Learning a new language is a fun way to pass the time, but it’s not always easy applying what you know. Lingoda overcomes this issue by taking a new approach to learning. Instead of using software to teach you words and phrases, you interact with live teachers in Zoom classes.
Lingoda draws on decades of research by teaching experts in Oxford and Cambridge. Moreover, it provides real-time experience in learning and speaking the language of your choice. Each teacher is fully qualified and must maintain a high student rating to remain on the platform.
Is the training effective? This Lingoda review tackles that question. Our team put the company through its paces to understand the complete experience. Read on to find out how the company measured up.
Pros & Cons
Pricing Plans
Lingoda Marathon
Lingoda Sprint
Quarter Marathon
Half Marathon
Full Marathon
3-months*
6-months*
12-months*
*Depends on the language, group, course length, etc.
Sprint
Super Sprint
$239/€199 per month
$399/€330 per month
Features, Courses, and Materials
What Makes Lingoda Unique?
Lingoda provides a platform for students to receive live lessons in the language of their choice. Freelance teachers can earn a reasonable income by providing quality lessons based on the company’s training material. Students also receive cashback incentives to attend their classes. In fact, the advantage to both parties is the flexibility of the schedules.
Lingoda Review: Teaching Job
We interviewed several teachers to ask them about their thoughts on the platform. They agreed that the work is simple, with most students being 18 or over. All said that the platform paid teachers on time and backed them up in the case of disputes.
Teachers also receive 50% of their class fee for a no-show if they take screenshots to prove the student didn’t arrive 15 minutes from the beginning of their session.
The Number of Plan Options
Plans fall into two broad categories — Marathon and Sprint.
Our Lingoda Marathon review convinced us that it’s probably the better program for those with less time on their hands. You commit to a certain number of classes per quarter, half-year, or year. By paying upfront, you receive a favorable hourly rate and only have to attend 90% of your classes to earn your cashback incentive.
You may schedule your classes further apart, allowing you better control over your schedule.
Lingoda Sprint is a monthly subscription service where you commit to either 15 or 30 classes a month. However, the pace is much faster and is geared toward gaining proficiency as soon as possible. Students may earn as much as 50% cashback, but only if they attend every class.
It’s a rigorous study plan that involves a commitment to classes at least every other day. Nevertheless, it’s manageable for suitable candidates.
Who Is This Service For?
Lingoda Prices are reasonable when you consider what you’re getting. That said, they do involve a fair amount of outlay. Nevertheless, this is a small price for someone who truly wishes to become fluent in a language.
It’s ideally suited for someone moving to an area where they speak the language or someone spending a reasonable amount of time there. It’s also ideal if you have friends or wish to make friends who speak these languages. Like all language skills, practice is what cements fluency.
Who Should Avoid this Platform?
It’s not suitable for those interested in learning to speak anything but the four Lingoda Languages, as the range of choices is somewhat limited here.
It’s also not ideal for someone with a passing interest in learning one or two phrases or who cannot commit to the schedule. For such students, these language learning platforms may be a better place to start. Later on, if they discover they have a natural affinity or enthusiasm for the language, they may find it worthwhile to sign up to Lingoda.
Which Lingoda Languages Can You Learn?
English
Learn to speak British English from teachers in the United Kingdom, South Africa, United States, Canada, and other native English speakers. You will learn proper spoken English with the correct sentence form and structure. Teachers will avoid teaching you slang phrases, although these may come up from time to time, especially if you plan to visit their areas.
Business English
Our Lingoda business English review found this course to be slightly more challenging than the standard English course. Business language is more formal and leaves less room for creative expression or ambiguity.
However, it is part and parcel of performing business successfully with English speakers and worth the effort. Business English translates easily to everyday English, so you do not need to take both courses simultaneously. We recommend taking them separately if you wish to complete both.
German
We based our Lingoda German reviews on the Marathon courses, as we could not apply for the Sprint sessions in time. Having tried learning German using software, one of our team members had some understanding of the language.
According to him, it was far easier to further improve his knowledge with live classes. While he’d learned the correct pronunciation of several phrases from the software, putting them together to create a conversation was a stumbling block.
Spanish
Our Lingoda Spanish review was good, and we found that most of our teachers were animated and friendly. Spanish is a passionate language with a lot of depth, and it’s tough to learn the nuances by repeating phases.
The courses are run in Castilian Spanish, i.e., Spanish spoken in Spain. However, teachers come from as far as Brazil, giving you a healthy dose of cultures worldwide.
French
Considering that French is the language of love, what did our Lingoda reviews for French find? Interestingly enough, our team members studied with one teacher from Quebec and another from France.
She was struck by how friendly both instructors were and, as she’ll be visiting Paris, enjoyed some of the advice the teacher shared.
How Does It Work?
It’s a very simple system for both students and teachers. Students choose their field of interest, commit to a set number of classes over a given period, and go from there. They may then schedule classes as it suits them.
The company provides all the study materials for students and teachers. Our Lingoda review team felt that the materials were adequate and maybe a bit simplistic. That said, the value of the program is the interaction between a class and a teacher.
Students and teachers may schedule their class structures as it suits them. A student may, for example, choose to complete two classes in one day and take the next off if it suits them better.
