LingQ Italian
LingQ is a language-learning platform designed to teach Italian mainly through reading and listening material.
On LingQ, you can access a broad set of readings about many different topics (books, news, entertainment, science, business, travel, and so on).
The first time you read a story, all the words are highlighted in blue because you have never encountered them.
As you proceed with the reading, you can click on unknown words and consult their meaning. The word turns yellow and gets stored in your library as a flashcard.
When you go to the next page, all the words you have already encountered and haven’t marked as yellow turn white, meaning that you already know their meaning.
The idea behind LingQ is to create an entertaining place to learn Italian with an active community of language learners to exchange opinions and experiences about the learning process.
What’s wrong with LingQ
LingQ offers a vast set of Italian readings through which you can learn and memorize new Italian words.
However, the readings aren’t sorted in a way that helps you progress: they lack a structure that may guide you through your learning process. While LingQ is a popular language-learning platform, it may not fit everyone best.
When you need to choose a reading, you can select it from your lesson feed, but their order depends on the last time a user liked them, which is a bit messy in my opinion.
You can also filter the readings according to difficulty levels or search if there’s something you’re looking for.
In any case, you won’t be able to choose a reading based on the specific learning path you want to take.
Another aspect of LingQ that I find a bit tricky is that you learn many new words, but they can be way too many.
While building vocabulary is important, it’s not the only aspect of language learning. Speaking, writing, and grammar are also important, but LingQ doesn’t provide as much support for these areas.
Learning too many words at once can be overwhelming, and you may risk feeling stressed about memorizing all the flashcards in your library.
Also, since the lessons lack a specific organization, you don’t have the chance to practice and repeat the new words you’ve learned because you won’t be able to find them in the next lessons.
The readings also include an audio part: every time you click on a word, you can check its Italian pronunciation.
However, many speakers have flawed pronunciation, which can be harmful instead of being of help.
Think in Italian vs LingQ
When it comes to learning Italian, you can take many different approaches. Two popular methods are “Think in Italian” and LingQ.
But what are the differences between these two methods?
LingQ offers a huge amount of readings.
However, the content’s format, length, and quality vary greatly. In addition, the text is buried under a plethora of more or less distracting or superfluous features.
On the contrary, the reading library on Think in Italian follows a standard format and length with consistent quality and a distraction-free interface.
An alternative to LingQ for the Italian language
If you want to learn and memorize new Italian words with a strategic approach, you should use a course implemented to make you actively recall and repeat what you learn.
In this sense, I believe that Think in Italian courses give you the necessary tools to absorb new Italian words and sentences without stressing too much about flashcards, memorization, etc.
The platform offers a wide series of Italian conversations and short stories (Leggi con me) sorted according to your level. The stories include slow audio, an Italian transcription, and an English translation.
The material is organized and consistent; it is ordered according to the proficiency level (from beginner to advanced).
Think in Italian services also include Italian audio lessons (Ripeti con me), in which you listen to Italian sentences and repeat them after a short time interval.
The concept behind this approach is that, by repeating what you hear after a specific time interval, you give time to your brain to actively recalland process the information.
Think in Italian is a great alternative to LingQ for learners who want to improve their fluency and natural language production. Its focus on real-world language use and flexibility makes it a valuable addition to any language learning routine.
In this way, it will get stored in your long-term memory, and you’ll retain it easily.
What’s more, the audio material is recorded by a native Italian speaker, so you’ll have the chance to learn the correct Italian pronunciation of each word you hear.
Learn more about Think in Italian courses.
One Response
This sounds like a great resource for anyone looking to expand their Italian vocabulary in a more structured way. Grazie for sharing!