Created by the makers of SpanishDict, a popular Spanish-English dictionary, Fluencia promises that exclusivity in teaching Spanish will translate to quicker, complete language learning. So, does Fluencia deliver? Let's find out in our Fluencia review.
Our Verdict
Fluencia is excellent if you’re a Spanish beginner looking for a no-nonsense approach to the language or if you’ve already got experience with learning new languages and like a fast-paced course.
Still, if you like gamification or access to multiple languages, Fluencia may not be the right fit. What’s more, the lack of authentic speaking opportunities means you’ll need to add other experiences to achieve actual fluency.
TL;DR Fluencia Review
Sometimes you don’t have time for the full review (it happens to us, too!), so here’s a pros-and-cons snapshot:
PROS
- Native speakers read the course audio with a variety of accents.
- In-depth, practical grammar and culture sections.
- Elegant, uncluttered interface.
- Very tactical and practical.
CONS
- No mobile app.
- You’ll want to pair it with other services to achieve actual fluency.
- Lack of gamification or rewards system.
- Spanish only.
What is Fluencia?
Fluencia is an online Spanish learning platform that takes learners from beginner to intermediate through ten ascending course levels. Fluencia focuses exclusively on teaching Spanish.
Though it does not have a dedicated mobile app, its website is mobile-optimized, and the experience feels relatively seamless, though a dedicated app would be excellent.
So, what’s it like? Let’s dive in!
What can you do on Fluencia?
Levels and Units
You’ll spend the majority of your time on Fluencia working through their lesson levels. Each level has ten units within it, and between two and seven individual lessons make up each unit you’ll go through.
You’ll recognise the standard fare: fill-in-the-blank, match the picture, and multiple-choice questions, generally.
The units typically follow something similar to this progression:
- Conversation
- Vocabulary
- Grammar/Pronunciation
- Practice
- Culture
- Review
One thing that makes Fluencia different from its competitors: you’ll need to pay close attention to get the exercises correct.
While other programs use unending repetition to drill vocabulary and passively teach grammar, Fluencia will present you with a table, expect you to learn it, and then quiz you on it.
This may be frustrating to those used to a more relaxed approach to language learning, especially if you’re brand new. On the other, this helps avoid the mind-numbing repetition that has become a feature of many modern language programs.
I liked the speed, but somebody utterly new to language learning might find it overwhelming.
On the whole, these lessons felt very much like what you might expect from a good college-level course.
Review Lessons
Like most modern language learning services, Fluencia offers a spaced repetition algorithm that selects words or phrases you haven’t seen in a while and prompts you to review them.
There’s not much new under the sun here; review exercises are pretty similar all over the language-learning world. Still, I liked that Fluencia capped the number of review phrases you’d see at a time to a maximum of 10. Other services sometimes snow you in with 50+ items that need review, which gets daunting very quickly.
Lack of Gamification
Unlike many newer language teaching systems, Fluencia shies away from adding gamification into its courses.
Depending on your learning style, that might be positive or negative for you.
Dropping the points, leaderboards, XP levels, and other game elements makes for a much simpler, smoother experience.
It also makes things somewhat less engaging.
If you like tactical and practical lessons, this is great! If gamification helps you stay engaged, you might want to look elsewhere.
What Other Features does Fluencia Have?
Culture Lessons
Fluencia stands out from other platforms because it blends relevant pieces of Latin American culture into the lessons. From learning about regional pronunciation differences to understanding the importance of Empleadas Domésticas in South American economies, the attention to detail here impressed me.
Voice Recognition
Like most AI-driven voice recognition algorithms on the market, this one does not impress overly much. I purposely mispronounced some words and got the green checkmark.
It’s nice to have something that prompts you to speak, and I liked that this gave me the option to play my audio back to check it.
Still, it’s not the same as getting actual feedback from a native speaker. For that, you’ll need to go elsewhere. Why not check out our review of iTalki here.
What Does Fluencia Look Like?
