Best 8 Live Lingua Alternatives For All Languages (2024 Research)

By Ibrahim Litinine

Proofread and fact-checked by Ernest Bio Bogore

Last updated

Live Lingua operates by connecting you with a native-speaking teacher who holds a 1-on-1 lesson with you. You can choose how long you want your lessons to last, whether 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hours, or 2 hours. 

Before you begin the lessons, the tutor assesses your current level and designs a personalized plan to help you achieve your goals. They also evaluate your progress and give feedback where necessary. 

The program has a track record of success (with all the necessary reviews and testimonials to prove it). If you are here, chances are you’re interested in learning either French or Spanish, and you’re doing your due diligence to make sure you choose the best option for your needs. 

First, we will discuss why LiveLingua might not be the best option for you (even though they’re a good service); then, we will share the seven best LiveLingua alternatives you can hire for your online French learning needs. 

🇫🇷 Learn From Meghan's Mistakes!

Meghan spent months trying out techniques like vocabulary memorization, spaced repetition, and gamification apps like Duolingo. None of it worked, instead it ended up being total waste of time and money. She had a breakthrough only after discovering Get French Classes where she went through our active immersion, that helped her:

  1. build the daily habits of speaking French,

  2. practice under real-life scenarios through private French classes,

  3. improve fluency through group classes with other French learners.

Join one of our French courses and start speaking French today.

Why Live Lingua is not the Best Platform for your Online Learning French Needs

Don’t get us wrong. Live Lingua is indeed a great choice for learning languages online. We only believe that their services are not best suited for you if you need to learn French online, and here are our reasons. 

Reason 1: Highly-priced Service

Before hiring an online French learning service, you need a service that guarantees an improvement or development in your language skills, whether reading, writing, speaking, or listening. They need to do this at a reasonable cost that you can afford. 

However, that’s not the case with Live Lingua. Their services are highly priced and above the industry average. According to its website, the service charges $35 per hour. If you spend 6 hours, that’s $210. 

The question is, can you afford it? 

Since language learning isn’t something you can learn in a week or a month, you must prepare to spend a fortune if you’re choosing to work with Live Lingua. 

Reason 2: Non-Fitting Service for French Learning Goals

When hiring an online French learning service, you need a company with the ability to design personalized lessons for you, with materials and tutors ready to go out of the curriculum to ensure you can perform in the oral and aural aspects of the language. 

However, most of the time, you will not find a company that does this. This is not just specific to LiveLingua; it’s true for most of the online French teaching programs out there. Why? 

The typical online French learning platform’s strategy is to give you some reading exercises you can practice or provide some random words for you to translate. Their idea is to design a one-course-for-all platform with group classes and put you through a series of exercises.

As the learner, that leaves you stranded. The cookie-cutter curriculum that’s typically around grammar and vocabulary means you will only be learning the basics of the language. 

Plus, there are no video materials, which means everything will be limited to live lessons, which won’t be enough to make you fluent and will also cost you a lot of money in the process.  

Why Get French Class is Your Best Alternative to Live Lingua for Learning French Online

Most online French schools or online platforms for learning French typically fall into three main categories: private one-on-one tutoring, group coaching sessions, and gamified language learning apps. 

This is how things are done, and the issue is that this approach has more drawbacks than advantages for learners. Here is what we mean. 

  • Private French tutoring is exorbitantly expensive, with some companies charging over $90 per class. 

  • Group coaching, while sometimes cost-effective, does not always align with individual learning styles and often fails to provide adequate practice opportunities. 

  • Language apps, on the other hand, tend to focus solely on basics like grammar and fail to yield desired results quickly or prepare learners for real-world scenarios.

That said, imagine a French learning course that combines the strengths of all three approaches. That's the premise that contributed to the thinking and conception of our online French learning solution, Get French Classes. 

Our program offers one-on-one coaching, and comprehensive course materials across multiple formats, assignments, and exams to create an immersive and intensive French learning experience.

Some key benefits of Get French Classes include:

Learn French with real-life scenarios and context-bound phrases

After extensive research and discussions with French language enthusiasts, we picked up a common complaint that plagued most of them — popular apps like Duolingo fail to adequately train learners for authentic, real-world scenarios. This shortcoming became a top priority for our program.

Our goal is to ensure that our learners can converse naturally with native French speakers without confusion. Ideally, native speakers should inquire, "Êtes vous Français?" (Are you French?), mistaking the learner for a native speaker.

