Baselang Review 2024: Should You Choose It? (+Alternatives and Plans Comparison)

“Aprender español puede ser divertido.”

Do you know what language this is? It’s Spanish. The statement means ‘Learning Spanish can be fun.’ What if I tell you this statement is true? Being a language learner, what I always do is improve my language skills. But how? Simply by finding out some new platforms. Recently, when I was revising the Spanish language, I got to know about the Baselang app. It is the app that immerses you in the Spanish language. 

Although I have already learned Spanish with Duolingo, I love how Baselang works. Just imagine learning Spanish with an app that is entirely in Spanish. Will it not be a cherry on top? Of course, the answer is yes. Baselang was that cherry for me. However, there was some content that needed improvement. Confused? Don’t worry. I will share my personal experience with you to determine if it is really worth the hype.

What is Baselang?

Before discussing anything related to Baselang, let me tell you that it is a platform where you can get one-on-one classes to learn Spanish. I heard about it from one of my friends. He told me, that unlike other popular language learning platforms, Baselang only teaches Spanish. Now you know what this platform is all about. But is this information enough to decide whether to use it to learn a new language? No! Before using any platform, it is important to know about it properly. This is what I will do further. 

What is the pricing of this platform?

Well, pricing is one such factor I always look at before using a platform. It is because only some of the programs can be under my budget. At, present there are three different subscription plans available on the platform which are mentioned below-

• Real World Lite
• Real World
• Grammarless

Note: Earlier, there was no lite option on the platform. But to ease the students’ lives, they added a special feature known as Real World Lite. The following table shows the pricing and what you get in all three subscription plans-

Features	Real World Lite	Real World	Grammarless
Pricing	$99 per month	$179 per month	One-time payment of $1200. If this is too much for you, you can pay in four monthly installments. It will cost you $325 per month.
Free Trial	Yes	Yes	No
Type of booking	You can book your classes just at the last minute or even 5 days in advance.	Similar to Real World Lite.	There is no flexible schedule. You will get a fixed schedule. Don’t worry, the schedule will be according to you.
Class duration	You can only take a single class of 30 minutes in a single day. If you miss it, you won’t get it the next day.	There is no restriction here. You can take as many private classes as you want in a day.	You will get a class of 2 to 4 hours in a day. There is an intense 80-hour program. You can either choose 2 hours daily to complete it in 1 month or 4 hours daily to complete it in 2 months
Number of teachers	More than 450	More than 450	There is no specific number of tutors mentioned for this program. It may be because some professionals take classes under this subscription plan.
Real World material program	There are ten-level programs to practice from absolute beginner to conversational levels.	Similar to Real World Lite.	Earlier it was a feature available under the Grammarless plan, but now it is not available.
Flashcards	There are a lot of flashcards under this subscription.	There are a lot of flashcards under this subscription.	There are a lot of flashcards under this subscription.
Dele	There is no Dele feature for this plan.	You get a structured program from A2 to C2 level. You also get a lot of material, homework, and exercises.	Again, there is no Dele feature in this plan. All you get is the 80-hour program.
Electives	You get more than 1000 lessons around 29 different topics.	Similar to Real World Lite.	Earlier it was a feature available under Grammarless plan, but now it is not available.

Is there a free trial available on Baselang?

All subscription-based platforms offer free trials. But not the teaching ones. All the teaching platforms provide you with demo classes at half the price of normal classes. But Baselang follows a different approach. I love this thing about the platform. They offer their services for just $1 in the first week. If you are not satisfied in the first week, cancel the subscription and get a refund. Unfortunately, this feature is not for Grammarless classes. However, make sure to cancel it at least on the 6th day of the week to avoid any deduction of your money.

Which plan to choose?

I think the table added above has made it pretty obvious which plan to choose. Still, understand what you want. It is because, if you are only interested in learning Spanish for conversational purposes, there is no fun in taking a Grammarless plan. I do not like the Grammarless program much. Spending $1200 is a huge amount. There could be many other good platforms to learn Spanish. Rather, I would suggest you, take a Real World plan and get unlimited classes for at least 6 months. (1200/180 = 6.6). Below I have compared the benefits and drawbacks of the Grammarless and Real-world plans one by one-

Grammarless plan

The friend who told me about this platform had taken this plan earlier. He really wished he would not have bought it before. Wondering why? The following table is a detailed comparison between the benefits and drawbacks he faced after taking this plan-

