Falou - Fast language learning

Sarah Adelson

1 year ago

A great concept with poor execution. The cartoon people are tremendously annoying and you can't skip them yelling at you, when they don't add to the actual learning material. I'm learning Korean and have gotten a start with other resources. The way that they romanized the pronunciation is far from the standard and honestly would have led me to pronounce things wrong. I could also tell that the supposed translation of the sentence was not accurate, with no nuance of the vocab. HARD PASS

kitty cat

1 year ago

Would be 5 stars if the microphone didn't stop working, if it didn't get stuck on the "for a limited time only" screen where the guy is talking about the purchase and then replaying the video over again and again and again no matter how many times you press the X button. The only way for me to fix it is to uninstall and reinstall the app. Works for 15 minutes and does it all over again. No microphone and video on repeat.

Brittany Stammis

1 year ago

Im studying korean and the app gives me a lot of frustration. Sometimes the mic doesn't work and a lot of times it doesn't pick up what your saying. I kept thinking it was how I was saying but I have other apps that are similar and I'm saying it fine so there's definitely something off with the mic on this app. Please fix these bugs for a better rating.

D G

1 year ago

Indeed, as the ad says I WOULD rather have my fast food than pay for your app! The ads are insanely annoying, they actually try to trick you into paying more on your first day and then if you don't they reduce the price and call it "last chance" before permanently blocking access for free users after a few lessons. VR constantly has problems and you basically have to keep repeating till it DECIDES to pick it up. Frustrating and disappointing.

Launa Juneau (Star)

11 months ago

It's not too bad in terms of layout, I wish there was an option to not have romaji on the Japanese lessons. Another thing is that sometimes it would put the wrong word and translation on a conversation but still say the correct one when tapping on it. Plus romaji is sometimes completely wrong when it comes to the pronunciation, which confused me A LOT since I couldn't figure out what was the correct way to say it. I could also say something correctly and it would be rejected. Please do better.

Christiaan Perez

1 year ago

Great in theory, but the app doesn't explain how to pronounce words. In the end, you just have to keep listening to the same audio recording over and over again without getting any clarity about how you can improve your pronunciation. Also doesn't help with writing since it gives you the written answers as suggestions. I can say it improves my reading of phrases but the audio experience was extremely frustrating.

Christina M

1 year ago

The premise of the app is good, and I would absolutely continue using it for practice with speech. However the writing exercises are not actually writing which is unfortunate. Learning can be easy with the right resources. While I think Falou is good (much better than Duolingo), It's good practice, and useful for learning some new phrases. I just think grammar is essential to the process, and Falou does not teach you that. Learning is more than just memorization when it comes to languages.

Quintin Oliver

1 year ago

I started the Japanese course which I know is new. The content itself isn't bad, but the speech recognition isn't working well (even when I'm saying things correctly, it's not recognizing them as correct). Additionally, there are some errors in the lessons. I am a high level beginner/low level intermediate speaker so I can understand basic sentences; in one lesson, for the phrase "Do you speak English" the required translation is 「はい」instead of 「英語は話せますか」. A lot of improvements can be made.

Jessica McMahon

1 year ago

Seems like it could be a good app. I don't like being pushed to pay for something before I even know what it is. I was given the option to subscribe for premium or decline. I did 3 lessons speaking, writing, speaking again with the pronunciation covered. I was offered the subscription again and then I was offered 50% off the subscription and to decline the button was "forever decline offer". That kind of marketing puts me off.

Alex B

1 year ago

The 4.8 reviews and the idea of practicing pronunciations got me really excited to try this app. But as others have reviewed since I downloaded it have also experienced, the mic either doesn't catch my voice speaking the words or something. It's really annoying when I know I say something right. I also experienced the same error with the "do you speak English/hai" lesson. There should also be a spot to practice the words you mispronounce. Please fix these issues soon!

Brown Sugar

1 year ago

Initially the app worked great. It was responding to my voice and I was moving through the lessons. However the mic would stop reacting to my voice and making me repeat words over & over. I then did the update and it worked for a little while BUT now there is a delayed response with everything...you think it didn't hear you but then it responds. It's so annoying. Needless to say, I won't be renewing.

Alexander Melucci

1 year ago

Decided to try this app out to brush up on my Japanese. This app is a great concept, but boy is it frustrating to use. There are 2 glaring issues: 1. It doesn't matter how perfect your pronunciation is, it will ALWAYS mark certain words wrong. I tested by playing the phrase back to the app using the native Japanese speaker audio. 2. There are very obvious mistakes. The audio will say one thing and the written phrase will say something else. IMO, the app right now is not worth the money I paid.

Mekaku Chan

1 year ago

Listen, I think the premise is good! I downloaded it because of the ads I saw on instagram, however, the app isn't on par with the ads. For example, Sometimes the microphone doesn't pick up my voice ?? like, it just doesn't register no matter how clear or how loud I say it. Also, it says "writing exercise" but you're not really writing anything. You're just choosing words. Sometimes, even if you say it right, it still marks it as if you've pronounced it wrong. All and all.. there's better apps.

Esmeralda Garcia

1 year ago

Lots of potential, but very buggy. The app recently added Japanese, which I was very excited for, but as I'm doing the course, I'm having a lot of issues. The mic isn't registering what I'm saying some of the time and the phrases/words are incorrect or do not match. For example, when you're asking if the other person speaks English, the audio is correct but the written phrase is just "Hai". These issues are becoming more frequent as I go and it's unenjoyable.

E Roach

10 months ago

Was impressed by the first 5 minutes, paid for the very expensive premium subscription, and then the problems began. For some words or phrases it is saying my pronunciation is wrong, but doesn't give useful feedback. I repeat it back just like they're saying it, over and over again, and it just keeps saying I'm wrong, or it doesn't detect anything at all. I've tried with headphones too. It is infuriating. I think it has potential, but in its current state, I feel scammed.

Beverlee Rose

10 months ago

It's cool in theory, but after going through ten lessons I found some inaccuracies. Also, the writing aspect is just clicking on up to 3 different word bubbles, so it's not really conducive to learning. The app also crashes within 5 minutes of using it. Also when I know I'm saying something correctly it'll sometimes tell me it's not correct 🤷‍♀️

Bennett Hoffman

10 months ago

A really good idea with bad execution. The voice recognition works well, but often a word is "missing", meaning it doesn't play back when you tap it. The only way to advance past a phrase like that is to skip it. Also, sometimes the romanji doesn't match the spoken sounds. If they fix these issues, it would be very good, but it looks like it's been two years and no progress.