So, to achieve this, all lessons revolve around real-life expressions and phrases commonly used by French people in their daily lives. 

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

Even when tackling complex subjects like grammar or conjugation rules, examples demonstrate how these concepts apply in both formal and informal contexts.

Our lessons are primarily video-based, but learners also get supporting materials like PDFs or Google Docs — catering to diverse learning preferences. This multi-format approach ensures learners can fully grasp the nuances of authentic French communication.

Practice as much as you want with your private French tutor

To reinforce the video lesson content, our learners get private tutoring sessions twice a week with dedicated French language coaches. 

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

These live sessions provide a judgment-free environment where learners can:

  • Discuss progress and clarify any misunderstandings from previous lessons

  • Consolidate and solidify previously learned concepts through practice

  • Ask questions without fear of being made to feel foolish

  • Make mistakes freely as part of the learning process

During these one-on-one sessions, learners not only review core lessons but also dive deeper into nuances and more complex aspects that may not have been covered in the pre-recorded videos. The coaches offer valuable insights and customized guidance.

These private French tutoring sessions are included in the comprehensive course package, with no additional hourly or per-lesson fees. Learners gain unlimited access to personalized instruction and practice opportunities alongside the provided learning materials.

This blended approach, combining self-paced video lessons with live coaching, creates an immersive and supportive environment tailored to individual needs and learning styles.

Hit your French learning goals with your accountability buddy

One major obstacle to successful course completion is the lack of accountability that often comes with solo learning. People start courses and drop out mid-program all the time. Even with excellent private classes, effectiveness gets hindered without a sense of accountability. 

To address this, our team came up with the idea of pairing each learner with an "accountability buddy"—a fellow French learner with whom they can mutually hold each other accountable for progress.

This fosters a spirit of friendly challenge by having accountability buddies debate against one another on a weekly basis. Then, once per month, these pairs form "pods" that engage in debates against other learner pods.

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

This system cultivates an environment where learners actively push and motivate one another to stay on track and reach their French learning goals. The recurring debates provide opportunities to apply knowledge, while the supportive friendships formed help maintain commitment and momentum.

By combining private coaching, interactive lesson materials, and the accountability buddy network, we create a comprehensive and engaging learning experience designed to maximize course completion rates and measurable proficiency gains.

Keep up your momentum with take-home assignments, milestones, and badges

From experience, the most effective way to rapidly improve language skills besides an immersion trip is through an intensive learning program. The challenge is how to recreate that level of intensive immersion in an online format.

Our curriculum team tackled this by designing highly interactive lessons with written and spoken take-home assignments. This approach is based on the understanding that learners progress fastest when lessons are engaging and they apply their skills through practice activities.

Each 5-10-minute video breaks down these real-world interactions, explaining vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Each French lesson contains interactive exercises as well as written and spoken assignments to be completed outside of class time. The in-lesson activities act as spaced repetition to reinforce concepts, while the take-home work helps learners connect the dots between previous lessons and new material.

So at Get French Classes, instead of long lessons covering all sorts of stuff, we teach just one concept at a time.

In that system, learners have to demonstrate mastery of both the current lesson and the ability to integrate it with prior knowledge before progressing to the next lesson. 

The curriculum is structured into milestones or modules, each with a specific proficiency goal, such as mastering conversational French or storytelling skills. This modular approach with periodic achievements helps learners maintain motivation and a clear line of sight toward their overall targets.

Through highly interactive lessons, integrated practice activities, stringent mastery requirements, and a milestone-based curriculum design, we recreate an intensive immersive experience tailored for the online environment.

Become an expert with specialty French lessons

At Get French Classes, the curriculum is not one-size-fits-all. Our team adapts and customizes the learning experience to align with each learner's personal or professional goals for learning French. This tailored approach is a key reason why learners highly value our program.

Before beginning the online courses, new learners have a 20-minute introductory call with a learner advisor. During this call, the advisor asks detailed questions to understand the learner's specific goals, the desired timeline for achieving proficiency, and any other pertinent background information.

The insights gathered from this initial consultation allow Get French Classes to create a customized learning plan for each individual learner.

While the core curriculum provides comprehensive instruction, the personalized plan ensures learners develop not only conversational mastery but also relevant vocabulary for their professional needs.

For example, a learner hoping to use French for business may have industry-specific terminology incorporated into their lessons. This customization guarantees that the language training is optimized for their particular objectives.

So by taking the time to understand each learner's unique situation and desired outcomes upfront, we are able to tailor an intensive yet personalized program. This approach maximizes relevance, engagement, and the practical application of their French skills.