Benefits	Drawbacks
Easy and a great conversation through the live chats and emails.	There was zero explanation of tenses and grammar rules.
The teachers were really helpful.	Despite providing zero grammar knowledge, his teacher asked him to make sentences with particular subjunctives.
Real-world programs were available under this plan. It means you can get the benefit of the real-world subscription plan.	The content was too boring. You only get black and white PowerPoint presentations.
There was no technical problem on the platform.	There was only a conjugation table available.
	Teachers ask you to take extra classes and have to study on your own.
	The technique of teaching was also boring. My friend told me, he was taught to say Hi in his 20th lesson. There will be a picture on your screen and you have to repeat it after your teacher.

From the above, it is very clear that this plan has more drawbacks than benefits. Thus, when I chose a plan, it was the Real World plan. Further, I have discussed the advantages and problems that I faced with the plan.

Real World

From my friend’s experience, one thing that I was sure, that I would never use that plan. So, I chose a Real World plan. I enjoyed using it. Here, are the benefits and drawbacks I received with it-

Benefits	Drawbacks
You can really book the class just a few minutes before it starts. It is the best feature of this platform.	You can only either follow the course curriculum or practice conversation. The teachers will not prepare a class, especially for you.
You can choose the teachers based on the level you want.	You can not rely on a single teacher. Try to take advantage of choosing your favorite teachers.
The booking system was also very easy. Literary I could book a class for any time slot.	If you are a beginner, you can easily get the language here. It is because the content on the platform is too easy to study.
The teachers I got were amazing. Although I have used iTalki, I think Baselang is quite affordable.	The teacher may suddenly disappear due to a promotion or a new job.
You will get teachers from all over the world.	It may not be a drawback for you,  but honestly, to get the most out of your money, you must take classes every day. Try not to skip any of the days.
This website is so simple to use that even a kid can use it. You can easily book the classes and schedule them easily. The platform also allows you to choose your favorite three teachers. It will help you to see their availability before other students.

I am sure, now you know why I prefer the real world over the Grammerless plan. A Real-world plan is a complete package. The unlimited classes and effortless bookings made it a superb plan. The teachers here were so good. Trust me, if you are on a tight budget and can’t afford the tutoring services of iTalki, you must go for basic language. If you are still confused about whether to choose this plan, I would suggest you take a free trial. 

Is Baselang worth it?

Do I still need to tell you this? Of Course, it is worth it, but only if you choose a real-world plan. It is because the Grammarless plan is costlier than the Real-world plan. However, paying more than double for a plan and getting nothing is the biggest drawback. There are no unlimited classes with a Grammarless plan. You only get 2-4 hours a class day. But for a Real World plan, you get unlimited classes. This is what I love about the plan. I can use this service for around 6 months at the same price I would pay for a Grammarless plan.

Also, the booking system is much easier and more convenient. I can book one for me at any time I want. You may have a question, why I am not suggesting the Real World Lite plan? It is important to note, that you get more benefits with the Real World plan. If you choose the lite plan, there is a limit to the class, and you do not get the Dele feature which is important for having advanced-level knowledge.

How are classes conducted in Baselang?

All the classes are taken on the Zoom app. If you ask me, it is a better app than Skype or Google Meet. This is because it does not require a strong connection. The platform is totally free and you can easily video call them and share your screen. If you think it is difficult to use, you are wrong. It is very easy to set it up. 

How to schedule lessons in Baselang?

Baselang allowed me to book the lessons either by time or by teachers. If you want to book the classes faster, you should choose by the time. You can see the slot of 5 days in advance. All the classes are 30 minutes by default. However, I was able to combine the classes for as long as you can. To do it, I need to tap on the clock option to look for a slot that has the same teacher who has 2 or more classes together. The major thing I love about this platform is the last-minute bookings. I did not have to pay a single penny for it. No other tutoring platform provides me with this much flexibility. 

If you like a teacher a lot, you can easily do it. When I was new to it, I searched for the classes based on teachers. Honestly, it was a bad decision of mine. It is because I didn’t know much about any of the teachers. Thus, you must not make this mistake. Try to focus on getting the classes based on time slots. It will help you to get some good tutors to teach you. What I love while booking a class with a teacher is that I can see the availability of classes of my favorite teachers for the next 7 days instead of 5. Also, unlike other teaching platforms, the ratings of the teacher are private.

