The only platform/app you'll ever need if you want to learn Spanish on your own - Lingopie Review

When I talk about the internet being full of useless language-learning platforms, I mean it. I've tried out hundreds of them, acting as a guinea pig, just to find the best ones that I can use in live sessions or recommend based on each student's learning style. But to be honest, it can be a sad and frustrating task at times.

And I am not very patient, I do not like to deal with platforms with poor content selection. I also find it frustrating when platforms are overly obsessed with grammar and/or give you vocabulary without any context.

And what about the ones that have bad designs? (one of my learning styles is visual, and I do not forgive bad taste!), that are slow or even worst: that are made by people who do not speak Spanish well enough and make literal translations creating terrible misunderstandings and affecting their uses giving wrong information (I am rolling my eyes now).

Even a reason why I reject material is that it only has one accent (almost always from Spain) and claims that calling a friend "tío" is a norm in all countries (instead of rolling my eyes, now I just let out a deep sigh).

What should a good platform have?

I'd love for you to experience the authentic Spanish language when getting comprehensible input (watch, listen or read content for your current level).

You should also access everyday Spanish that flows naturally without getting bogged down with the technicalities of grammar. The Spanish language can help you become a true global citizen and communicate effortlessly with people from different parts of the world. That’s why, you definitely need content from all those places to get used to the different accents and rhythms you may find along the way.

And that's why after looking for many options, I highly recommend Lingopie.

But I want to show you exactly what convinced me about this platform:

LINGOPIE REVIEW

Variety of Spanish Accents

One of the great things about Lingopie is the variety of accents you can find. Each show, podcast, song, or audiobook in the catalog indicates the country it is from, so you can explore content not only from big entertainment producers like Spain and Mexico, but also from other countries like Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, and more.

Learn vocabulary in context

I am one of those people who used to take screenshots of a new sentence to talk about them with my teacher later (I really enjoy doing this in both English and Portuguese). But with Lingopie, I can easily save interesting new words within the context and create flashcards that repeat the TV program clip from which I found them.

I'm not aware of any other platforms that offer all of these features. While flashcards aren't exactly my cup of tea, I really appreciate being able to save the original video and audio since that's where the context of the word lies.

Seeing and repeating that fragment will definitely help you remember when and how it's used. It's a tool that I've personally enjoyed using with Portuguese, which shares many words with Spanish but differs quite a bit in its use of connectors.

Connect with Netflix

I've been a loyal user of Lingopie for two years now, but the recent possibility of connecting with Netflix was the reason why I decided to talk to them this month and find out if they were willing to collaborate with me. And here we are.

Lingopie's catalog is impressive - they offer a wide variety of content, including music, movies, telenovelas, series, and audiobooks. However, I know that many people still prefer learning languages through Netflix because of the quality of their productions. That's why the possibility of connecting the two platforms was like a dream come true for me.

The idea of being able to watch "Dark" while learning German brings me so much joy. And for you, the ability to enjoy shows like "Money Heist" and "La casa de las flores" while also picking up new expressions and vocabulary might be exciting.

Ah, games! Such a delight!

If, like me, you get tired quickly of flashcards, they got you covered! Lingopie has recently included some cool features to make vocabulary reviews more interactive (more addictive as well) and more fun. You can now answer quizzes and play word-matching games to make your vocabulary review more interactive (and addictive). You can see in this video how to use these tools and what possibilities exist. You can also use the mobile app to keep watching or reviewing your vocabulary anywhere you are.

The future...

I must say, the early versions of Lingopie were relatively simple, with somewhat boring and simple content, and a very basic platform that only had the option of flashcards (although they've always included the original video and audio of each word you save which made me stay).

However, I'm thrilled to see how much they've grown over time. They've constantly added new shows and languages (English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Korean, and French), and have achieved great integrations that make the user experience better when using the platform.

Just imagine what the future holds! I've followed certain brands since their beginnings, and I feel very proud to see how they have integrated and evolved, and Lingopie is certainly one of them.

If you ask me what it lacks, I would say that in the future, I would love to have the option of saving complete sentences (not just fixed words or expressions). It would also be great to have competition elements with friends or tracking to share with the tutor, allowing us in Light Spanish to design sessions based on the vocabulary that our students have recently saved on the platform.

Final thoughts

Finally, while there may not be a perfect language-learning platform out there (I mean, is perfection even possible?), I definitely think this one is worth paying for. It offers solutions that you usually have to go to 5 different apps for! Plus, you get to choose which vocabulary you want to review, and you won't be bombarded with content that is too easy or irrelevant to your level (I'm looking at you, Duolingo).

If you're interested in subscribing and using it for free for 7 days, I'll leave you the access link. I'll get a small commission for every person who signs up after those 7 days. If this bothers you, you can search for Lingopie directly in your browser and access it on your own.

Get Lingopie 7-Days Trial Here

If you want to share your experience with the platform with me, don't hesitate to write to angela@lightspanish.co.uk, I'd love to hear your opinion on this platform.