JapanesePod101 Review: Freatures, Pricing, and Alternatives

Also, the app offers lesson notes in PDF format, making them easily downloadable, which you can use while offline. It’s a convenience that learners appreciate, especially if they wish to continue learning Japanese on the go.

Since JapanesePod101 provides lesson notes in every lesson, it helps learners to boost their Japanese reading skills.

Lessons Quality

JapanesePod101 isn’t the only language-learning app in the market. However, we found that it still compares favorably. That is why it remains a favorite go-to language application for most language students.

The whole process when you learn Japanese is smooth, especially when you follow learning paths. Learners take around 2 to 10 minutes to listen to audio and videos. A series of lessons can take 15 to 25 hours. In short, learners can easily find themselves finishing the coursework within two months when they are dedicated to audio and video lessons.

Perhaps the big letdown with JapanesePod101 is that it doesn’t have speech recognition technology to help with speaking skills. Learners mainly rely on self-validation of their abilities, which may be biased. Other times learners may try to imitate the fast-paced native speakers and mispronounce the words.

Grammar Instruction

We found the app to give an authentic experience when dealing with grammar. It made learning the three alphabets in Japanese easy, even for beginners. The systems of instruction incorporating audio and video instructions by native speakers also enhanced the apprehension of grammar at all levels.

Teaching grammar is ideal, especially for intermediate and advanced learners who get to know amazing and interesting stuff about Japanese grammar. For example, Japanese language learners get to know there’re no plurals in the language or many ways to say “I”.

Verbal Practice

Verbal practice in the app is lacking. An ideal way to practice speaking Japanese is through speech recognition software to give learners instant feedback on whether they’re correctly saying a Japanese word.

Currently, in the app, verbal practice is through self-teaching or the My Teacher feature available when you subscribe to the Premium PLUS subscription.

Reading

We found that reading practice was sufficient in the app because of the availability of plenty of material in different formats. For example, the PDF notes provide a good basis for going through content, especially for new learners who are mainly familiar with the traditional notes learning style.

Transcripts from video lessons are ideal for all levels of learners in case they miss out on important details while listening to the video and audio lessons.

Writing

We found the language learning app lacking in this area as well since the app is aimed at audio lessons. There’re quizzes and assessments spaced after some lessons though most are multiple choices questions.

Writing practice is available for learners in JapanesePod101 though you need to subscribe to a premium package. It opens up more writing practice through assignments and tests that your Japanese teacher gives you.

Vocabulary

Abundance of vocabulary words is a selling point for the app as it wins in this area. The app lists words grouped into certain aspects of the Japanese culture for easier finding and association.

Learners can also build vocabulary lists to practice reading and speaking at their own time through the My Word bank feature.

Repetitiveness

We found that the app does its best to engage users and make the learning process as enjoyable as possible. For example, the instructors are friendly, lively and happy to help. It’s also interesting to hear about different aspects of Japanese culture.

However, we also found that the lessons’ structure in the pathway tends to become repetitive across levels. Learners may be forced to complement JapanesePod101 with the traditional classroom learning style.

JapanesePod101 Review: Ease of Use

JapanesePod101 has a fairly easy-to-use interface that shouldn’t give you problems even when you’re new to the app. The signup process is quick and fast. And afterwards, you choose your level and start the lessons.

The interface that learners interact with is also simple, and the tabs to open different features in the app are clearly labeled at the bottom of the homepage. The first is the dashboard, which has the My Word Bank section. Other tabs include the lessons, My Teacher, and menu sections.

Generally, the interface may seem dull, especially compared to other apps to learn Japanese. It has a black background with white, blue, and yellow labels for different features. The font used in the app is also tiny, meaning that learners may struggle with reading practice.

We also found that the video and audio lessons took time to load for the first time, slightly reducing the user experience.

JapanesePod101 Competitors and Alternatives

JapanesePod101 vs Rocket Japanese

Rocket Japanese focuses on interactive audio lessons with cultural insights and grammar resources. In comparison, JapanesePod101 resembles podcasts more and is less user-friendly. Although a bit more expensive, Rocket Japanese might be a better option for you. Find more information in our review of Rocket Japanese.

JapanesePod101 vs Lingopie

Lingopie gives you a chance to effortlessly learn a language by binge-watching TV. It’s nothing like podcasts of JapanesePod101 or traditional language classes. If you are more engaged by visual cues and reading subtitles, find more information in our review of Lingopie program.

JapanesePod101 vs Mondly

Mondly is perhaps the most innovative language app out there with its virtual and augmented reality games. Not to say that the audio lessons of JapanesePod101 aren’t engaging, but Mondly is on another level when motivating students to learn. Learn more about this program in our in-depth review of Mondly app.

What Could Be Improved?

The app excels in teaching Japanese lessons even with a free account. However, to get more features, you’ll need to subscribe to one of the monthly plans available to get more features. The app lacks a payment plan that covers a more extended period. For example, unlike other apps, there’s no 3,6, or 12-month payment plan.

Instead of the small efforts they make, like offering discounts every once in a while to relieve new and continuing users of the platform, the app should offer discounts more often. It also sends emails when your subscription is nearing completion so you can renew it. 

Another downside of the app is that it scores low in speaking practice. For the price of $23 for the more expensive Premium PLUS subscription, users should get speech recognition technology that helps learners practice speaking Japanese.

However, JapanesePod101 does try to compensate for this by providing a My Teacher feature where learners can interact with native speakers who help them with Japanese pronunciation.