And here's a sneak peek at our some of our tutors:

Showcase your mastery with certificates

At Get French Classes, we take a rigorous, substantive approach to certifying language proficiency that goes beyond simply completing a course. At our company, mere course completion does not automatically qualify for a certificate.

Instead, certificates are only awarded after learners successfully pass a comprehensive set of assessments evaluating their mastery of the French language skills covered in the program.

These assessments take various formats, such as written tasks, gamified vocabulary exercises, and audio/video recordings demonstrating the learner's spoken proficiency. All learner submissions are carefully reviewed and assessed by native French tutors and learner advisors.

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative with certificate

The evaluation process ensures that any certificate earned from Get French Classes serves as validation that the learner has demonstrated true mastery of the language, not just course participation. The idea is to make our certificate an earned credential that carries weight.

The conclusion here is that our team maintains high standards. Learners can take pride in their certificate, knowing it represents a tangible achievement in French language proficiency that has been objectively verified.

Achieve French language proficiency in a cost-effective way

Now, you might be wondering: How much does all of that cost? It must be very expensive.

Well, not really. We designed our program in a way that suits the most serious learners. 

  • No per-hour rates

  • No per-lesson rates

Yet, we packed most of the most valuable French language lessons into our modules and materials.

Our French courses are made for different levels of learners, and use cases and pricing vary depending on your level. 

And our learners love it:

Meghan

I've tried learning French on my own before, but nothing compares to this program. The combination of video lessons, live tutoring sessions, and group practice made learning French enjoyable and effective.

Sunu Kim took french lessons from Get French Classes and enjoys it.
Sunu

I chose Get French Classes because their teaching materials and content are incredibly rich, going from everyday expressions to more specialized ones. I also get many opportunities to interact with tutors, and that has a huge impact on my fluency.

🇫🇷 Learn From Meghan's Mistakes!

Meghan spent months trying out techniques like vocabulary memorization, spaced repetition, and gamification apps like Duolingo. None of it worked, instead it ended up being total waste of time and money. She had a breakthrough only after discovering Get French Classes where she went through our active immersion, that helped her:

  1. build the daily habits of speaking French,

  2. practice under real-life scenarios through private French classes,

  3. improve fluency through group classes with other French learners.

Join one of our French courses and start speaking French today.

4 Live Lingua Alternatives and Competitors for Your Online French Learning Needs

Lingoda

  • Languages: French, Spanish, German, and English

  • Teaching strategies: Conversations, debates, role-plays, quizzes, and more

  • Why use them?: You want to achieve near-fluency in the language you’re learning

  • Why not use them? :  The classes may be pricey. Plus, your ability to converse and understand a language may depend on your tutor’s ability to teach well.

  • Investment required: Group classes cost between $6 and $15, while private courses can go up to $40 per class.

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

Lingoda is an online French learning program that drills you in every aspect of the language. The program engages you in an intensive one-on-one session or group class.

It also connects you with native-speaking teachers who ensure you get immersed during the learning session. The session is held on the video conferencing platform Zoom and lasts 60 minutes. It is available for all levels, from A1 to C1. 

An interesting part of Lingoda is that it encourages you to practice different conversations so you get used to speaking the language. You’ll also receive personalized feedback from their teachers, who assess your performance.

Lingoda’s pricing plans are available in two categories: group classes and 1-on-1 classes. The group pricing plan includes:

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative
  • 5 classes for $16 per class or $79.99 for a one-time payment

  • 12 classes for $13.5 per class or $163.99

  • 20 classes for $12 per class or $239.99

  • 40 classes for $11 per class or $499.99

Meanwhile, the 1-on-1 pricing plan includes:

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative
  • 5 classes for $39 per class or $193.99 for a one-time payment

  • 12 classes for $30 per class or $359.99

  • 20 classes for $25 per class or $499.99

  • 40 classes for $22.5 per class or $899.99

Learn French with Alexa

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

  • Language: French

  • Teaching strategies: Lectures

  • Why use them?:  You want to learn French at an affordable price or even for free

  • Why not use them? :  You need a tutor who can walk you through the rudiments of the language

  • Investment required: The program costs between $25 and $50 per month.

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

Another Live Lingua alternative is Learn French with Alexa. It is featured in notable publications such as Connection and The Telegraph. 

Thanks to Alexa's unique teaching style and approachable demeanor, you can easily grasp the content and master each language skill, whether writing, speaking, listening, or reading. You have access to different lesson formats, such as audio, video, and written content. 