Teachers simply choose the class schedules that suit them best. The company asks that they work between five and twenty hours a week, but they aren’t obligated to. However, they must attend classes they commit to.
Lingoda Teachers’ Qualifications
To be eligible to join, teachers must:
- Hold at least a C2 level qualification in the language they wish to teach
- Certification to teach their language as a foreign language
- Two to three years of a qualifying teaching experience
Teachers will complete an application and written assessment. If selected, Lingoda will invite them for an interview and have them present a sample class to the review board. If this is successful, they’ll provide a job offer.
The company also asks for a Lingoda teacher review from each student to ensure that instructors meet the required quality standards. Students may read the reviews along with the teacher’s bio.
Ease of Use
The platform is easy to use. Simply choose your plan, select your payment method, and then schedule your classes. What makes this school different is that they have over 1,400 teachers in different time zones.
Select the class times that best suit you by using the filtering tools. You may choose according to time, date, teacher, or class objectives. In fact, our team’s reviews of Lingoda came out very positive here.
Our members particularly like that the platform sends you a message to confirm when the class is in your current time zone. You then confirm the booking, and there’s no confusion about when the class starts.
Plans & Pricing
The pricing depends on:
- Your level of proficiency
- How many classes you wish to take a week
- What progress level you aim to achieve
- Whether you want group classes or one on one training
| Lingoda Prices | |
| Price Includes | Classes and Materials |
| A Training Format | Live Video Calls and PDF Notes |
| Average Lesson Durations | One Hour |
| Class Sizes | 3–5 |
| One on One Classes Offered | Yes |
| Free Trial Period | Seven days for the Marathon Plan |
| Languages Offered | 4 |
| Pay as You Go | It starts at $9.50/€8 per class |
| Contract Plans | It starts at $6.75/€6 per class |
| Contract Terms | 3, 6, or 12 months |
There are two primary plans from which to choose.
Lingoda Marathon
With this plan, you commit to a term of between 3 and 12 months. You pay for your classes upfront and will receive a cashback if you attend more than 90% of these classes.
An example of pricing for this plan is:
Learning German under the Quarter Marathon plan allows you to take 50 classes over three months. The cost in June of 2021 was $700 upfront, with the chance to earn $60 cashback.
You can save between 11% and 21% by choosing a 6-month or 12-month course instead.
Lingoda Sprint
This plan focuses on more intensive training and a monthly pricing plan. You may select:
- Sprint: Starting at $239/€199 per month for 15 classes a month.
- Super Sprint: Starting at $399/€330 per month for 30 classes a month. If you attend all your classes, you earn 50% cashback.
You must book both Sprint programs in advance. They’re extremely popular, and the slots fill up quickly.
Refund Policy
You may cancel your classes after your free trial and receive a full refund if:
- You cancel in writing within seven days of starting a Marathon Plan, and you haven’t attended classes
- You cancel in writing within 14 days of signing up for a Sprint Plan
Lingoda teacher reviews can help you choose a class and sign up. Unfortunately, there are no refunds for classes outside of the circumstances mentioned above. Should you miss a class due to technical issues on the platform, you’ll receive class credits and not a cash refund.
We’d prefer a more generous refund policy, but feel that it’s fair. Within 7 to 14 days, you should be able to take enough classes to get a feel for the courses.
Online Ratings
We supplemented our research by speaking to teachers on the platform and other students. The reviews for teaching for Lingoda are reasonably good. Teachers state that the company provides good support and keeps its promises. It’s not excessively difficult to sign up if you have the proper qualifications.
However, some teachers found that it’s becoming more difficult to fill their classes. With several other teachers to compete with, they see Lingoda as a side hustle rather than a full-time job. More than one teacher mentioned this when we interviewed them for this Lingoda job review and felt that the pay could be better.
Trustpilot scores the company a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Three-quarters of the reviews from students are positive, and we found the same at other online sites. When speaking to current students, we also found that most were happy with the program.
Issues mainly arose with the scheduling of classes. Popular teachers book up fast, and it may be challenging to stick with the same teacher throughout. If you can book your lessons far in advance, you may overcome this issue, but that’s not always practical.
The team conducting these Lingoda reviews felt that this was a minor stumbling block rather than a dealbreaker.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Reasonably priced
- Choice of one-on-one training or group classes
- A maximum of five students per lesson
- Teachers are fully qualified and enthusiastic
- A good support material
- Includes a placement test
- Learn at your own pace
Cons
- Offers instructions in only a few languages
- It does not have a software-based course
Value for Money — Final Verdict
The company focuses on conversational language skills. Lessons are highly practical, allowing you to practice what you learn with native speakers. Some believe that this is the best way to learn a language, and almost all Lingoda reviews are positive.
We agree with that. It’s certainly a far more interesting way to learn than to repeat the same phrases over and over again. In addition, the lessons are dynamic and keep you engaged.
Do you get value for money? We believe so. The hourly rates are reasonable, and you stand to earn cashback as an incentive for attending your classes. This additional motivation is a nice touch.This Lingoda Review doesn’t end up positive for everyone. We recommend that you check out the sample class and carefully consider your schedule before signing up. The classes can be challenging, and there are no refunds if you decide to quit halfway through. However, if you are enthusiastic about learning the language, you’ll find the workload manageable.