In this article we review Romanianpod101, an online course and app for native English speakers learning Romanian as a foreign language. We’ll explore the course’s core features, as well as it’s strengths and weaknesses. Let’s dive in!
Romanianpod101’s podcast lessons
Romanianpod101’s core offering is it’s huge collection of podcast lessons. There are hundreds of lessons available on the site and mobile app. The podcast lessons are released in seasons. Each season is centered on a particular theme or aspect of the Romanian language.
The seasons themselves are sorted by difficulty. When you first sign up for Romanianpod101 you are prompted to select your level in Romanian (the choice ranges from absolute beginner to advanced). Once you select your level you’re taken to an index of all the podcast seasons that fall under that level. You’re free to change your level or view seasons in other difficulty levels at any time.
Each lesson usually runs between 10-15 minutes in length. A lesson will begin with a friendly introduction by the podcast hosts. They introduce themselves, the lesson, and give you a heads up of any new grammar or vocabulary that might be used. After that comes the lesson dialogue: a short conversation between two Romanian speakers. After the dialogue the hosts return and use the conversation as a teaching tool to explore the vocabulary and grammar used in the dialogue.
Other learning resources on Romanianpod101
In addition to a large library of podcast lessons, Romanianpod101 also offers some additional features to Romanian learners. There is a collection of downloadable guides covering topics like pronunciation, the Romanian alphabet, and the basics of the language. There’s an English to Romanian dictionary, and interactive word lists complete with common words and conversational phrases.
Strengths and weaknesses of Romanianpod101
Romanianpod101’s greatest strength is that it teaches conversational Romanian. Because each lesson uses a real dialogue between native speakers, you learn Romanian grammar and vocabulary in context. This is a much better approach than simply memorizing a list of translations from Romanian to English.
The greatest weakness of Romanianpod101 is that, while it’s a great resource for anyone learning Romanian on their own, it’s not the best option for someone who is looking for a more structured approach to learning a foreign language. There’s no one way to work through Romanianpod101. You’re free to bounce around the content any way you want. This can be a pro or con depending on your learning style.
