I’ve been using the Mango app to help me learn Spanish. What I really like is the ability to have the pronunciation of phrases repeated. If I want to hear something again, it is very easy to do so. The app includes a lot of repetition, which can be very good in learning new vocabulary and grammar. There seems to be just the right amount of grammatical exclamation, and the explanations are clear and concise. I would suggest two improvements. First, I wish the pages included text indicators of whether one is speaking formally or informally, using the plural or singular, or using a particular adjective to describe a masculine or feminine object if it is not clear from the English translation. One can turn on a narrator’s voice, which does include that information, but it means taking more time to get through each item, for the narrator includes an introductory phrase for each page even if no such information is needed. (Example: “Now how would you say...”)Second, it would be useful if the app could have more variation and recombinations in the examples. The exact same example appears over and over. It would be useful to have variations using other vocabulary one has already learned. I do understand, however, that this would add to the production cost of the app and perhaps require more larger file sizes, for more native-speaker recordings would have to be created and stored. Overall, though, it’s a very useful app for learning languages!

I’ve been using Mango Languages for about a year now, and I’ll say one thing: it’s a contender for being the most practical language learning app on the market. I have some caveats, but generally speaking, Mango Languages is a solid app if you want to learn a language efficiently. It’s the only app that uses collocations as the basis for learning a new language; this is arguably the best way to learn most languages, especially a language that works similarly to your native. While I love this app and use it daily, there are some things with the app that I think need improvements. (1) I would like to have custom review sessions available as part of the review system. In addition, there should be a stats menu where you can view any relevant data regarding your reviews. (2) Grammar and cultural notes should have a separate location aside from being in the lessons. (3) Flashcards should be more accessible, such as having a search feature to look for specific flashcards you want to learn. (4) We should be able to edit the contents of our flashcards, honestly. I sometimes find myself confused with certain cards either because of their structure or the way they translate. (5) There should be more assessments for speaking and listening, and even exercises to further practicing. (6) This relates to the review system: we should be able to delete flashcards we don’t want to learn, and it seems like you can only do that AFTER mastering it. People should be able to delete flashcards whenever they want and have the option to re-add them whenever they want.

Update: in 11 hours, over the course of one month, I completed the Mango course for Tagalog, which has only 1 unit (with 10 chapters). While it is simple, and incredibly basic, I would still recommend it to anyone thinking about learning Tagalog. Not only will this course teach you to say lots of things that are helpful in beginner conversations, it also has a built-in SRS-type flashcards system that will help you retain the information weeks after you learned it. I’m planning to continue studying the flashcards for a while. All in all, 4.5/5 for what it is. You’ll need a whole lot more resources to get anywhere close to comfortable with daily conversation, however, this is a good one for starting out. If you can access this app’s lessons for free through a library you patronize, do that. This app has a lot to offer. If not, other apps are probably going to be more worth your money. Then again, I can only speak for Tagalog, which is the language I’m currently studying. One thing I want to draw attention to is some odd language that seems out of the blue and sort of rude. One of the “Grammar Notes” for Tagalog says, “The Filipinos are one of the most custom, and values oriented races in the whole world.” Like, there are much better ways to say a culture values customs, respect, etc. And Filipino is a nationality and an ethnicity, not a race. Just left a bad taste in my mouth, metaphorically. (Update, review reply says they will edit this in a future release ✌🏻) Anyway, I’d love to see Tagalog updated a bit and of course it would be awesome for more lessons to be added but I get it 🥲

I put a lot of time into learning a new language so I don’t use just one tool/app/method. Some people complain about one tool being terrible or imperfect or such, but the problem is usually that you have to put more work into it than what any single app or book can give you. Mango is awesome as one of my main tools for learning. I use it for Spanish, French, and Russian primarily right now. I would like to try Mandarin and Arabic but I found them more difficult to pick up with this app. It doesn’t teach you the alphabet and an important first step in learning a new language is figuring out the alphabet. That’s why I spent time first studying the Russian alphabet and why I’m still studying the Arabic alphabet. I don’t think any app will be easy to truly pick up those languages without preparatory study. But I think if you know some basics going in for the more difficult languages, you’ll realize it’s a great tool. I breeze through the Spanish lessons because I already have some foundation and it’s closer related to English than Russian which takes me a lot longer, which is expected. I really like the format of the lessons, the culture notes, and the daily flash cards it prepares for you to review. Over time as you go through them and answer yes/no for whether you got it right, it figures out which ones you have trouble with and which ones you are starting to memorize. Overall I definitely like it way more than Duolingo, especially because Mango uses native (or at least very native sounding) speakers. Though I still use Duolingo mainly only for Arabic now, they sound like glorified robot voices.