One of the benefits of focusing on a single language, Fluencia’s interface is remarkably uncluttered. Once you log in, Fluencia prompts you to pick up where you left off, and there are not tons of links, tabs, and notifications to distract you from your primary task: learning the language!
Who is Fluencia Best For?
I recommend Fluencia for Spanish beginners who are serious about studying and learning quickly. What it lacks in gamification and other bells and whistles it makes up for with excellent culture, native speakers, and great grammar explanations.
If you’re looking for a no-nonsense course that feels like a good university course, Fluencia will fit the bill. If you hate textbooks and prefer games, Fluencia might not gel for you.
What Languages Can You Learn on Fluencia?
Spanish!
Spanish only.
This specificity makes Fluencia stand out from the crowd.
On the plus side, Fluencia’s focus on Spanish means that the course quality feels higher than what I’ve seen on other services that try to do tons of languages well. The culture sections are incredibly informative, and native speakers voice all of the dialogue, which helps teach the inflexion.
On the other hand, if your goal is to learn multiple languages, this may be a drawback for you.
How Much does Fluencia Cost?
Free Plan
Fluencia’s free plan allows you to try 15 lessons but doesn’t allow for either voice recognition or review exercises.
They’ll give you a taste, but you’ll need to pay for anything beyond that.
Premium
Fluencia’s premium plan costs $15 per month, or $8 per month if you pay yearly, which isn’t too bad.
I’d recommend staying away from the two-year payment: with moderately consistent use you’ll get through all of Fluencia’s content before that time has elapsed.
What are the Pros and Cons of Fluencia?
Pros
- Native speakers read the course audio with a variety of accents.
- Culture and Grammar sections are well done.
- Simple, streamlined interface.
- Tactical and practical.
Cons
- Mobile experience is somewhat lacking.
- You’ll need to get actual speaking practice elsewhere.
- No gamification.
- Spanish only.
Are There Any Fluencia Alternatives?
Fluencia vs Babbel
Babbel’s Spanish Language course is quite popular, and for a good reason–it’s one of the best courses on their site!
I’d give Fluencia the slight edge here because of their polish in the grammar and culture sections, but Babbel does offer many other languages you can play with for the same price; Fluencia only teaches Spanish.
Check out our comprehensive Babbel review for more information.
Fluencia vs Duolingo
The benchmark against which nearly every language program gets compared, Duolingo’s Spanish course is one of the most well-vetted languages on their site. Still, it suffers from the constant repetition and silly phrases we’ve come to expect there.
If your focus is on Spanish and getting results quickly, Fluencia will deliver this for you in spades, while Duolingo will keep you churning for longer. On the other hand, Duolingo is free (albeit with ads) and offers tons of other languages, so that might sway you.
If you want more information about Duolingo, check out our review.
Fluencia vs Rocket Spanish
Fluencia and Rocket Spanish come in at reasonably similar levels regarding course quality, but Rocket Spanish costs significantly more. If you’re focused on Spanish, I’d recommend Fluencia, though you’re more than welcome to check out our review of Rocket Spanish here.
A Round-Up of Our Fluencia Review
What Fluencia chooses to do well it does, in fact, do quite well. If you’re looking for a straightforward, no-nonsense Spanish Course, this will suit you. If you prefer more gamification and access to other languages, you’ll find better options elsewhere.
Fluencia does a great job teaching Spanish grammar, especially the little nuances, something we’ve seen other courses struggle with. That said, you’ll still need to find another avenue to put this into practice. You can get close with Fluencia, but achieving actual fluency will require you to branch out into other services to find speaking opportunities.
If Fluencia sounds interesting to you, why not sign up for the free 15 lessons and see how you like it?
Kris is the founder of Actual Fluency, and has spent the last 8 years becoming an expert in language learning software, methods, and techniques.
He lives in Denmark and speaks 5+ languages at varying levels. His other interests are Wine, Online Marketing, and Travelling.