Although most lessons take place live, you can also get the recap on the program’s YouTube channel. These lessons are 40 and are available to all proficiency levels, whether beginner, intermediate, or advanced. 

Plus, you will have access to resources that can enhance the learning process. They include 170+ replay videos, video worksheets, quizzes, and guides after each lesson.  

lingoda, the best live lingua alternative

The program offers three subscription options for its users:

  • 1-month plan, which costs $35 per month

  • 3-month plan, which costs $25 per month

  • An annual plan, which costs $15 per month. 

Fluent Forever

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

  • Language: French, Spanish, German, and 8 other languages

  • Teaching strategies: Spaced repetition and live tutoring 

  • Why use them?:  You want to quickly grasp how the French language works and master some specific aspects of the language

  • Why not use them? : The spaced repetition method can become boring over time and ineffective in the long run. Plus, it won’t enable you to become fluent in the language. 

  • Investment required: The app features a three-tier pricing plan: $10 for the monthly plan, $53 for the 6-month plan, and $95 for the 12-month plan. The coaching also includes three plans costing respectively $100, $185, and $275.

get french classes, the best live lingua alternative

Fluent Forever is another reputable online French learning app that drills you and ensures you master the language. It offers its lessons in two ways: through its app or a live online coaching session. 

With the app, you can develop a habit of practicing for at least 10 minutes a day. These bite-sized lessons implement methods such as spaced repetition to ensure you learn fast. It also incorporates storytelling that sparks your interest throughout the lesson. 

In addition to the app, there is a live coaching session. This session takes place daily, weekly, or twice a week. It’s a private class that features you and a native-speaking teacher. As the app offers its daily learning session for 10 minutes, the weekly lessons last for 20 minutes. 

Get Fluent, the best live lingua french alternative

Its pricing plans differ for each platform. The app has a three-tier pricing plan that includes:

  • Intro, which costs $9.99 per month

  • Fluent, which costs $95.88 for 12 months

  • Base, which costs $53.94 for six months. 

Get Fluent, the best live lingua French alternative

Meanwhile, the online coaching session also has a three-tier pricing plan that includes:

  • Slow and Steady plan, which costs $99

  • Fire-up plan, which costs $185 

Italki

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

  • Language: French, Spanish, Italian and 147+ languages

  • Teaching strategies: Personalized one-to-one learning

  • Why use them?:  You want a private session with a tutor without breaking the bank

  • Why not use them? :  You want to learn from native-speaking tutors, not just people who can communicate in the language. Plus, it may become expensive in the long run. An hour lesson can’t help you become fluent; you must be ready to spend some fortune

  • Investment required: It costs between $5 and $80 per hour.

iTalki, the best live lingua French alternative

Italki is an online French learning platform that connects you with language teachers across the globe. What makes this platform unique is that you can select a French teacher who fits your budget and have a one-on-one class with you. 

You can also select your tutor based on criteria like where they're from, their availability, the languages they speak, the categories they teach (kids, travel, business), and more. 

Lessons are also held as a group session. Once you've selected your tutor, you can easily book them for your lessons on platforms like Skype, Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, and more. 

Italki also allows you to learn independently. For instance, the site offers podcasts to train your ears with French words and put your knowledge to the test via quizzes. 

The cost of your lesson depends on the teacher you choose. But you should note that most teachers charge based on an hourly rate. 

4 Live Lingua Alternatives and Competitors for Your Online Spanish Learning Needs

BaseLang

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

  • Language: Spanish

  • Teaching strategies: Personalized one-to-one learning

  • Why use them?:  Its Real World program can help you become conversational

  • Why not use them? : The Grammarless option features boring and less explanatory lessons 

  • Investment required: It costs between $179 and $325 for four months.

BaseLang, the best live lingua spanish alternative

BaseLang offers you a one-on-one Spanish class to improve your language skills. The online class, which features you and a native-speaking tutor, takes place on Zoom. 

With a personalized learning plan, your teacher ensures each lesson fits your needs. Each lesson lasts for at least 30 minutes and encourages you to become conversational in Spanish. 

Also, the program offers two types of programs for you to learn Spanish faster. There is the Real World program, which aims to help you become conversational. 

It comes with a flexible schedule and activities. You can have your class at your convenience, select your topic, bring your instructional materials, and engage in lots of conversation practice.

