end of the current course you do. Hope that helps 😘
Oh and yes they offer corrections! I will say I’ve never finished a writing class because there’s too much content but i suggest continuing it after ☺️
Thanks for the review! is it right that it takes around 50 classes to complete 1 sublevel, and there 150 to complete the full level (for example A1 is A1.1, A1.2, A1.3 and each required 50 classes)
Hello, Bonnie! Thank you for the information .Could you share which facebook groups have you checked to reed feedbacks about teacher in the super sprint ? or may be there are any other groups to read feedbacks before booking classes . Thank you a lot .
I joined the Lingoda Marathon and was able to get the 100% cash back. This was the first Marathon of this company. I think it was way 2017. It’s difficult jumping from topics to topics just because there are not so many classes available.
Great video! Thanks Bonnie. I"m wondering about the comments regarding friendships. What's stopping individuals from just sharing contact details during the last class etc.? Not that I care about the friends part...
Interested. I just took the Placement test but it placed me in C1. I don't agree. While for me it is easy to read French, the comprehension part is where I struggle. I read just fine and understand grammar pretty well (at least the test was pretty easy).
God man c1 is very nice. C2 means totally fluent. I m b1 b2 in english then i can read and understand english text. But its not enough for be c1 because i dont understand oral english enough.
I really relate to a lot of this. I have done the (half) sprint in French and am now doing the marathon in German, so obviously I think it’s quite a good thing. Most of the teachers are very good, and the few that you don’t like so much are quite easy to avoid. If you are having to do a lesson every day, you will find it a lot harder to be choosy, especially if you want to do the lessons in anything like the right order. Switching between teachers is a downside I would say, but in the end, if you want to pick your teacher every time, you’re going to have to invest a bit more money in the process, either through booking private lessons in Lingoda, or through another platform. I saw some reviews (quite a while ago now) that said you often end up with 1 or 2 people in the class. This may have been the case before COVID, but not any more. It’s usually 4 or 5 (the maximum is 5) in my experience. Just bear that in mind. Before B level you have 2 vocabulary lessons per section, so A1.2 for example will have 12 out of a total of 50. I just download the learning materials and do them at home. You don’t have to do all the lessons sequentially. The website has improved since I started using it. The booking page got a lot better recently, although you can’t filter by lesson type, you can by specific lesson or section, and by day and time, so it’s pretty good. The one thing I would really like is if they had a proper calendar view for your booked classes. At the moment they just show as thumbnails in chronological order, unless I’m missing something. Overall I really recommend it. It gives me the impetus I need to get off my arse and dedicate time to language learning, and I’m really enjoying it. Please please turn your cameras on though. There are usually 1 or 2 students with theirs in va including me. I don’t understand it to be honest. Even if you think you’re going to get your money back at the end, why would you devote so much time and energy to something, and then make it less involving and interactive? The best lessons are the ones where everyone is getting involved! Rant over.
Thank you for the comment! Wow i really really relate to your experiences! 100% agreed with everything you mentioned. The teachers, program, site, camera being on - everything! I'm glad i'm not the only one. And two languages at once?! You have more strength than me! haha :)
I'm currently doing the Super Sprint for French and am working towards turning my camera on! I think everyone is involved either way (at least in my experience) bc everyone gets to talk and interact but there's definitely a bit more of a barrier without cameras on for some. Personally trying to fight through my anxiety and want to not be perceived visually sometimes so that I can work up the courage to turn my camera on 😬
@@notjustalyssa If it makes you feel uncomfortable of course you should be able leave it off. I don’t think anyone is going to judge either way. One of the big barriers to learning a language, especially as an adult, is getting past your self-consciousness at not speaking well. Everyone is in the same boat. I just think it helps in a lot of little ways (teachers can see when people have started to talk without unmuting for instances, and can often tell when you are unsuccessfully trying to say something and it’s not that you haven’t heard them (which happens to me a lot). Body language is still a part of communication over zoom. And I’m sure it’s a more rewarding experience for the teachers, and I think it’s more enjoyable for everyone 🤷🏻♂️.
Hello, just one question if you don't mind. When you talk about 'Grammar' and 'Skills classes, what does 'skills' refer to? I've got a Lingoda account (no intention to do the SuperSprint but I'm thinking about doing what is now called the Marathon- the 200 class package priced (Normally priced at 1600euro with 400cashback on 90% completion)). The only categories of lessons I can see are Vocab, Communication, Grammar & Reading?
skills refers to things like, how to ask questions, how to understand directions.. etc. just useful things that they decided to put in a category. I think it depends on which level you pick as this shows you different classes. e.g. you won't need certain lessons like vocab onces you're a high level because you'll learn that as you speak and read :)
Do you take turns reading out loud in reading classes? Or does the teacher read on their own? Or do you all read on your own, solve, then check your answers with the teacher? Also, if you can download the reading lessons materials, do you get the correct answers with it, or is it just the unsolved version the teacher shares on their screen during class before solving it together with you? I don't know if that makes sense, but I hope you get it.
And if you read out loud and discuss/solve the questions together during reading classes, what is the difference between those and speaking lessons? Aren't you focusing on pronunciation and discussion in both?
Yes you take turns and then everyone answers questions about what you just read (it wasnt my fave type of class because i was always focusing on pronouncing the words and not on what it was saying)
I am doing a Sprint right now and i DO NOT LIKE THEIR SPRINT RULES. They make it so difficult for you to get the cashback. Even the start and end date of month 1 and month 2 is Tricky AF. It's 23 Jan - 21 Feb, and 22 Feb - 23 March. Why is the Feb to March month is longer than Jan to Feb, and why does Jan to Feb month doesn't end of 22 Feb? TRICKY. I do not have great experiencec
They say if a class gets cancelled from their side, we don't have to attend any class that day and they return the credit within 72 hrs... so what to do with the left credit . Because we can do only 1 class per day. Will I be disqualified from my refund if that one credit gets left at the end of 3 months ?
