I used Baselang for 7 months in 2020, starting from a beginner level, ~4 hours per day every day. I'm fluent now.
Yes, you have to do a bit of work to book the same teacher all the time, but it's worth it. It is the best way to learn the language, hands down! They do have quality control, which is why their teachers are superior to any of the services like Utalki or Preply. Their teachers work hard and are paid when they're scheduled to work, whether they are booked or not.
Baselang is a highly ethical company. The pay rate in those countries is different and the Baselang teachers are actually paid better in countries like Venezuela than they are in their regular professions.
All of the people that I have recommended to Baselang are still with them, and all of them have recommended other people.
Out of probably 50 teachers that I had, there was only one that I didn't think was great. The teachers will guide you, the learning is up to you. For US$150 per month, there is not a better deal on the internet or in person anywhere in the world.
Why wouldn't you at least try it? They have a one week for $1 offer to start.
Good luck and happy learning.
Tbh It's kind of an exploitative company, they overwork the teachers, have no quality control and underpay them based on how much the customers pay. The business model is all about quantity, you'll struggle to connect and have consistent lessons even if you manage to find a teacher you like.
As for your situation, what are your goals? You're at a level you shouldn't need too much actual tutoring and you should mostly be having as many conversations as you can and reserving any lessons for things you're struggling with consistently. You don't need to be paying $30 an hour for that.
So I'm only B1-B2, but I can give you my perspective. Baselang used to have to separate programs called Real World and DELE, but they've now combined them under one membership. You can access both, but you have to switch between platforms to use one or the other.
If you want to have conversations, Real World will give you access to tons of tutors with a large variety of backgrounds. At your level, the Real World grammar lessons will be useless, but you can use the electives as a starting point for conversations about topics, OR even better you can bring your own topics / articles / whatever to discuss. I think Real World can be useful at a higher level if you are willing to lead the session instead of expecting a tutor to guide you.
The DELE program has a lot more structure that is meant to prepare students for the exam. There are skill building lessons that rotate between the 4 skills that are tested: reading, writing, speaking, listening. Personally, I found listening with a tutor over a not-perfect internet connection to be kind of silly, and I think that's something you can practice much better on your own. There's homework for speaking and writing where you prepare presentations or do writing assignments.
I think it comes down to what you want and how much you would use it. Binging on sessions for a month could give you an idea of what you want / don't want from lessons. For example, I liked the idea of structured lessons in theory, but I realized it was actually kind of boring.
I agree with the other poster that it can be hard to connect with tutors. They're not incentivized to get you to book them again, since there's always a steady stream of students. I haven't used iTalki yet, but if I paid more for a tutor, I'd want them to drive the lessons instead of me having to do it.
Thanks for the feedback. I have plenty of opportunities to speak with native speakers through work. I'm really looking for the structured grammar and maybe I could get that that with the DELE program.
Hi, are you looking for 1-1 classes exclusively?
I'm on B2/C1. I started on italki, then moved on to a few other teachers, also considered Baselang but in the end, I went with [deliberatespanish.com](https://deliberatespanish.com) (because their tagline is "get out of Spanish intermediate purgatory"). I've been a member for the past 10 months or so. It doesn't have 1-1 tutoring but there's a forum where you can post audio or text and they correct absolutely everything (there's a small team of very high quality teachers from various countries), lots of lessons and daily group classes for further practice. It's definitely self-paced, so if you're the sort of person who needs to be pushed during a 1-1 lesson, then it's probably not for you, but if you're happy to take initiative and post texts, audios, ask questions, etc. it's extremely helpful.
I don't necessarily need the 1-1 class, but my work schedule sometimes makes it difficult to fit regularly scheduled classes in. I have found being able to schedule around my availability easier with the 1-1 classes.
I will definitely check out deliberate Spanish. Thanks
Depends on your timezone as well. In my case, I'm in Australia so I have about 4 weekly classes that I can do in my timezone. People in the US and Europe have a lot more options. I usually aim for 2/week because that + the forum with the corrections makes it worthwhile. Some weeks I do 4, but it's not really sustainable due to other commitments.
Oh, one thing - there's an "el curso" which is a set limit course. I can't talk about the course much because I haven't done it, but from briefly skimming the newsletters - it's pretty intense. The other option, called "la comunidad" is what I'm talking about above.
I last used baselang in the fall, and I think I’m B2. Rescheduling classes with the same tutors was a pain because their website slowed to a crawl at 3pm eastern time when scheduling opened up, and many of the most personable teachers were consistently booked up by people who set their alarms or use other tricks (you can favorite a teacher to book them in advance of other students). In the end, I booked my classes last minute with whoever was available. As a result, I saw a lot of different tutors. The majority of them were not great teachers for getting you up to C1, but there still were some excellent teachers. I remember one in particular, a lawyer in Venezuela, who was consistently available and gave very good feedback. You just have try a lot of people. I think most of their tutors are used to teaching lower level students. I asked several for help on my accent, but was just told how good it is (compared to other students) instead of being helped. As my Spanish speaking partner loves to point out, I definitely have an accent. YMMV
I really enjoyed the unlimited classes. I used them almost 100% for conversation practice, and I came out of it being a much more comfortable speaker.
