If there’s one thing I’m always on the hunt for, it’s finding a better way to learn a new language.
People learn a language for all different reasons. It’s a great way to get ahead in your professional career, connect with family members, or maybe you met a cute foreign boy. Though my interest lies in speaking with locals while I’m traveling.
Because I hate feeling ashamed that I can’t communicate in another language. We expect tourists visiting English speaking countries to speak English, however 90% of the time don’t reciprocate by making an attempt to speak the local language when traveling through foreign countries ourselves. I have no idea how to speak Spanish while I’m in Spain, or french when I’m in France.
Not expecting people to speak to you in English, and making at least an attempt to communicate in the language of the land wherever you go, is a sign of respect for both the locals and their culture. But language learning isn’t for everyone, and surely no-one in the world has mastered over 200 local dialects! So what is a traveler to do?
Learn to Speak French and Spanish From the Best Teachers in the World: Rype Review
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With some practice, anyone can learn a second language. But one of the biggest problems is that even if we want to, there never seems to be enough time in the day to learn. When we do find the time, most of it goes into trying to find a qualified language teacher.
So this week, I want to share a great website I discovered called Rype, which offers unlimited 1-on-1 language lessons with hand-picked professional language teachers, whenever you have the time.
With Rype, you’re able to learn at anytime of the day, any day of the week, anywhere you are with only the best teachers that have already been pre-vetted ahead of time. This means: no more commuting, no more paying per lesson, no more mediocre teachers, and no more English overseas!
Say Goodbye to Language Schools
Most of us are still used to the traditional education system, where you have one teacher in a room of 10 to sometimes 30 students. They use a generalized, ‘one-size-fits-all’ curriculum, and while that’s an effective way for language schools to run a business, it’s quite the opposite for students.
Each of us have different learning needs, goals, and reasons why we’re learning a language, and each different goals require a personalized lesson plan. From a student perspective, when you’re only getting 1/10th or 1/30th of the attention from your teacher, you’re only able to learn as fast as the slowest student in the classroom.
The other unfortunate scenario is when you’re more advanced than some of the students in the class, and forced to review materials that you’ve already mastered, which drains not only your money, but your time.
In most cases, it’s not the teacher’s fault. It’s the model they are limited by in language schools. And that’s why language websites like Rype have taken off.
How Rype is Different than Other Language Websites
Nearly every language website out there requires you to pay per each lesson. This means that you have to pull out your credit card every time you want to book a lesson.
Think of the difference between Rype and other language websites as a drop-in gym (other language websites) vs an all-access membership pass (Rype). With all-access membership, you pay one fee, and can enjoy an all-you-can learn experience with any of the teachers on the platform. Language learning is a marathon, and by eliminating the bigger barriers of scheduling your lessons, you’re much more likely to succeed in the long run.
The second, and perhaps even more important is value. When you’re competing in an uncurated, open marketplace, the best teachers rise up to the top. This means that you’re required to pay a high premium for the best, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find any availabilities since you’re competing with everyone on the platform for the top teachers.
With Rype, all the teachers are handpicked for quality. And since you don’t pay per lesson, you don’t have to worry about overpaying or finding availabilities.
How Rype Works
Getting started with Rype is an easy 3 step process.
- Choose from any of their hand-picked professional language teachers;
- Book a lesson when you’re free. Anytime of the day, any day of the week;
- Start speaking a new language in seconds, and experience the easiest way to learn a language.
Getting Started
The best way to experience the Rype for yourself is to try it out for free. They offer a free trial lesson to help you get started, risk-free, before you decide which teacher is the right fit for you.
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24 Comments
That is an interesting idea. I’ve always struggled with languages even in school but more now as I get older. I do try to learn at least the basics when travelling as you can miss a lot of great local interaction otherwise. It’s not impossible as you get older either, we met a 72 year old in Kamakura in Japan who spoke to us in excellent English and told us he’d never spoken another language until he retired 2 years before and wanted to take his first overseas holiday in Australia
I have heard that it’s much easier to pick up another language when you’re younger and still responsive to learning. But as you said, it’s never impossible – that’s truly impressive that the Japanese man you met mastered English fluently in two years! One of the hardest languages to learn :)
Check out Rype if you do ever decide to take on French or Spanish :)
Hi Megan,
Thanks for the tip. I am currently working through Spanish and French with the Duolingo site. When I hit the end of the program it will be time to look for the next step. I studied, no, rather attended French classes in high school and now, 50 years later, I am trying to revive what was taught there. I have found a local class of 12 students and an excellent teacher that is making the learning more interesting. Most of the group have been progressing along at an intermediate level for about 8 years.
