LingoDeer Unpacked: Structured Learning, Growing Languages, and New Features (2025)

1. Structured Curriculum & Grammar Focus
   • Lessons carefully structured by level (A1–B1), topics, and contain Learning Tips with explanations of grammar—perfect for creating from ground up to intermediate.
   • Features a “Test Out” option so you can bypass if you feel certain.
2. Alphabet & Writing Practice
   • Comes with complete modules for scripts such as hiragana, katakana, Hangul, Pinyin, Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai, etc.
   • Has writing drills for Chinese (1,000 characters) and Japanese Kanji (100 characters).
3. Interactive Lessons
   • Mini-lessons (~5 minutes) consist of diverse exercises: fill-in-blanks, listening, dragging, speaking, typing, image matching.
   • HD native-speaker audio for pronunciation and listening practice.
4. Review & Reinforcement
   • Exclusive Review tab for vocabulary, grammar, and characters, with flashcards and quizzes.
   • LingoDeer Plus app provides additional reinforcement in the form of games and spaced repetition exercises.
5. Other Features
   • Fluent mode (for certain languages) features dialogues, cultural notes, speaking/writing practice.
   • Travel Phrasebook: useful for real-life scenarios—food, travel, introductions
   • Offline learning supported

LingoDeer (Structure & Grammar Focus)

• Strengths:
  • Provides clear grammar explanations and logical lesson progression—perfect for grasping language machinery .
  • Provides script/character practice (particularly for Asian languages), with native speaker audio throughout .
  • Excellent for creating foundation in scripts and grammar, particularly in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean .
• Weaknesses:
  • Content levels off at intermediate levels; advanced learners will find less useful.
  • Speaking practice is restricted to playback and recording—no live chat or strong speech feedback .

FluentU (Immersion & Video-Based Learning)

• Strengths:
  • Boasts a huge database of authentic videos—music, movie scenes, news—with subtitles and quizzes embedded .
  • Perfect for visual learners, offering visual context and interactivity .
  • Great vocabulary learning through SRS and transcript flashcards .
• Limitations:
  • No speech or pronunciation feedback—no voice input or recognition functionality.
  • Can seem clunky or outdated, and has no formal lessons aside from videos

• Free version offers lessons for alphabet, phrasebook, some lessons, review tools, and some content.
• Premium membership (in-app purchases):
  • Monthly: ~$14.99
  • Annual: ~$79.99
  • Lifetime: ~$159.99
• LingoDeer Plus is a separate paid app with review and drill focus.

• Malay, Polish & Turkish were introduced in early 2025—each debuting with a dedicated Travel Phrasebook for speedy on‑the‑go learning .
• Greek & Ukrainian also became available in Spring 2025 (app version 2.99.301, released Mar 31 2025).
• Ongoing expansion with Indonesian, Polish, Malay added incrementally through 2024 .

From the June 20 2025 developer log:

• Dark mode UI enhanced throughout Android.
• Speech recognition improved, particularly for Japanese and other languages—faster speaking drills as well.
• New option to choose particular words/sentences for personal review drill.
• Test-Out completions now affect streak tallies.
• Course listings reordered to feature popular languages and renamed French versions for clarity.
• Improved explanations of streak features added and several bugs (SRS, lesson summaries, etc.) solved.

• Users thank LingoDeer for its responsive support staff:
  • “I reached out to them recently and was pleasantly surprised at how much they value our feedback… they’ve always replied.”
• However, some are demanding more in-depth content:
  • “Most languages such as Malay, Thai, Arabic, Polish etc do not have a B1 level course…Would be wonderful if they all can eventually provide up to B2”
• and observe a change of emphasis:
  • “The R&D has apparently moved over to LingoDeer+. They’re introducing new languages while leaving old courses behind.”

• LingoDeer now offers 18 courses across 12 target languages (e.g., Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese) .
• Core courses typically range from A1–B1, with current efforts to extend intermediate content.
• Unique support for multilingual instruction, allowing studied languages via another (like Japanese lessons in Korean) .

• Contextual grammar insights: “Key Points” before each lesson summarize what you’ll learn—highly praised in Korean and other courses.
• Click-to-define vocabulary explains word origins—ideal for languages such as Korean .
• Star word/grammar system: allows users to mark items to come back to.
• Toggle-able immersion mode eliminates translations for challenge .
• Complete offline support with option to download content—handy for holidays or low-connectivity environments .

• User requests typically call for Nordic & regional languages (e.g., Catalan, Basque, Galician, Norwegian, Finnish).
• Numerous others desire B2-level or Fluent paths through current languages.
• LingoDeer’s staff has mentioned on social media and through support that new courses are in development, but details are not revealed.

• Strengths: fast course growth, user-responsive support, improved UI (especially speech functionality), offline learning, and considerate grammar contextualization.
• Opportunities: filling out existing courses above A1/B1, introducing a Fluent path for additional languages, and incorporating user-requested languages.