Saturday, February 15th
2025 French Lesson Reviews
Mondly
- Gamified learning
- AR and VR apps make learning fun
- Speech-recognition technology
- Reasonably priced
Not everything has to be so serious, and that includes learning languages. Mondly does the serious job of using neural science with language learning and you get to benefit from that while you use your VR and interact with a bot.
Time flies learning with this program
Time will fly by as you learn helpful French words and phrases. But wait, there's more. When you practice your speaking and writing, you actually get helpful feedback with your responses. If you've ever tried getting feedback with other programs, you know this is rare. We love Mondly and wish they would continue into advanced levels so all French learners can have fun while increasing their language skills.
AR and VR? You have our attention
The lessons with Mondly are gamified, using AR and VR apps. You can have some serious fun while learning French or any other of Mondly's 40 languages. They are the first and as far as we know, the only platform to use AR and VR in language learning. Put on that Oculus and have fun - oh, yeah, and learn, too. Create an avatar who will be your teacher. This avatar presents the lesson, listens to your spoken answer, and guides you to the correct response.
Actual corrections to your writing
In practicing writing, when you write a whole sentence, other programs might just tell you "right” or "wrong” regardless if you have one error or twenty, and that's just not feedback. Mondly gets it. If you were to answer the question about if it's sunny, answer by telling what the actual weather is and it will recognize it and correct what you actually wrote. If you were to answer with a current sports score, it would let you know that you didn't answer the question. If you've ever taken an online course or practiced writing with a program, you'll realize how huge and rare this is and what a relief it is.
Amazing speech-recognition technology
Have a conversation with a bot. The Mondly bot actually can understand your spoken answer. Not only that, but you don't have to give only one specific answer in order to be correct. When they ask your favorite color, for example, they remind you of a few answers you could give, such as yellow, blue, or green. When we gave a full sentence answer (not requested, and not in the format of the question), it let us know that it understood that we preferred red and that it was an acceptable answer. This pretty much blew us away.
Costs
Here's what you can expect to pay for the Mondly program:
- One month for $9.99
- 12 months for $47.99 ($4.00 per month)
- Lifetime access for $89.99
- Optional Mondly Kids
The subscription gets you so much more
With the free access to Mondly, you have French lessons to choose from, but there are so many more lessons with the paid subscription. With the taste of what you get for free, you're going to want to be hooked on what you could get with paid access.
The price is reasonable
Try out the monthly plan if you're not quite committed to learning French. If you really want to learn and improve, try the yearly plan at only $4 per month - it's one of the cheapest out there. If you do get hooked and want to learn more languages, they have the lifetime option and that opens up 41 languages for you to learn and practice with your bot.
Learn French with explanations or translations in other languages
What if English isn't your first language or your most comfortable language? Mondly, as a Romanian company, recognizes that not everyone has English as their first language, so they have many others as their teaching base. Thank you, Mondly.
There's a kid-friendly version
AR and VR are for kids, too, right? Let them get hooked on learning French with this method. Sign up for Mondly Kids and the whole family can learn and converse in French.
It's not all fun and games - or is it?
The bots and virtual reality are great for being entertained and keeping you motivated, but that's not all. The methods Mondly uses to teach you, including how they review words and phrases periodically, use neural science for the best language acquisition and retention.
What if you're a grammar nerd?
There are helpful pop-ups for grammar help, but if you're looking for lengthy, textbook-type explanations for things such as French tenses and pronouns, you won't find them. But maybe Mondly could still be good for you as you ease your grip on the perceived need for detailed explanations. If you try it, you might like it.
A superior product for the early learners
Mondly has it all: the latest technology, neural science behind its teaching techniques, motivation, and a price that's easy on the wallet. If you're a beginner, intermediate, or a kid, definitely give Mondly a try. If you're beyond that with your French, Mondly probably can't help you, though we hope that eventually they expand their library to that level because we genuinely love this format of taking French lessons.
More French Lesson Reviews
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Who Offers the Best French Lessons?
When we think of someone speaking French, we think soothing and seductive, as it's simply dreamy to hear. We think of the romance of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, of Southern France with the rolling lavender fields, of the Alps with the snow-capped mountains, of the coast with the warm sandy beaches. And of course there's the decadent French food and wine.
Learning French allows you to more fully enjoy French culture. When you learn French, it opens the door to learning phrases that the French speakers use in conversation, manners and mannerisms, how the French live and interact in everyday situations, and perhaps gaining an appreciation and insight into their art and history. There are so many doors to be unlocked once you take the first step.
French Lesson FAQ
Continued from above...
Naturally, when we think French we think of France. Yet French is actually a global language and the official language of 29 countries, so you can practice your French language skills in more than one place. French is also a heritage language in all or part of Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and even the US - like Louisiana.
Picking up the French language may be easier than you might think. Some of us are intimidated by the unusual sounds and the silent letters, but did you know that there are many words that look like English? We'll bet you know these French words: table, responsable, ambiance, brilliance. There are about 1,700 words in French that look like the English word, so there's a good start.
When choosing among the several options for online French lessons, here are some things to consider:
- Free trial. Look to see if there's a chance to try out the lessons before you buy them to see if this is how you want to learn and to see if you'll stay motivated. Most options include at least a free trial, and some have free access to a limited amount of lessons so you might be able to get all of what you want for free.
- How they teach. Today there is such a variety of teaching methods in the various online French lesson companies. You can learn individual words with flashcards first and then build to speaking or reading. Some teach by where you hear conversational phrases and build on those. Some build their lessons around grammar and vocabulary while others don't teach grammar specifically - you'll innately catch on the more you practice. Some cut to the chase like textbooks and some use AR and VR to keep you hooked and motivated.
- How much French you may already know. If you're a beginner, the French lesson world is your oyster - there's so much for you to choose from. If you are at the advanced level and want to polish your skills, most online programs don't teach to your level; though there are a few that could work for you.
- Your budget. There are some programs where you should be able to get quite a bit of practice for free. Others have a reasonable cost. Some have options for you to have a one-on-one instructor, and those will cost a bit more.
- One-time purchase or monthly subscription. There's the good, old fashioned way of purchasing a course, and that's where you keep the lessons, learning at your own pace, guilt-free if you need to take a long break. The subscription method is where you pay per month or year to use the product and it automatically renews at the end of that subscription time. You'll be motivated to not take a long hiatus from lessons if you know that your subscription auto renews whether you use it or not.
- Satisfaction guarantee. Most have a period of time where you can try out the courses to know if you really like them and want to continue. If you're not happy within that time, simply ask for a full refund
Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the most popular French courses available today, to make it easy for you to choose how you'll want to learn French. Whether you're thinking of learning French for the first time or brushing up on what you may have taken in high school, now is a great time to learn French online as there are such a variety of French lesson programs out there. We're sure you'll find at least one that you'd like to try.
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