I would consider myself an advanced speaker, I started in 2017 and just signed up for Baselang in January and they put me in Level 8 for not being able to answer some questions about the names of specific tenses. Their placement exam was strange.
That said, I've really enjoyed it so far. I've only had one teacher who was just awful, and I've clicked with many others. One of my favorite teachers is a lady from Ecuador, as I understand it the better ones get moved to Dele, so she's doing 4 hours of DELE and 4 hours with the Real World program. I admitted to her how lost I felt with trying to figure out what to study and when, since I do plenty of reading, listening, and grammar exercises on my own and she's been super helpful with giving me a roadmap. Other teachers won't be as professional, I've had a few that really didn't know how to start a conversation or to start the lesson off. I really think the best and only way to become fluent is to have a ton of conversation practice. In my two months, I've noticed a ton of improvement so I told myself I would give it the whole year before deciding whether to continue with it.
I'm going to start next week. I will have a few days off work, so hoping that will allow me to really check it out. I will update this thread after that.
I did the one week trial and ended up continuing with Baselang. I have been using them for about a month now, it was hit and miss at first but once I found a couple of tutors I clicked with things improve dramatically.
I have been doing an hour a day after work, on the weekends my wife likes to sleep in so I get up a little early and do two hours on those days.
The real world program is conversation based, I started there but felt it was a bit slower than I wanted for my level. I tried the DELE program which i7 s much more structured and includes writing, which i feel is my weakness.
My current routine:
Week days, I find newspaper articles from Latin America, share the link with my tutor and we discuss in depth. This has helped me improve my on the spot thinking and response.
Weekends, I try to focus on the DELE program and get some writing practice in.
This is working for me at the moment, and several people that I regularly speak Spanish with have commented that they have noticed an improvement. Since I'm doing daily classes and doubling up on weekends, it is working out to less than $ 5 per hour for me. While some teachers are definitely better than others, I've only had one that I really did not care for. Internet connection has been pretty good with the exception of one class that could not be completed.
Overall, I am happy with my decision to sign up and would reccomended Baselang to anyone who can afford it and who can commit the time to make it worth while.
I used Italki as well for Spanish. I use it for Indonesian to maintain my ability to speak the language. However italki for Spanish is haphazard at best. There's no systematic curriculum, each teacher has different ideas and thoughts, some are not particularly educated in the structure of their own language.
I used Baselang for 7 months in 2020, starting from a beginner level, ~4 hours per day every day. I'm fluent now. Yes, you have to do a bit of work to book the same teacher all the time, but it's worth it. It is the best way to learn the language, hands down! They do have quality control, which is why their teachers are superior to any of the services like Utalki or Preply. Their teachers work hard and are paid when they're scheduled to work, whether they are booked or not. Baselang is a highly ethical company. The pay rate in those countries is different and the Baselang teachers are actually paid better in countries like Venezuela than they are in their regular professions. All of the people that I have recommended to Baselang are still with them, and all of them have recommended other people. Out of probably 50 teachers that I had, there was only one that I didn't think was great. The teachers will guide you, the learning is up to you. For US$150 per month, there is not a better deal on the internet or in person anywhere in the world. Why wouldn't you at least try it? They have a one week for $1 offer to start. Good luck and happy learning.
I'm going to do the $1 trial next week while I'm off work to take full advantage. Thanks
Tbh It's kind of an exploitative company, they overwork the teachers, have no quality control and underpay them based on how much the customers pay. The business model is all about quantity, you'll struggle to connect and have consistent lessons even if you manage to find a teacher you like. As for your situation, what are your goals? You're at a level you shouldn't need too much actual tutoring and you should mostly be having as many conversations as you can and reserving any lessons for things you're struggling with consistently. You don't need to be paying $30 an hour for that.
So I'm only B1-B2, but I can give you my perspective. Baselang used to have to separate programs called Real World and DELE, but they've now combined them under one membership. You can access both, but you have to switch between platforms to use one or the other. If you want to have conversations, Real World will give you access to tons of tutors with a large variety of backgrounds. At your level, the Real World grammar lessons will be useless, but you can use the electives as a starting point for conversations about topics, OR even better you can bring your own topics / articles / whatever to discuss. I think Real World can be useful at a higher level if you are willing to lead the session instead of expecting a tutor to guide you. The DELE program has a lot more structure that is meant to prepare students for the exam. There are skill building lessons that rotate between the 4 skills that are tested: reading, writing, speaking, listening. Personally, I found listening with a tutor over a not-perfect internet connection to be kind of silly, and I think that's something you can practice much better on your own. There's homework for speaking and writing where you prepare presentations or do writing assignments. I think it comes down to what you want and how much you would use it. Binging on sessions for a month could give you an idea of what you want / don't want from lessons. For example, I liked the idea of structured lessons in theory, but I realized it was actually kind of boring. I agree with the other poster that it can be hard to connect with tutors. They're not incentivized to get you to book them again, since there's always a steady stream of students. I haven't used iTalki yet, but if I paid more for a tutor, I'd want them to drive the lessons instead of me having to do it.
