Decent idea, execution lacking, bugs. Started using the app and within a few minutes had reached the limit of 20 "LinQs" (saved vocabulary words) allowed in the non-pay version. They should probably allow a hundred or so (using a flashcards app, I had saved about 100 new words in two weeks, an appropriate time to test an app). Anyway, I figured "fine, I'll delete some LinQs"... I deleted 9 so 11 were left. But the counter still said I had 17 AND still wouldn't let me continue without premium!
Fuse Henry
It's ok but has glitches. The concept of having to save a certain number of words to maintain your streak isn't such a great idea, imho. It's ok at first, but eventually you'll have days when you quickly mass-save page-fulls of words (cheat) just to get your streak when you don't have the time or energy to do it properly. They should make it *time-based* instead. Sometimes I just need to review! It's the streak nonsense that killed my interest in this app.
Skyler Guyot-Whittington
Incredible way to learn a language. Sleezy subscription requirements. They allow access to some "premium" features (sentence translation to name one) for about 3 days or 5 lessons (not sure which) to make it seem like it's actually possible to learn a full language for free using this app, but then they lock it behind a subscription. They don't notify you at all. I don't blame them for wanting a subscription, it's a fantastic application and concept. Very sleezy way to do it though.
nubemuffin
False advertising. This app is in no way free as the description states. You can download and use it for about three minutes before you get hit with a paywall. What makes it worse is that it's not just an app you can buy once and own it... No, it's a monthly subscription that's about ten times more expensive than it should be. There's a free program called "Learning with texts" that does the same thing as thing as this app but is 100% free.
Azurmalachite
I started using this after Duolingo and this taught me more in ~6 months than Duolingo did in 3 years. By giving you short stories and news articles instead of a planned curriculum it teaches you the most common words (pronouns, prepositions, etc.) first which allows you to form sentences of your own much quicker. I really wish they had Celtic languages, though. I'd love to learn Irish or Welsh. Overall I would totally recommend this app.
John Do
The app is great for immersive learning. I find myself using it more than the other apps I work with. Very entertaining way to learn. Main problem is the robot voice doesn't always pronounce words correctly and this can lead to bad habits. It's okay because in the lessons you can listen to it being spoken by real people but during the quizzes you only get the robot voice. It would be nice if they had an option to snip the audio from the real voices for the tests.
Adam Smiley
I have found LingQ to be very effective for my language study for three reasons. First and foremost is the "known words" estimate for each article. I can always find a piece of media that is in the learning sweet spot in terms of new word percentage. Second, the large library of articles with audio enables my effective immersion. Finally, the ability to import a wide variety of material I'm interested in. LingQ has definitely been worth the price!
David Thoreau
The app is pretty good, but the streak thing is annoying. I use other tools to study in addition to this, and I don't like feeling compelled to log in and do a few minutes in the app to "keep the streak going." I would rather be able notate that I worked on something, or disable it altogether. I can spend a couple hours watching shows in my target language while taking notes and looking up words, but the app doesn't know that. It's just annoying and it can be discouraging.
Mark
Wasn't great at partitioning words in Japanese, which I wasn't able to know until after paying for a month of premium. Unreasonably difficult to cancel subscription. Couldn't find any way to cancel from the app, so I had to do it from a web browser. Then they redirect you to a promotion page 5 or 6 times to try to keep you from canceling even after you keep clicking "cancel". I might have given the app another chance with a different language in the future, but I'm turned off by this experience
Eliyah Lucas
For me, this is the most convenient way to go through a lot of content. This app makes it so easy to learn new words and frases. Depending on what you upload, you can learn with audio, video, or text. There is also a spaced repetition flash card system to help you review. Unlike many apps, you can get the translation of individual frases, not just single words. You can also keep track of your progress and learning goals.
