LoginWhy Free Programs Don’t Work as Well as Ones You Pay For
Imagine that you are going to choose between two different language learning programs. One of them your rich uncle will buy for you … so it feels like it’s free! The other one you have to buy for yourself with hard earned dollars.
Now imagine that the free program is 15% better than the program that you have to pay for with your own money.
So which one will do a better job of teaching YOU a foreign language?
Why the one you have to pay for yourself of course.
To understand why that is true, it helps to stop and consider this slightly edited quote from the American writer Thomas Paine.
“What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.”
If You Get Something Free, You Won’t Value it Much
That’s true for language learning as it’s true for many other things. If someone gives you a car, you probably won’t wash it as often as you would a car that you paid for yourself.
You are much more likely to keep studying when you use a program that seemed expensive for you than if you use a free or a cheap program. If you want our software to work well for you, then buy the language package that seems expensive for you.
Our software is expensive … in terms of money … because it works better than anything else on the web.
However our software will be very inexpensive for you … in terms of time … because it was designed so that you can learn quickly and retain what you learned — for a lifetime!
“It is dearness only that gives every thing its value.” If you don’t pay a lot for a language learning program it isn’t likely to work.
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I disagree…some of the best things in life are free!!!
So, what is the cost of your Spanish courses?
Hi Barbie,
Of course you’re right. Some of the best things in life are free. However when you need to motivate yourself to do something important but not urgent, paying for it is a lot better than getting it for free.
Money can be a good tool for motivating yourself, just like a good hammer is a tool for driving a nail. It’s not the only tool for motivating yourself, but it is a good one.
Our Spanish prices are here: http://language101.com/spanish/pricing/
We already have some Spanish lessons for construction and we can add more if you need them.
Thanks for your comment.
I agree that spending money keeps you more motivated than the “free” lessons.
But unless you really speak it, you lose it.
I really want it to stick this time!
That’s why Language101.com is a good choice, Gina. The software almost tricks your brain into remembering. I’ve tried it and I’m really impressed by it.
Thank you for your kind words.
I agree with your theory, it was certainly true about my first car. But what about my wanting to give the language program as a gift to my daughter? Should I see if she wants it first? (She’s trying to learn Italian on her own) Maybe it won’t be appreciated enough.
Angela –
Gifts from a place of love and thoughtfulness are always appreciated! If your daughter truly is attempting to learn Italian on her own already then that is an excellent expression of desire! Being given a tool to make that easier, more fun and more effective will payoff for her immediately. The simple enthusiasm that is earned by feeling successful in accomplishing a task that has already begun undertaken is a great reward to keep the work happening. Now, if you gave her a different product and she got frustrated by it, I would be willing to bet that she would lose interest very rapidly. That’s why we’ve been developing Language101.com with enthusiasm, personal emotional rewards and effective learning tools!
Please stat the cost of the Language 101 course [Mexican Spanish, not Castillion].
$727 – All language super package (all levels of all languages).
$527 – All language levels 1, 2, and 3 for just one language.
$377 – Two language levels (both 1 and 2) for only one language.
$227 – One level of one language. You choose level 1, 2, or 3.
Do you have recommendations for learning Italian? I see it is not on the list of languages you offer. I was going to get Rosetta Stone but now am rethinking.
Thanks.
Hi Ann,
I’d sure try Pimsleur over Rosetta Stone. We actually have a LOT of Italian lessons that are done, we just aren’t quite ready to release the whole Italian program.
Brent
Good Evening,
Is there any chance of getting Ukrainian soon? I know it has a lot of similarities with Russian, so it wouldnt be too difficult to make that one… hint hint… I use Pimsleur now for Russian and Ukrainian, and much of the grammar and vocab cross over, although some letters sound a little different…
Steve
Steve –
Thanks for encouraging us to develop Ukranian. We are currently finishing up Italian and working on Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. Until those three are ready for use we are keeping our efforts on designing a parallel version of the software in HTML5 so that more people can access and use Language101.com from more devices.
Thomas
Interesting Article. I agree that when something is valued more, one will feel more “obligated” to make sure it gets used. However I don’t think buying it is the only way to achieve this. If my hypothetical rich uncle bought me something, I would probably be very appreciative, and would feel the need to use it so as not to waste his money and thoughtfulness.
At any rate, I really like the look of your programs, although the cost is prohibitive for someone like me (college student with a lousy minimum-wage part time job). But I might consider saving up if you offered Japanese, a language I have really wanted to learn for some time.
Any idea if/when you will offer Japanese? Any suggestions for trying to learn it in the meantime?
If you need to learn spoken Japanese before we can get our release ready then I can suggest the Pimsleur method:
http://www.pimsleur.com/learn-japanese
They have a nice spoken offering though you will not be able to learn to read the language until Language101.com releases our version that will have full character recognition support.
Thomas