Lingoda is a Berlin-based startup that offers online language courses. The company was founded in 2013 by three entrepreneurs who wanted to make learning languages more convenient and affordable.
Lingoda offers courses in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. The company has a team of native speakers who teach the courses.
But, does it actually work? I tested the app and want to share my opinion here, I’ve also collected some opinions online so that you get a diversity of answers.
The sprints do work
If you take Lingoda’s accelerated sprints, know that you will be taking a highly-acclaimed class. People get very excited about them:
last few days before the end of my second lingoda sprint 🤩🤩🤩
— Anja #LeniKiko2022 💗 (@jhhaaa) April 3, 2022
The sprints last three months, and you have to commit to taking five classes per week. Lingoda has enough teachers and enough classes at any one time, that you can be very flexible with when you take the lessons. You can for example do mornings one week when you have evening plans and evening classes the next week when you want to spend more time indoors or with your family.
This set up is great, and works for most people.
Lingoda promises to refund the sprint fee if you attend 100% of the classes
If you attend 100% of Lingoda sprints, and submit all of the homework on time, the company promises to refund you 100% of your fee, or 50% depedning on the period. The company has a good reputation for refunding people, if they meet these conditions. This is from their website:
“Payments will be made in three installments, and if your attendance is 100%, you will receive a refund (or half refund at 50% if you’re doing the Sprint) after the end of the Sprint/Super Sprint Promotion period.”
If you take group lessons, it all really depends on who is in the group
Some people online have taken courses with Lingoda that they have loved, and others that they hated. It’s the same platform but the group makes all the difference.
Here is an example of a person who loved one class:
Lingoda B2.1 / Chapter 2
“Let’s talk about my year abroad”
w/ 🇹🇼 🇲🇴 🇨🇦
The best group lesson ever. The teacher let us carry the conversations. Asked questions to classmates, giving quick responses. The teacher just gave us instructional feedback during the lesson.— DK@英語＆NBA🇺🇸🏀 (@Turnashian) April 7, 2022
But called another class “disastrous”:
Lingoda B2.1 / Chapter 4
“Are we the privileged species on earth?” w/ 🇲🇽×1 🇹🇭×1 🇷🇺×1 🇹🇼×1
DISASTROUS! They sounded like below B1😭 A girl from 🇲🇽 started crying during the class! Oh my my!— DK@英語＆NBA🇺🇸🏀 (@Turnashian) March 20, 2022
I guess the same would apply to in-person language classes: it always depends on who is in the group.
The regular classes might be repetitive
I did not find this, probably because my German is still so limited, but many people online complain that the regular classes are repetitive:
I did regular classes on Lingoda for a while. They have pre-made material so that each teacher uses the same. However, it has a very repetitive structure and got boring which was the reason why I switched to iTalki teachers
— Eszter/エスター 🌻 (@zwitscherig) February 4, 2022
Regular video classes are not as stimulating as group or one-on-one classes, because the best classes happen when the conversation can evolve naturally. This is probably why the video option works a little less well for people.
The prices are in line with other online language schools
Lingoda is not the cheapest or the most expensive option out there.
For example, here are the prices for one-on-one classes with a native speaker at some of the most popular online language schools:
Italki: $15 – $30 per hour
Verbling: $15 – $40 per hour
Preply: $10 – $35 per hour
Lingoda: €12.90 – €19 per 45 minutes (about $15 – $23)
As you can see, Lingoda’s prices are right in line with the other options.
Conclusions
All in all, people online rave about the sprints, and it is a bit crazy that you can get a full refund. The group classes seem to be more of a mixed bag, but this probably varies a lot depending on the people in the class. If you’re thinking about taking regular classes, you might want to consider other options that are a bit more stimulating. However, Lingoda is definitely good value for money, and their prices are in line with other popular online language schools.