Languagepod101 Review: Best App for Podcasts

What is a podcast? The first thing that comes to mind for most people when hearing this question is a chit-chat show between two people talking about a specific topic. Yes, that is absolutely correct. But is that the only explanation? No. Podcasts are a way to gain a lot of knowledge related to a specific topic, including language learning. Don’t be surprised. Today, there are multiple podcasts created especially for this purpose. One such podcast that I’ve heard the most about is Languagepod101.

Learning a language from a podcast can be an easy task. How? Let us find out about it in the Languagepod101 review.

Quick Takeaways

• Languagepod101 is a platform that provides multiple podcasts for different languages. 
• The free version only have limited content. Whereas, to get transcripts and other extra features, I had to get the paid subscription on it. 
• Some of the features it offer alobg with the podcast are: Vocabulary lists, notes, cultural insights, etc.

What is Languagepod101? 

It is a platform that provides a series of podcasts created for different languages. I have used this podcast for several different languages including Italian and German. When we start learning a language through a new language resource, we are confused about how to start it. But for this platform, it is very easy. It starts from the beginner course and slowly reaches the advanced level. Overall, I can say that a person who wants to learn the language but does not have much time should use it.

What are the languages used?

Languagepod101 provides 34 different languages to learn. However, below I have mentioned the most common languages available on it-

Afrikaans	Korean	Arabic	Greek	Urdu
French	Japanese	German	Hebrew	Russian
Spanish	Spanish	Turkish	Hindi	Swedish
English	Italian	Thai	Greek	Polish

However, you can check the availability of all the podcasts on their official website.

Prices of Languagepod101

Despite having the free version, there is also a paid version of it. However, the pricing is done annually. It has three different pricing plans mentioned in the table given below-

Types of plans	Pricing of the plan
Basic	$4 per month
Premium	$10 per month
Premium Plus	$23 per month

There is also a one-week free trial of the subscription-based tool in starting.

It also has a special offer where you can take advantage of the subscription-based features at $1. However, it is only offered for a single time.

The major difference among the three plans is the availability of teaching features. If you want to have one-on-one classes, you must get the Premium plan. If you want to know more about the difference between all three plans, check this link. 

Course Overview

There are so many languages available on it. I have not learned all but some languages from it. Thus, I know what the course looks like. The language I have learned so far is created similarly. Of course, the length of the content was not the same. Some had more, whereas, others had high content. Assuming that all the courses are created similarly, I will be sharing how I got through the course.

Here, I will discuss the Japanese course I had with it. In the beginning, it gives the basic reasons why should we learn Japanese from it. The moment I created my account, I was asked if I wanted the paid service. It was a bundle of different things which I have mentioned below-

• 60 Exclusive lessons
• 30 days of premium access
• Download of free product 
• 7-day fluency fast course

Do not confuse this service with a premium subscription. This service is only for $1 which helps in developing more skills. I didn’t take it, because I had already learned Japanese. Thus, I was interested in focusing more on the podcasts. If after using the free trial of the subscription plan, you still want to use it, try to take advantage of the $1 paid services. 

Note: It is only for one time. After that, you must take the full plan.

After skipping this part, I had to choose my learning level. Though I already knew some Japanese, I chose the beginner level. It helped me to make a detailed review guide for you.

There are five different tabs on the platform. Further, I have discussed each of them one by one-

1. Dashboard

I always wanted to do some professional work on my laptop. The dashboard gave me that feeling. I had a section of profile and below that all the other sections were there. It also allowed me to check my progress. Along with it, there are features lessons and vocabulary lists available on it. Don’t go on the featured lessons and vocabulary lists directly. Follow the path on. It is because, as a beginner, it is very difficult to understand even basic words like ‘thank you’ or ‘sorry’. In starting, the course starts with a document related to the course. After that, the courses are started based on different levels.

a. Lessons 

The lessons include podcasts and other important things. Each podcast is created in both English and Japanese language. It is because this helps a beginner to understand the content easily. Along with it, there are different sections in each of the lessons-

b. Dialogues

Every new word or phrase that you learned is covered in the lessons. This helps to simplify the content more. Under each dialogue, the translations for different languages are covered. When I learned a new word in Japanese, the translation I received was available in Kanji, English, Hiragana, etc. It helped me a lot with understanding the correct pronunciation. 