On the other hand, there is the grammarless option, where you learn Spanish without any grammar. Rather than learn through concepts and examples, you will learn through practice. By repeating the patterns consistently, you will learn the language with ease. 

Based on the reviews on sites like Trustpilot, many claimed to have had a positive experience with the program. However, reports on Reddit show some were dissatisfied with the grammarless option. The Real World program costs $179 per month, while Grammarless costs $1,200. 

Babbel Spanish

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

  • Language: Spanish, French, German, and 10 other languages

  • Teaching strategies: Expert lessons, games, and group learning

  • Why use them?:   You want to learn the language through self-learning and have time to listen to podcasts.

  • Why not use them? : You want to get contextual guidance from an experienced tutor, and self-learning is not for you

  • Investment required: Courses within the platform cost between $7 and $14. On top of that, you have to be willing to learn by yourself.

Babbel, the best live lingua spanish alternative

Babbel Spanish offers Spanish lessons for learners in all proficiency levels: from beginner to advanced. With the app, you can learn how to pronounce words, grammar, vocabulary, and culture. 

The app further supplements the lessons with resources like flashcards, tests, quizzes, challenges, and more. Additionally, Babbel Live includes you, a native teacher, and a maximum of five other learners. 

Although the class primarily focuses on conversation, you can still learn other aspects such as pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. All classes take place live on Zoom, where all learners get personalized attention from the teacher. 

The program’s monthly plan costs $13.95, while the Live program requires you to request a quote. 

Newsdle

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner and Intermediate

  • Language: Spanish and French

  • Teaching strategies: News-based articles

  • Why use them?:   Useful for developing vocabulary and learning grammar

  • Why not use them? : It can’t help you become fluent in Spanish

  • Investment required: It costs $10 per month

newsdle, the best live lingua spanish alternative

If you want to learn Spanish through news, this platform is suitable for you. The program provides three news-based lessons enabling you to pick up new Spanish phrases. Each lesson comes up with a comprehension exercise. 

Coupled with these formal lessons are various learning resources. These resources include live dictionary, keyword lists, and graded audio. You can use any of these to enhance your learning journey. The program’s monthly plan costs $10. 

Study Spanish

  • Proficiency Levels: Beginner and Intermediate

  • Language: Spanish

  • Teaching strategies:  Blog-based lessons

  • Why use them?:  It’s suitable for learning grammar and vocabulary

  • Why not use them? : You can’t write effectively in Spanish

  • Investment required: It costs $19.99 per month or $119 for a lifetime membership

StudySpanish, the best live lingua spanish alternative

StudySpanish is an online Spanish platform that offers Spanish lessons to all levels, from beginner to advanced. The lessons are available for anyone willing to self-study. 

It covers core aspects such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, verb drills, culture, and idioms. The program further supplements the lessons with resources such as flashcards, quizzes, tests, oral practice, cultural notes, and so on. 

Plus, you can opt for a private Spanish class where you can practice with a native-speaking teacher. The classes, which last for at least 30 minutes, encourage you to improve your conversational skills. As you practice consistently, your language skills become better. 

The program offers a free trial for seven days. Then, you can subscribe for its monthly plan which costs $9.99  while the lifetime plan costs $119.

Let Get French Classes Give You the Best Online French Learning Service

There you have it. Every company on this list offers you an excellent alternative to Live Lingua. Their ultimate goal is to ensure you learn French.

However, you don’t want to go for a company that gives you random words to translate and call it a day. Instead, you want to go for an online French learning service that:

  • takes a more personalized teaching approach

  • doesn’t give you a random reading exercise

  • Teaches you the French language in-depth so you can understand and communicate fluently

  • Asks you meaningful questions to understand your French learning goals and how to achieve them.

If this is what you’re seeking, that's us. 

We take the time to understand our learners and tailor our teaching approach to each individual. We offer high-quality French teaching services that enable you to understand and communicate effectively.

So, if you're looking for a personalized and effective online French learning service, Get French Classes is the best alternative to Live Lingua. 

Our teaching approach is more accurate and ensures that you get the most out of your investment.

🇫🇷 Learn From Meghan's Mistakes!

Meghan spent months trying out techniques like vocabulary memorization, spaced repetition, and gamification apps like Duolingo. None of it worked, instead it ended up being total waste of time and money. She had a breakthrough only after discovering Get French Classes where she went through our active immersion, that helped her:

  1. build the daily habits of speaking French,

  2. practice under real-life scenarios through private French classes,

  3. improve fluency through group classes with other French learners.

Join one of our French courses and start speaking French today.