One more question! So I used your link to try to sign up for a Sprint but the 90 Day Super Sprint was sold out! I didn't realize they were limited and can sell out. Do you know how often the Super Sprints run? If the most recent one is sold out do you know when you could expect another one to become available? Thanks again for everything!
Really?? I just had a look and there are still some spots it says. What do you see? Might be worth emailing their support if you're having trouble too! It runs every 3 months :) Next ones in 2/3 weeks
Do you think it’s better to complete a whole level of 50 lessons or to do a mix between levels? At the moment I’m A2 but I don’t know whether to do A2.1 or A2.2. I started a2.1 and finished the first chapter but with the 3 month sprint of 50 credits it would only allow me to do A2.1 as there is 50 lessons in there.
I mixed because I enjoyed certain classes over others and I’m not phased about completing their course as it is. Example I didn’t like reading or writing classes, because I felt they don’t use the best of the time.
You can mix it up and see what you like, if I’m honest there wasn’t a bit change in level from a2 to b1 and I felt some of the other students level was lower but since the classes are guided a lot it’s ok
Hello Bonnie, I hope you're doing well. Could you please post a short video alarm about Lingoda's new terms and conditions Now there are 3 types of the sprint and in order to win the 100% cashback you need to choose the *Early bird super sprint type* which requires a full advanced payment, which means there is no point of referral links any more unless you want to take the second type *super sprint 30 classes per month - 50% cash back* More over, the Linguaskill test has been removed from the sprint as a gift. Off-topic: it's been now 3 months since this video same as the deadline for sending your 100% cash back, did you receive it? Thank you for your videos it's been helpful
@@BonnieVoyage No problem. Yes it is. Fortunately I clicked again on the rules on the 4th June, before that it was the older version which I read completely :) By the way, they just replied about the Early bird offer, it's a *Super sprint 50% cash back* if you join the sprint after 24th June. Thank you again Bonnie
They’re 1h each and they have classes 24/7 :) I think most of their students are American (though not all!) and so there are a lot of classes around that time zone
Lower A2 -> Solid B1 although it's hard to say exactly because, for example, my spoken french is a lot better than my written because my lazy ass didn't do the homework haha :)
No you can only take one a day or you’ll be disqualified :) also for 90 days not 60 but they do have different subscription options if that’s too much!
No you can only take one a day or you’ll be disqualified :) also for 90 days not 30 but they do have different subscription options if that’s too much!
Is your referral code still valid? Can I use it for the upcoming sprint? If so, will I have to pay in EUR to get 50 EUR off, or will they convert it if I pay in USD?
@@emaan7023 I havent tried the half marathon but it looks like a good deal from what i researched. With 3 classes a week i think it is manageable (overall less intense than the super sprint but a longer period of time to commit - 6mnths instead of 3). Either way, you will defs progress! Which language are you learning? :)
@@emaan7023 I am doing the half sprint now. With a full time job of 60h/wk, it’s the only realistic option for me. I am so glad that I did not commit myself to the full spring. I would have failed. I totally have been loving my Lingoda experience and recommend it !! I’ve learned a lot. Many “aha” moments!
@@BonnieVoyage Hello again, Bonnie. Thank you for the reply. It's been a while since I've binge watched your Lingoda videos. I'm not sure if it was you who recommended taking all grammar and skills lessons first since they're worth it and you can learn from them the most (unlike the vocabulary and reading lessons which you can do on your own just fine). What's your opinion on the writing and speaking classes? (If you could tell me what happens in each, I would appreciate it.) Thank you!
@@widdasiddiq8810 yes that was me who suggested that haha! Writing classes I found useless because of course the teacher can’t wait for 4 students to write then correct it all.. It’s a bit of a waste of time that your could be doing conversation or something ;)
Res medom, suppose Spain have Spanish language read, and speak , Dubai have urdu languages write and speak, why Australia have own languages medom, English is common language, Australia writes English why Australia did not have own language medom ji,
Hey everyone! I have uploaded my follow up video on how to win the Lingoda Sprint or Super Sprint. As well as some times I almost failed myself 😉Check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zjkQPmP42ww.html , Also the video on how I prepared for the Super Sprint can be found here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zUOUXOpZLE4.html
Don’t use Lingoda. It’s a scam. They are really good at finding different types of RU-vidr to promote for them. But people, be aware. Lingoda is a scam. Please read the reviews online before you give them your credit number. Pay attention to the bad reviews. (the good ones all look like paid reviews) Once you pay, no matter what reason, you will never get your money back.
@@weiwei2548 I'm not paid or sponsored by lingoda but rather i review them because thats what my audience asked for, and I did get my refund because I attended all the classes. I found the negative reviews we're from people who didn't read the terms and conditions so they failed the sprint and don't want to accept they messed up :/ I came really close to failing too (i forgot a class and had to literally run into a cafe and take it on my phone, very stressful) and it made me mad and upset but in the end it is what it is you have to be very organised
@@BonnieVoyage ok. I just searched information about sprint lingoda and see you video. I dont understand 80% of your video as i m bad in english except if people speaks slowly and clearly. But u lies , u arent french lol. See your video in versailles . Your french is perfect and your accent is cute.
@@BonnieVoyage No I mean my 7 day free trial did not cancel for whatever reason, and now they charged me 900 euros for the marathon sprint that I do not want to participate in. I love learning languages but this will ruin my experience now
