Innovative Language – (LanguagePod101)
Online, Innovative Language is most well known for their LanguagePod101 series. They focus on audio and video podcasts for 34 different languages! Making them one of the giants when it comes to learning a foreign language online. Well, they have been offering their products to us since 2006.
You can make use of their free resources or explore the paid learning material which is extremely beneficial for all language learners. Throughout our innovative language review, we will mainly focus on their languagepod101.com offering as for us this is by far their most popular product.
Cost of All Products
Basic
- £6 a month
- £45 a year (works out to be £4 a month, saving you £24)
In the basic package, you will receive access to all lessons and notes on your chosen lanuagepod101 website and mobile app. Engaging beginner through to advanced audio and video lessons. PDF notes for each of the lessons that you take.
Premium
- £19 a month
- £140 a year (saving 40%)
- The premium package has a few extra additions which include outlined transcripts and a vocabulary list to review each of the lessons. A whopping 2000 word list, that are the essentials used in daily conversations (website only).For us, we would have to go to japanesepod101.com to see this extensive list. Finally, what innovative language call ‘smart flashcards’ which is their use of spaced repetition learning, what most language learning apps are built on.
Premium+
- £37 a month
- £230 a year (saving 47%)
Ok, so, Innovative Language 101 also has a premium+ package. This is quite a pricey monthly fee for any language learner, but it does come with awesome extras!
Firstly, 1-on-1 personal instruction and guidance through ‘my teacher’ section, they will also set you up with a personalised learning program. They will make sure that you overcome your language learning weaknesses. To top off the premium+ package, you will also get personal assessment reviews by Innovative Language teachers. This enables you to gain a certificate of proficiency in your chosen language.
Mobile
- 1-month £8 a month
- 12-month £55 yearly (saving 37.5%)
- Lifetime access costs a one-off purchase of £199
- The mobile package will give you access to the whole innovative language 101 app, so you will still receive the full audio and video lessons with the line-by-line transcript reviews and pdf notes. You will miss out on the 2000 word language essential list though.
Special Offers
The guys at Innovative Language know that people like special offers! If you have managed to sign up for their trial subscription, then I’m sure you’re already receiving promotional emails. If you like the product that you have been using, why not take advantage of it! However, if you aren’t a fan, I would strongly recommend unsubscribing to their email marketing as they can be quite persistent!
Teaching Method
As you already know from reading our innovative language review, their main teaching method is through audio and video lessons. That’s not to say that they don’t use other features, just that these two methods are their main focus. They also have the word bank, my vocabulary section and smart flashcards which focuses on spaced repetition.
Audio and Video Lessons
There are new, free audio lessons added fairly often which is great. If you are new to languagepod101 this gives you more learning material after your 7-day trial. In fact, all new lessons are free to use for 21 days for anyone that has an account.
In all of the audio lessons that we have used, there were two speakers, one native and the other in your own language who explains what is being said. We would have preferred if they spoke more in the target language, something that they can work on.
What we love about innovative language audio lessons is that they have added modern language learning. One of the newest lessons is ‘must-know Spanish social media phrases’. They run through comments from social media posts, not limiting you to just formal language. We think this is a great way of enabling you to learn words that are used by this generation daily.