Hi Doug, thanks for the tip on Duolingo, I hadn’t heard of it before so will have to check it out too :)
If you’re at the stage where you’re looking for the next step definitely check out Rype – it’s fantastic because it’s for all levels and stages of learning.
So glad to hear you’ve found a local class you enjoy! The social aspect of a classroom setting is definitely one of it’s perks :)
Merci pour votre commentaire!
I totally agree with you that everyone should learn different languages. But like you mentioned there just never seems to be enough time. This seems like the solution to that problem and a great way to learn one or more languages!
And the great thing is a language like Spanish will get you through being able to communicate in multiple countries too :D
This sounds like a brilliant way to learn a language, particularly now that we all have such busy lifestyles and therefore need the flexibility to fit lessons in around them. I’ve been wanting to pick up Spanish again for ages, so I’m definitely going to have a look at Rype :-)
Let me know what you think of Rype Kiara – you’ll be speaking Spanish in no time!
gracias por tu comentario :D
Love language learning apps! I am always on the look out for helpful ones so I can brush up on my Spanish.
You’ll love Rype then Anna – can fit in a lesson whenever you have the time, and it’s a personalized lesson so you can hit the ground running if you already have a foundation of Spanish.
Gracias por tu comentario!
I am always trying to learn different languages. Even if it is only a little bit, better than nothing. Always looking to enhance the ones I know more of then others.
Absolutely Holly – even the basics will get you further than you would expect overseas. I’ve found that locals will make the effort to help and understand if you’re at least making the effort to communicate with them in their language :)
Definitely check out Rype if you feel like learning SPanish or French :)
Great find! I’ve been trying to relearn French since I basically forgot everything I learned in high school. lol
Thanks Mags – definitely check out Rype then. You might be surprised at how quickly it all comes back to you!
I have tried to learn a language soo many times – but it just doesn’t stick :( Maybe a language teacher is the way to go on my next attempt – it looks like it could work!
Give Rype a try and let me know how you go. Personalized lesson plans with a teacher 1 on 1 might just do the trick :)
Interesting post. I like the idea of learning another language (or getting better at the French and Spanish I took in school.) I hope the Rype affiliate program works well for you too.
Thanks Elaine :) Good luck with your French and Spanish!
Looks very promising, I travel very often so this would definitely be useful for me. I did language classes before but haven’t been able to keep up cause of the travelling so thanks for sharing this!
The perfect solution for you then, being able to sit down for a lesson on your own time :) I’ve found that Spanish comes in particularly handy for me now that we travel a lot – covers quite a number of countries that speak it!
Very helpful article, Megan! I’ve been meaning to learn Spanish (since it’s not only widely-used but also so close to my mother tongue) so these resources will surely be helping me a lot. :D Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thanks Aileen :) Definitely check out Rype then if you’re interested in Spanish. Have fun!
Megan, now that Rype does require a credit or debit card to start your free trial (though they say you can cancel at anytime before you card is charged at the end of the trial) and you have to choose before the trial starts a plan that you will use in the future (one plan is $150 a month and another is over $600 upfront), would you still recommend Rype today? Or are there even more affordable or at least no-strings-attached methods you would recommend?
Hi Su, thanks for reaching out, and for the heads up on the credit card requirement with the free trial (I’ve removed the mention of no credit card required from the post).
If you know you learn better in a one on one environment (ie with access to a private tutor who can tailor your lessons to you personally) I would still recommend Rype. And if you’re worried about the cost I would recommend signing up for the free trial at a stage where you know you’ll definitely have the time to trial it and not get auto billed at the end of the week because you forgot (happens to the best of us!).
In my opinion the cost is worth having a professional teacher on call, but it’s only worthwhile if you think you’ll really use it. Companies like Rosetta Stone are fantastic too and their app learning is a lot cheaper; you can organize plans there for around $10 a month. The decision you’ll need to make is whether you thrive more with one on one tutoring, or can succeed in learning with a pre-set curriculum :)
Hope that helps!