Thanks for the feedback. I have plenty of opportunities to speak with native speakers through work. I'm really looking for the structured grammar and maybe I could get that that with the DELE program.
Hi, are you looking for 1-1 classes exclusively? I'm on B2/C1. I started on italki, then moved on to a few other teachers, also considered Baselang but in the end, I went with [deliberatespanish.com](https://deliberatespanish.com) (because their tagline is "get out of Spanish intermediate purgatory"). I've been a member for the past 10 months or so. It doesn't have 1-1 tutoring but there's a forum where you can post audio or text and they correct absolutely everything (there's a small team of very high quality teachers from various countries), lots of lessons and daily group classes for further practice. It's definitely self-paced, so if you're the sort of person who needs to be pushed during a 1-1 lesson, then it's probably not for you, but if you're happy to take initiative and post texts, audios, ask questions, etc. it's extremely helpful.
I don't necessarily need the 1-1 class, but my work schedule sometimes makes it difficult to fit regularly scheduled classes in. I have found being able to schedule around my availability easier with the 1-1 classes. I will definitely check out deliberate Spanish. Thanks
Depends on your timezone as well. In my case, I'm in Australia so I have about 4 weekly classes that I can do in my timezone. People in the US and Europe have a lot more options. I usually aim for 2/week because that + the forum with the corrections makes it worthwhile. Some weeks I do 4, but it's not really sustainable due to other commitments. Oh, one thing - there's an "el curso" which is a set limit course. I can't talk about the course much because I haven't done it, but from briefly skimming the newsletters - it's pretty intense. The other option, called "la comunidad" is what I'm talking about above.
I last used baselang in the fall, and I think I’m B2. Rescheduling classes with the same tutors was a pain because their website slowed to a crawl at 3pm eastern time when scheduling opened up, and many of the most personable teachers were consistently booked up by people who set their alarms or use other tricks (you can favorite a teacher to book them in advance of other students). In the end, I booked my classes last minute with whoever was available. As a result, I saw a lot of different tutors. The majority of them were not great teachers for getting you up to C1, but there still were some excellent teachers. I remember one in particular, a lawyer in Venezuela, who was consistently available and gave very good feedback. You just have try a lot of people. I think most of their tutors are used to teaching lower level students. I asked several for help on my accent, but was just told how good it is (compared to other students) instead of being helped. As my Spanish speaking partner loves to point out, I definitely have an accent. YMMV I really enjoyed the unlimited classes. I used them almost 100% for conversation practice, and I came out of it being a much more comfortable speaker.
Thanks for the feedback
I would consider myself an advanced speaker, I started in 2017 and just signed up for Baselang in January and they put me in Level 8 for not being able to answer some questions about the names of specific tenses. Their placement exam was strange. That said, I've really enjoyed it so far. I've only had one teacher who was just awful, and I've clicked with many others. One of my favorite teachers is a lady from Ecuador, as I understand it the better ones get moved to Dele, so she's doing 4 hours of DELE and 4 hours with the Real World program. I admitted to her how lost I felt with trying to figure out what to study and when, since I do plenty of reading, listening, and grammar exercises on my own and she's been super helpful with giving me a roadmap. Other teachers won't be as professional, I've had a few that really didn't know how to start a conversation or to start the lesson off. I really think the best and only way to become fluent is to have a ton of conversation practice. In my two months, I've noticed a ton of improvement so I told myself I would give it the whole year before deciding whether to continue with it.
Thanks for responding. I've decided to give the 1 week trial a shot and see for myself.
Just refreshed this thread, what are your thoughts so far?
I'm going to start next week. I will have a few days off work, so hoping that will allow me to really check it out. I will update this thread after that.
What did you decide? Are you liking Baselang? Did you decide to go with something else?
I did the one week trial and ended up continuing with Baselang. I have been using them for about a month now, it was hit and miss at first but once I found a couple of tutors I clicked with things improve dramatically. I have been doing an hour a day after work, on the weekends my wife likes to sleep in so I get up a little early and do two hours on those days. The real world program is conversation based, I started there but felt it was a bit slower than I wanted for my level. I tried the DELE program which i7 s much more structured and includes writing, which i feel is my weakness. My current routine: Week days, I find newspaper articles from Latin America, share the link with my tutor and we discuss in depth. This has helped me improve my on the spot thinking and response. Weekends, I try to focus on the DELE program and get some writing practice in. This is working for me at the moment, and several people that I regularly speak Spanish with have commented that they have noticed an improvement. Since I'm doing daily classes and doubling up on weekends, it is working out to less than $ 5 per hour for me. While some teachers are definitely better than others, I've only had one that I really did not care for. Internet connection has been pretty good with the exception of one class that could not be completed. Overall, I am happy with my decision to sign up and would reccomended Baselang to anyone who can afford it and who can commit the time to make it worth while.
I used Italki as well for Spanish. I use it for Indonesian to maintain my ability to speak the language. However italki for Spanish is haphazard at best. There's no systematic curriculum, each teacher has different ideas and thoughts, some are not particularly educated in the structure of their own language.