Memrise organizes its courses based on how our brain works. They have all sorts of categories ranging from trivia, arts, and literature to maths and science, memory training, standardized tests, and even entertainment. It doesn’t focus solely on learning a language.
Apart from that, the thing I like about Memrise is its well-captivated and friendly theme. I only came across this website a few weeks ago and I have to say so far it’s quite good.
You can create mempals (friend lists) which are kind of like a study group where you can invite people who have the same interest in learning the same language as you and study together.
Let's talk about Memrise levels. Obviously, after you finish all levels you have to review what you’ve learned. For instance, basic Arabic has 10 levels and has a total of 500 words. I have to review back so I won’t forget.
If you forgot to do that don’t worry because they will constantly remind you on the course page. When you finish on each level and have done the review you’ll be rewarded with points and that will increase your rank within the community.
When you learn a certain language you’ll see there is a leaderboard showing your ranking among other users that learn the same language. I personally consider this leaderboard a challenge and to be honest I wanted to take the 1st place the very moment I saw it.
Seeing that ranking really motivates me and makes me want to push myself harder to get that spot and I succeeded. I finally took that spot from 160th position to 1st position in just 2 days.
However, maintaining the spot is difficult because someone with higher points will take it away from you. I have to say I’m proud of myself when I achieved it. Too bad I’m now in 2nd place at the moment of writing because someone just beat my points.
You may think competing against the leaderboard is useless but from my point of view, it’s like competing against your friend which is good.
You can always learn for free and also have the option to upgrade to premium to unlock certain features. Basically, you can learn almost everything in free mode.
Their wide range of categories is worth trying if you feel like you want to take a break from learning. You’ll definitely gain extra knowledge from that.
They have an app of the same name which you can download to your Smartphone or Android and use anytime and anywhere. You can use it in offline mode as well if you upgrade to Pro.
Memrise deals with memorizing words and structured sentences. You can only practice speaking by yourself so you never know if your pronunciation is right.
I took basic Arabic at Memrise. I was hoping to see if they include grammar in there but turned out they don’t. Like many other courses I have to memorize the alphabet, and how the letter looks in their initial, middle, and end form (I knew that already a long time ago), and then on the next level they will introduce basic words, basic conversations and then long structured sentences.
When it comes to long structured sentences some might have problems memorizing. They should explain why the sentences are like this and that. It doesn’t have to be long. A clear, brief, and simple one would be ok.
Besides, when you talk with Arabs in real life you don’t have time to memorize everything you want to say. What if they spontaneously ask you something? It’s not like you can say “Wait a minute, I’ll get back to you when I finish structuring my sentences”
Another problem is they should have the option to jump on any level they want because I believe there are users like me who already know the basic things and would like to proceed to the higher level.
In my opinion, we should learn something new and not learn something we already know over and over again because if that’s the case it’s a total waste of time. But again that is just my personal opinion. You might think differently.
Even though there are more cons than pros I enjoyed my time here at Memrise. I can assure you that you’ll do too.
My conclusion is it's worth giving it a try. This is a good way to acquire lots of vocabulary. What do you think about this site? Share them below.
©2024 Together We Learn More
©2024 Together We Learn More
Marc says:
Hey Meina
You have a great website here with loads of potential going forward. I can already see the value that you have to offer others wanting to learn a language.
Memrise looks like a great way to learn. A lot of people are against the competition style learning and leader boards, but I personally agree with you 100%. A little bit of friendly competition will show much faster / improved results than just treading along at a relaxed paced with nothing to challenge you to do better.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers,
Marc
Meina says:
Hi Marc.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, that’s so true. Sometimes, somewhere in our life, not just when learning a new language, we need things to fire up our motivation and that’s inevitable. We need to have a purpose in whatever that we are doing. Moreover, learning something without challenge is kind of boring, don’t you agree? I learned more than just a language in Memrise. I acquired knowledge about some other thing at the same time. So, it’s good.
Dominic says:
Really interesting – I’ve used Duolingo before, so I’m always interested in seeing what else is out there. Based on what you’ve said about Memrise, and my own experiences with Duolingo, I suspect that Duolingo is the better of the two, but it’s nice to have an idea of the alternatives! Thanks for the review.
Meina says:
Indeed! Couldn’t agree with you more. Duolingo is by far my most favorite of all. Hopefully, by next week I’ll finish my review on Duolingo.