The course curriculum: Grammarless vs. Real World plans 

As I mentioned above, I have not gone through the Grammarless program. But my friend has taken it. Thus, I know how it works. Below I have discussed both of them one by one-

Grammarless Plan

If you look at the screenshot, you must have an idea why people don’t enjoy it much. There are not so many explanations taught in this program. It was something really shocking for me. Without any explanation how could they expect to become masters in Spanish? However, the curriculum of this program is divided into four different sections-

• Core Lessons 
• Pronunciation Practice
• Situational Practice 
• Conversational practice

There is no particular order in this course. It all depends upon the teacher and how they teach you. Core lessons are the one that teaches you how to speak Spanish. Core lessons are the perfect choice if you want to start speaking it faster. Each lesson has a different set of words and sentences. You will get different situations on how you can use them. The only thing that my friend loved was the creative style of teaching.

Although there are some amazing video and audio recordings, there was no real direction. Also, once you complete the curriculum, there will be nothing new for you. So, if you are studying two hours daily, it means you have two months to complete the whole course. But, if you can complete it earlier, there is nothing to study more. 

Real World Plan 

I had already learned Spanish from Duolingo, thus I knew some of it. When I entered my first class, the teacher gave me a comprehensive test. This test helped her to understand my capability. As I already knew it, I was placed at level 6. All the lessons focus on one or two things at a time. In each lesson, there is vocabulary that you have to practice repetitively.

The lessons, as mentioned earlier, are 30 minutes, and you can extend them as much as you want. There are multiple teachers with whom you can work with. For each level, there are different teachers. Some of them may become your favorite. Nominating your favorite three teachers adds an advantage. You get to see their slots for the next seven days.

There is a special feature known as Electives. It includes more than 1000 lessons on 29 different topics, making your Spanish stronger. In it, you get exercises where you can create sentences in Spanish. Also, one exciting thing that I love about this plan, is the way I had to communicate in class. Most teachers understand English and Spanish but generally talk in Spanish. It became a fun challenge for me, which helped me improve my communication skills.

How are the teachers in Baselang?

Although I have discussed everything about Baselang, the last thing I want to discuss with you is how the teachers are on the platform. The base of any online tutoring platform is the quality of teachers. Firstly, there are more than 450 teachers from different countries. Mainly they are from Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. Now, you must be thinking is it worth, it to study Spanish from teachers living in Venezuela, especially when planning to go to Spain? It is because the way Spanish is spoken is different for different regions. The way you speak in Spain will be different from Mexico. 

Well, in such a scenario, I suggest you focus on learning the language rather than worrying about the origin. The way it is spoken can be different, but there is not a huge difference. I have traveled to many countries where Spanish is spoken. Trust me, I was able to understand it in every place.

Now if we talk about the quality of tutors, I would say it depends on the teachers you get. I have used Baselang, for about 6 months. In the beginning, few teachers even have a degree to teach, but have some teaching training programs. However, later I got some good teachers, and I prefer taking classes from them only. One thing, that is commendable about the teachers is that all of them are very supportive. So, I can’t say all 450 teachers are good at teaching but definitely, most of them are super. 

Alternatives to learn Spanish

There are many other platforms that you can use along with Baselang to learn the Spanish language. Below I have mentioned the alternatives that you can use-

1. iTalki

If you do not have any budget, go for iTalki. It is an online tutoring platform where you get online tutors to teach you the Spanish language. The teachers make their own curriculum to teach you in the class. There is also a free feature on this platform – Langauge exchange partner. With the help of this feature, you will get to practice your communication skills with them. 

2. HelloTalk

HelloTalk is a free platform where you have to practice Spanish with other people. On this platform, you will find a partner with whom you can chat or talk in the Spanish language. Here are two inbuilt features that make your communication easy. 

3. Duolingo

Duolingo is a free platform and my personal favorite platform for learning a new language. It follows the gamified approach where you will get so many engaging exercises. The lessons on this platform are just 15 minutes and you can complete them easily.

Conclusion

Baselang is a platform that teaches only one language, which is Spanish. This platform has three different plans – Grammarless, Real World plan, and Real World Lite plans. Both plans have something unique to offer. I would suggest you take the Real World plan as it provides you with unlimited classes. It also gives you the flexibility to book classes at the last moment. You get teachers who teach you everything about Spanish. Although the Grammarless plan is $1200, it barely gives you any advantage. There are no grammatical explanations, and the teachers usually give you things to practice on your own.

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