Language learning is a great experience and it is the best way to put your free time to good use. Also, being able to speak two or three foreign languages can pave the way to unexpected career or academic opportunities for you.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re learning German, Spanish, Japanese, etc. there is always one thing that stays the same: learning vocabulary. I’m sure other language learners will agree that the most demanding part of learning a new language is vocabulary. Because it is actually not something that you can learn, rather it is something that you have to memorize.
As a language learner myself, I have tones of self-made flashcards in my vocabulary box. I know it sounds kind of primitive but it works.
Another problem with learning vocabulary is not knowing which words and phrases to memorize. There are thousands of words in your target language but how are you going to decide which ones are the must-know words?
I know a great language learning app that will make your vocabulary learning easier, and it is Clozemaster. Let’s find out the reasons why it is great for learning vocabulary in this comprehensive Clozemaster review!
First Look To Clozemaster App
Clozemaster is a language app focused on teaching vocabulary in more than 50 foreign languages. The app has over 100K downloads with a score of 4,5/5 on the Play Store.
The teaching style of Clozemaster is based on filling in the blanks with appropriate words. It also covers other language skills such as reading, listening, speaking, and grammar.
Clozemaster doesn’t teach you a language from scratch but it helps you master your existing skills and knowledge. It provides you with the most commonly used word collections in your target language so that you don’t have to spend time researching the most common words and phrases on your own. Cool, right?
Let’s go over the notable features of the Clozemaster app one by one in the rest of the article.
Available Languages In Clozemaster
Currently, Clozemaster offers many languages like more than 50 foreign languages including rare ones. I have to admit that it is a big number when compared to the other language apps. You can see them in the image above.
Language Combinations
As you know many language apps use English as the instruction language. However, Clozemaster doesn’t limit you to only English. You can make various language pairs.
For example, your native language is English but maybe you also study Spanish and French. So you can change the ”I speak” bar from English to Spanish and then select French as your target language. Ta-da! You can work in both foreign languages at the same time.
I’m sure many language learners, especially polyglots, will fall for that feature!
How Does Clozemaster Work?
After you choose your native language and target language, you will see a bunch of word collections named like ”100 most common words” in your target language. You can choose either text input (double the points) or multiple choice for the upcoming vocabulary exercise.
If you chose the typing exercise, it gives you a hint while typing the missing word. The text color changes to green if you are going correct, and if not the color becomes red.
In the vocabulary exercise, you basically fill in the blanks with the correct answer. You’re given a sentence in your native language and you’re expected to find the missing word in the sentence in your target language.
These sentences are totally used by native speakers, so they are not some made-up sentences that don’t make any sense.
If you don’t know the word you can click on it to see its meaning from Google translate or other language resources. So you don’t have to leave the app to look up an unknown word.
After you completed a collection you earn some points and get a higher rank on the leaderboard.
Learn Vocabulary In Context
The best thing about Clozemaster is that it teaches you new words in context. But what does learning in context mean?
Contextual learning enables you to link your knowledge with the real world. In terms of language learning, learning a new word in context helps you to understand how and where to use that word in a sentence correctly. You can also learn new and similar words from the context.
For example, if you see only the word ”comer” in Spanish, you will only learn that it means ”to eat”. However, if you see that word in a full sentence like ”yo como una manzana” you will learn much more than the meaning of the word:
- You will learn that ”comer” becomes ”como” in 1st person singular.
- You will learn that the verb is placed between the subject and object in Spanish.
- You will learn another new word ”manzana” which means apple.
So from now on, don’t underestimate the power of context ladies and gentlemen.
Word Collections
As I mentioned before, Clozemaster consists of a number of word collections in which you can learn the most commonly used words and phrases in your target language.
They range from 100 most common words to over 50,000 most common words! And each word comes in a sentence.
You can also create collections with your own sentences.
Cloze-Reading
Once you go into the cloze-reading section, you will see various topics ranging from art to sociology. Clozemaster gives you flexibility in choosing a text based on your interests.
After you choose your topic, you have a number of titles to read. There are some colored tiny boxes by the titles indicating the difficulty level of the text. By the way, all of the texts are taken from Wikipedia sources.
When you get to the reading, you will see that there are a few gaps that you have to fill with the correct word. When you click on the gap it shows you the possible options to choose from.
Cloze-Listening
Similar to the cloze-reading section, you listen to a relatively long sentence and then try to find the missing word correctly. I think it is an effective listening practice to improve your listening comprehension.
Speaking Practice
In the speaking part, you’re expected to say the word loudly and record your voice. If your pronunciation and answer are correct, congratulations you passed the speaking practice!
To be honest, I’d say that the speaking exercise in Clozemaster is more like a pronunciation exercise. Because you don’t speak, you just say the word out loud. But of course, pronunciation is the first step to improving your speaking skills.
Grammar Challenges
This part is focused on grammar rules as you can understand from the heading. The app lists all the grammar subjects more or less.
It doesn’t teach you any grammar subject but rather it makes you practice grammar rules. So again, there is a gap in a sentence and you’re expected to fill it with the correct grammatical structure. Such as ”por or para” in Spanish.
How Much Does Clozemaster Cost?
I can say that the free version of Clozemaster is generous since all word collections are accessible including cloze-reading and listening. Only the grammar section is inaccessible.
The Clozemaster pro version costs you $8 monthly, $60 yearly, and $140 for a lifetime purchase.
What I Like And Don’t Like About Clozemaster
👍🏻 Learning new words in the relevant context is a big plus.
👍🏻 Good for getting used to the sentence structure.
👍🏻 The pixel art design gives you gaming vibes.
👍🏻 The free version is not very limited.
👎🏻 Not suitable for complete beginners.
👎🏻 Audios in the cloze-listening section could be more clear.
👎🏻 Reading texts are relatively difficult even if they are stated as easy.
Can You Get Fluent With Clozemaster?
Clozemaster is a pretty useful app if you’re an intermediate learner. But if you are a complete beginner you may find it challenging in the reading and listening sections. So, I don’t recommend using Clozemaster at the very beginning. However, it is a great app to learn new vocabulary and step up toward fluency.
It is also an efficient language learning resource for advanced language learners. If you use it regularly, you will see progress in your fluency and comprehension for sure, not to mention learning tons of new words.
If you are a beginner reading this Clozemaster review, don’t worry I have another alternative for you! Ling App is the best language app for those who are just getting started. Read below to learn more about Ling App!
Learn A New Language With Ling!
If you are interested in language learning, with 60+ foreign languages to choose from, you will absolutely love the Ling App!
The Ling App is a language learning app designed to help you learn a new language as effectively as possible and at your own pace.
With many engaging activities to choose from, such as writing and listening exercises, mini-games, quick quizzes, and an AI chatbot, the Ling App is an all-in-one language learning resource. You can find everything you need to master the 4 language skills in this app. You can try the app out for free today by downloading it from the App Store or Play Store.
So, what are you waiting for? Start learning languages now by downloading the Ling App!