How many times have your students asked you how they can practise learning English on their own, especially when you had a longer break from classes? Probably quite a few – I know it has happened to me before, and I was never truly certain of my recommendation. That is, until now. If you were looking for a platform that could help your students learn English outside of the classroom, you could suggest a language learning application, Lingopie.
For sure, you can relate to the feeling of watching a foreign film or a TV series with subtitles, telling yourself that you will remember this word in the future and forgetting it two seconds later. What if I told you that you could watch your favourite films while learning English and taking notes? Yes, this technology exists and is called Lingopie.
Lingopie, a company endorsed by such renowned websites as Variety or Forbes, defines itself as the world’s only language-learning application that uses real TV shows and movies to help you learn a new language. This claim is bold but true.
As an ESL teacher, I thought it could be an interesting experience to look at this platform from two perspectives – the perspective of a teacher and a learner. Let’s start with the latter.
The learner’s perspective
Lingopie offers a selection of languages to choose from. Since my focus is on English, I had a look at their English-speaking database. The layout of a website is intuitive, and anyone who has access to any other streaming platform will have no problems with navigation.
As you can see, all videos are divided into separate categories, ranging from comedy, documentaries, and adventure, all the way to thrillers and adult content. Of course, like on any other website, it is possible to look for what we want to watch using their search engines.
The most important thing that could interest your students is the ability to look for videos based on the origin country of speakers and the language level. It could mean that students won’t feel overwhelmed with the language difficulty and may enjoy this learning experience.
The first thing I noticed while browsing was that the shows are relatively short. This can be seen as either an advantage or a disadvantage. I suppose this all depends on the attention span of the students and how much time they would like to spend learning English every day. Let’s not forget that learning languages can be a frustrating process, and maybe it is healthy to split the learning process into smaller portions.
However, there are some things which could be improved. Unlike other streaming platforms, Lingopie offers a selection of TV series and short-length films that can be unknown or less popular to a wider audience. It could mean that students will need more time to get into some of the videos.
Even if they don’t find anything interesting to watch, they could be intrigued by the audiobook section, which grabbed my attention right away. From my understanding, all the books are public domain, which means that the Lingopie offers only well-known classics, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – students may recognize some of the books they have read before so, they could understand them quicker. Their library isn’t too big yet, but hopefully, there will be more titles in the future.
It is also worth noting that Lingopie has a Chrome and Safari extension that works on Netflix! This increases the pool of videos and may convince some of the people who were still unsure about this website. It is worth noting that this extension works only on some films and series nonetheless it is extremely exciting to learn English while watching your favourite films.
How does it work?
As I mentioned before, the layout of the website is intuitive. Learners pick a title that interests them and give it a watch. After scrolling through the library, I chose one of the documentaries, as it seemed like a safe and interesting bet for me.
The layout, while the video is playing, is easy on the eyes and simple to use. Students are presented with two sets of subtitles – one in Spanish (in my case) and the other one in the language they want to learn – in this case, English. Whenever a learner finds a word that interests them, they click on it and check its meaning and part of speech (blue – noun, pink – verb, green – adjective, brown – adverb). It is also possible to click on the word and hear its separate pronunciation.
Once the word is selected it ends up in the vocabulary section, which can be revised later. It is also possible to click the lightbulb icon and get a grammar explanation in Spanish.
After finishing watching the video, learners are posed with two options – go back to the video library or review the words marked while watching the video. This allows them to study the words and hear them once again in the context of the video (this time without the Spanish subtitles!).
Learners can always come back to these words and revise them in the form of flashcards, such as a pop quiz or a matching game. All the progress is saved and shown on top of the page as a reminder.
Although my experience was in Spanish, English learners can change their interface language to French, Portuguese, German and French. There is also an Italian version coming very soon!
The teacher’s perspective
Of course, I was more interested in the website from the perspective of the teacher, and as it turns out, I wasn’t disappointed. There is a teacher’s plan where teachers can invite their students and assign videos as homework. Once students complete the assignment, they can browse the website and enjoy other content. Remember that teachers can set the age limit, which is incredibly important when teaching younger students.
Once students receive the invitation, they need to register using their own email and create an account, which could definitely be a minus for some (especially very young learners), but I believe that most learners would appreciate the opportunity to learn innovatively. In this way, teachers can monitor students’ progress and see what words they find challenging.
There is also an option for academies to invite other professors to use this platform with their students. Therefore only one academy needs to invest in the service and offer it to its employees. The annual price for the schools starts at $199, and each time a new student or teacher is added, there is a separate cost. It isn’t clear the price of this service, but it is possible to send an email to Lingopie and ask for a quote.
Recommendation
So what is the general conclusion? Well, I think that it is worth giving Lingopie a try! I remember going over this platform about a year ago and feeling a bit disappointed with the range of videos offered on the website. My opinion has changed a lot in a year. I can see that Lingopie is continuously working on developing its product, and I’m sure it will only get better with time.
If this Christmas (or any other time!) you are struggling to find the perfect gift for your loved ones, why don’t you give them the experience of language learning? You can consider getting an annual membership for $71.88 or a lifetime membership for $199.
So what are you waiting for? Give a gift of language learning today ➡️Lingopie*
*This is an affiliate link. This means that if you click on it and purchase the subscription, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions written in the post remain my own.