c. Vocabulary 

In this section, I can listen to the audio of each word or phrase used. Based on the audio of it, I had to record it myself. There are also examples of it. If you are still confused about the word, check the examples on the right-hand side. This section also allows you to add the word in the flashcards or take a quiz. 

d. Lesson notes

Remember the time when you took notes in the classroom?  When I was a student, I always wanted to get already created notes from someone. This section is the actual representation of it. It has already created notes for the podcast that we heard. I got a brief of what was covered in the lessons. Along with that, there are also written translations of the words that we have. There was also a culture that helped me to know about when the word or the phrase should you.

e. Transcripts

Transcripts basically help to show what was in the whole podcast. I still remember the transcript, I got for the conversation covered in the lessons. Suppose the main motive of the podcast is to teach you the translation of thank you. In such a scenario there will be sentences within the podcast. The transcript covered includes the translations for each sentence.

2. Lessons

This is the tab where you can get the hub of the lessons on the platform. However, as I mentioned above choose the lesson in the order of the course. 

3. Vocabulary 

Vocabulary is further divided into different sections-

a. Flashcards

The words that you have learned are under this section. There is also a suggestion list that you can choose to learn from. 

b. Vocabulary lists

This section is divided into different themes. Each theme has a related set of vocabulary lists in it. Some of the themes are-

• Classroom
• Restaurant 
• Numbers and many more

It also has a special series that covers different themes like Anime, songs, months, etc.

4. My teacher

No one would have ever wondered if a live class could be offered on platforms which has multiple podcasts on it. It was also unexpected for me. This podcast offers live classes to language learners. Of course, the feature is for paid users. Just take the subscription, and add a self-introduction. It will help in understanding your abilities and capabilities. Decide the schedule plan on your own. 

5. More

This tab is the hub of resources. There are different lists that I got with this tab. Following are the lists that I got in it-

• Resources 
• Grammar Bank
• Kanji Bank
• Kanji Dictionary 

Four of these lists have something unique to offer. It’s a platform with a complete package of learning materials.

LanguagePod101 review: Is it worthy?

I would say, it’s a perfect choice for anyone looking to learn the language but have no time to do it. The lessons are too easy to complete. All you have to do is play it and keep it aside. Try to use earphones if you don’t want to disturb others. It also offers a. Free trial for paid material which is awesome. Many people stop quitting in just a month even after paying a big amount. If you also want to use the paid services only for a single month, take the advantage of $1 paid service.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of using it?

Following are the benefits and drawbacks of using LanguagePod101-

Pros	Cons
Free to use	There is no writing exercise
More than 30 languages to offer
Have live classes feature

LanguagePod101 Alternatives 

Listening to podcasts is a great way to develop your pronunciation skills. This podcast not only helps in improving pronunciation but also in learning new words. However, your style of learning may be different. Though the more tab shows the extra resources to use, I will share some of the apps that I use to learn the language-

1. Duolingo

Duolingo is the platform that I first used when I was learning Spanish (my first language ever). Before that, I have only heard about it. I never thought that it would be a regular partner of mine. The platform follows a gamified approach that helps me to stay engaged with the lessons. Two main features really help me to remain focused; Duolingo Achievements and gems. For some of the languages, I am still using Duolingo, but I am sure that it might have them on the platform in the future.

2. Tandem 

From the time I decided to learn a new language, talking to native speakers has been a dream for me. Most of the platforms help me to learn the correct pronunciation, but no one gives me the choice to connect with the speaker. Tandem, on the other hand, is exactly what I need it. This platform is like a language exchange program that helps the learners to practice with native speakers. Two inbuilt features make the task easy – Translations and Autocorrections. Both of them make it easy to learn the language.

3. iTalki

If you are excited about the live classes feature, I have a great app for you, iTalki. It is the one that is known for teaching popular languages. There are multiple tutors for a single language on it. Every Time I face difficulty in learning a language, the first thing I do is to look for tutors on it. The languages taught on it are both popular and non-popular. If you are on a tight budget, you can filter the prices based on it. 

Conclusion

Languagepod101 is a platform that offers a series of podcasts for different languages. It is one that not only offers free podcasts but also offers a lot of different features, like vocabulary lists, transcripts, notes, etc. However, some of them are paid content. Transcripts come under the paid version. However, the paid services are free for one week. After that, you have two choices: take an annual or one-month subscription. If you are interested in using the subscription-based account only for one month, join the $1 classes. It gives you access to the subscription-based platform. However, this is only available one time.

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