Unilang reviewed by Stiftung Warentest

[proycon]

UniLang has been reviewed by the German Stiftung Warentest in a series on language learning portals! We appear in their magazine, released today!

http://www.test.de/Lernportale-Facebook ... 4581184-0/

[Car]

So they actually did not mention us in the test (they tested commercial services there), but just mentioned that they tested some communities and mentioned this link: http://www.test.de/extra-communitys

[Abavagada]

That link gives you a 4 page PDF, and there is something about unilang on the last page.
However, the PDF is protected, so you can't copy/paste from it, and it's all in German.

[Abavagada]

I copied the the German text manually and ran it through Google Translate, for anyone interested:

GERMAN:
Unilang baut auf der Überzeugung auf, dass die Möglichkeit, Sprachen zu lemen, allen kostenlos offen stehen sollte. Dementsprechend fallen bei diesem Portal keine Gebühren an. Für bestimmte Funktionen wie den Chat und die Mitgliedersuche müssen sich die Nutzer registrieren lassen. Die Gründer stellen Unilang als "leeres Hause" zur Verfügung, das die Community mit Lerninhalten - Übungen, Videos, Podcasts, Vokabeltrainern und vielem mehr - füllen mitgestalten und weiterentwickeln kann. Inzwishcen ist eine recht umfassende Sammlung an Lernressourcen zusammen gekommen.

Die Materialien gibt es in vielen, zum Teil auch seltenen Sprachen wie Urdu oder Maori. Zu der Community gehören laut Anbieter knapp 20000 Menschen. Sie können sich miteinander vernetzen und per (Sprach-) chat kommunizieren. So lassen sich Lernpartner für kontinuierliches gemeinsames Üben finden. Ausserdem haben die Nutzer ein Forum für Außerdem den gegenseitigen Austausch zur Verfügung.

testKommentar: Das Design der 2000 gegründeten Homepage wirkt angestaubt. Rege genutzt wird sie offenbar auch nicht. Indizien dafür: Die letzten Neuigkeiten sind 2012, viele Materialien sogar bereits vor Jahren eingestellt worden. Der Sprachchat war bei verschieden Stichproben im Testzeitraum stets unbesetzt. Das Portal scheint ein wenig vernachlässigt. Das ist schade, denn es verfolgt einen interessanten Ansatz: Unilang richtet sich nicht nur an Sprachlerner, sondern auch an Lehrer und Sprachwissenschaftler. Im Grunde ist es für die große Zielgruppe all derer, die am Sprachenlernen Intereße haben, konzipiert und geeignet, Lernmaterialien auszutauschen sowie miteinander in Kontakt zu treten.

Ein Nachteil: Nur wenige Lehrmaterialien richten sich an deutsche Muttersprachler, die Englisch lernen wollen. Im Testzeitraum gab es außerdem Probleme mit dem Voice-Chat: Er stand nicht zur Verfugung. Dem Portal täte eine Überarbeitung gut. So könnten die Lernmaterialien besser kategorisiert sein. Das würde sich positiv auf die Übersichtlichkeit des gesammelten Materials auswirken und die Nutzerfreundlichkeit erhöhen. Auch die Suchfunktion könnte verbessert werden.

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ENGLISH:
Unilang is based on the belief that the opportunity to leam languages, should all be open free of charge. Accordingly, in this portal without fees. For certain functions, such as the chat and the member search, users must register. The founders put Unilang as "empty house" is available, the community with the learning content - can help shape fill and develop - exercises, videos, podcasts, vocabulary trainers and much more. Inzwishcen has come quite a comprehensive collection of learning resources together.

The materials are available in many, some of them rare languages ​​such as Urdu, Maori. According to the vendor to the community include nearly 20,000 people. You can network with each other and communicate via (voice) chat. This allows for continuous learning partners find common practice. In addition, users also have a forum for the mutual exchange.

test comment: The design of the website founded in 2000, has dusted. Actively used, they will not appear. Circumstantial evidence: the latest news have been in 2012, many materials even set years ago. Voice chat has always been unoccupied for different samples during the test period. The portal seems a little neglected. This is a shame, because it follows an interesting approach: Unilang depends not only on language learners but also for teachers and linguists. Basically, it's great for the target group of those who are interested in learning languages, designed and adapted to exchange learning materials and to get in touch with each other.

One drawback: Few educational materials aimed at German speakers who want to learn English. In the test period, there were also problems with the Voice Chat: He was not at your disposal. The portal would do a good revision. Thus, the learning materials could be better categorized. This would have a positive effect on the clarity of the collected material and increase the user-friendliness. The search function could be improved.

[Saaropean]

Here's a better (handmade) translation:

Unilang is based on the conviction that the possibility to learn languages should be open to anyone free of charge. Accordingly there are no fees in this portal. Users need to register for certain functions such as chat and member search. The founders make Unilang available as an "empty house" the community can fill, design and enhance with learning content such as exercises, videos, podcasts and vocabulary trainers. By now the collection of learning resources is quite comprehensive.

Materials exist in many languages, partly even rare languages such as Urdu or Maori. According to the supplier, the community has almost 20,000 members. They can network and communicate by chat and voice chat. That is how learning partners can be found for continuous practice. Moreover a forum is available for communication.

Our comment: The design of the web site founded in 2000 appears dusty. It does not seem to be busy. Evidence for that: The latest news dates from 2012, a lot of material from years ago. During several spot checks in the test period, the chat was unoccupied. The portal seems to be a bit neglected. That is a pity because it follows an interesting approach: Unilang is not only directed towards language learners, but towards teachers and linguists as well. Basically it is conceived and appropriate for the huge target group of people interested in learning languages. It can be used to exchange learning material and to contact one another.

A disadvantage: There is but few material made for native speakers of German who want to learn English. In the test period there were problems with the voice chat; it was not available. The portal could use a facelift. That would have a positive impact on the clarity of the collected materials and improve user-friendliness. The search function could be improved, too.

[Abavagada]

Thank for the translation, Saaropean.. it is much cleaner.

My only question is that first part of the last paragraph, which you translated as "An advantage" instead of "One drawback". Can that be correct, considering the criticism it then gives in that paragraph?

[Yasna]

My only question is that first part of the last paragraph, which you translated as "An advantage" instead of "One drawback". Can that be correct, considering the criticism it then gives in that paragraph?

He meant disadvantage.

[Saaropean]

Typo. Sorry. Fixed.

[Axystos]

It doesn't seem to be a very positive review, unfortunately.

[Yasna]

It doesn't seem to be a very positive review, unfortunately.

They were reviewing it mainly on the strength of its language learning materials, but the real strength of this website is its forum IMO.

[Abavagada]

It doesn't seem to be a very positive review, unfortunately.

They were reviewing it mainly on the strength of its language learning materials, but the real strength of this website is its forum IMO.

It wasn't completely fair. Like judging it majorly on whether it had resources for Germans learning English. Also, the issue with the voice chat: that isn't something a site owner can really change. You can't force people to use a resources you offer. The voice chat software should be updated, from TeamSpeak2 to TeamSpeak3, but that won't make more people use it.

Still, things need to be cleaned up and updated. The "latest news" being from 2012 is a simple fix and it does seem to tell people that nothing has happened here since then.

[Car]

The main test was about sites which let you learn English, hence the focus on that.