The Greek language has been in use for over 3,400 years! In fact, some of the first Greek writings were found in the 15th century BCE of Linear B, a system of writing by the Mycenaean Greeks. Greek belongs to the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European language family, with Demotic Greek serving as the official language of Greece.
If you’re interested in learning Greek and looking for the one of the best methods, check out the GreekPod101 review below!
GreekPod101 Review: Summary
There are five expertise levels to choose from in GreekPod101: Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, and Advanced. If you are unsure where to begin, you can take the placement test to determine your starting level. Best of all, you can complete lessons at each level at a pace that works for you, advancing only when you feel ready.
Upon signing up for GreekPod101, you will be offered a free 7-day trial for the Premium subscription plan. After that, you can choose to remain within Premium or choose between the Basic or PremiumPLUS plans, each offering more features than the one below it. Some of these features include:
- Full access to all lessons in the library including podcasts and videos (over 990)
- PDF (printable) lesson notes
- Energetic and knowledgeable teachers
- Variety of learning materials including flashcards
- Active discussions
- Vocabulary and common phrase lists
- Multiple learning 'pathways' to learn on your own time
Pros of GreekPod101
Pro #1: Relevant and Modern Lessons
The lively and engaging instructors in the videos and podcasts teach fun, up-to-date material and scenarios that are relevant to everyday living. This helps keep lessons interesting and keeps you wanting to learn more. You will find a few instances where the information is outdated or obsolete, like with many other learning programs, however there’s enough variety for everyone.
Pro #2: Variety of Learning Methods
GreekPod101 offers video, audio, and hands-on learning methods, allowing you to choose the approach that suits you best. One of the most challenging aspects of learning a language is finding enough material to develop your listening skills. However, with GreekPod101, this isn’t an issue being that every lesson features a video or podcast to watch or listen to, along with a downloadable transcript for reading along.
Greek includes many sounds that don’t exist in English, so it’s essential to train your ear and perfect your pronunciation. GreekPod101 features a variety of tools to help you memorize and retain vocabulary and common everyday phrases. In the vocabulary section of each lesson, you’ll find a small microphone icon that you can use to record yourself speaking. You listen to the native speaker—at regular or half speed—and then repeat what they’ve just said. Both recordings will play back, allowing you to compare and fine-tune your pronunciation. This is a great technique for really boosting your Greek fluency.
Pro #3: Learning on the Go
With the ability to access GreekPod101 from your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, you can truly customize how and when you learn. With each lesson being only 15 minutes on average, you can check out a video on your tablet during your lunch break or catch a podcast on your commuter train home in the evening. With so much flexibility, it’s easy to incorporate learning Greek into your already busy lifestyle. For offline learning, you can download all the audio lessons and dialogues beforehand, along with the transcript PDFs and lesson notes for you to learn anywhere you find yourself without Wi-Fi (a huge bonus!).
Pro #4: Cultural Focus
One thing we love about all the Innovative Language courses is the strong cultural emphasis woven throughout the lessons. This keeps learners engaged and motivated while providing deeper insights into the language itself.
If you’re looking to not only study the language but also immerse yourself in Greek culture, GreekPod101 will prove to be highly valuable. You’ll be introduced to many different native teachers throughout the lessons, exposing you to a variety of accents and speaking styles. The lessons cover things such as Greek food, Greek cities, sports, traditional clothing, historical figures, artists and musicians.
Pro #5: Customizable lesson pathways
Unlike most language platforms where you are forced to follow a linear syllabus, and are prevented from jumping around and skipping ahead, GreekPod101 allows you to fully customize your own learning. Within the lesson library, you can browse around and select any learning pathway that interests you most, sorting by skill level and media type. This flexibility allows you to focus on the skills and topics you find most interesting to keep you fully engaged and excited to keep learning.
This rather unorthodox learning style does however come with its downsides. The learning can feel unstructured and disorganized if you don’t have the discipline and self-awareness to curate your own syllabus, and may not suit learners who prefer to be guided down a logical structure. For this reason, it’s best to start off with the base level pathways and go from there.
Cons of GreekPod101
Con #1: Fewer Lessons for Advanced Speakers
GreekPod101 seems best suited for beginner to intermediate Greek speakers. Advanced speakers wishing to dive deeper into fluency may find the materials lacking. For those who already possess a significant background in Greek, this program may be more of a review.
Con #2: Not Much Feedback
Unless you opt for the PremiumPLUS subscription plan, there isn’t much individualized feedback on your progress. While quiz scores give you a general idea of how well you’re doing, there isn’t a more effective way to get specific questions answered.
Con #3: Too Much English
If you prefer a more immersive language experience with minimal use of English, GreekPod101 may not be the best fit. In the early levels, there’s a lot of explanation in English and not as much Greek being spoken. However, this changes significantly as you progress to higher levels, where entire dialogues are in Greek and English explanations begin to phase out.
While the use of English helps explain complex grammar, there’s a balance to be struck between immersion and explanation. Unfortunately, GreekPod101 leans more heavily toward the latter.
Features of GreekPod101
Dashboard
Upon logging into your account, you will be taken to your dashboard. Consider this your control center for GreekPod101. This is where you will access lessons, change your expertise level, find the latest news and even upgrade your subscription.
Learning Pathways
Level 1 Greek is the official curated pathway for learning the language. Start here for the most structured and orderly lesson plans, or choose other pathways to meet your most immediate needs. For example, you could choose ‘Before You Travel: Survival Greek Phrases’ to prepare for an upcoming trip or start from the basics with the ‘Greek Alphabet Made Easy’. There are tons of pathways from which to choose and you can work on them singly or simultaneously.
GreekPod101 Video and Audio Lessons
Both video and audio lessons feature engaging instructors who simply want to help you learn to speak Greek in a fun way. The lessons start at a slow pace and progress as you advance through the expertise levels. Videos include on-screen text so you can follow along, and both lesson types provide transcripts at the end for review.
Additional Learning Tools
Flashcards
Spaced repetition flashcards help increase your vocabulary in a fun and engaging way. The Greek word is shown with a picture and you must figure out its English equivalent or vice-versa. You can use the flashcards as often as you need to. If you’re a fan of Anki or Quizlet then you’ll feel right at home with GreekPod101’s flashcards functionality.
Lesson Transcripts
Transcripts are available at the end of each lesson so you can go over what you’ve just learned. They will highlight any important grammatical or pronunciation issues. You may also get explanations about certain customs or cultural issues as they pertain to the lesson.
2000 Most Common Words
You can filter the most frequently used words by category and number (e.g., the most common 100 or 200 words), allowing you to focus on the most practical vocabulary. Each word includes at least one example sentence to help you understand its context and can be added to your word bank or a personalized flashcard deck for later review.
Some Sample Pathways & Lesson Topics
Here’s a quick overview of a few different lessons to give you an idea of what to expect from GreekPod101. Let’s take a look at an example pathway for the beginner, intermediate and upper intermediate levels:
Pathway: Absolute Beginner Greek for Every Day
Content: 16 lessons and 1hr 39min of video content that covers all manner of Greek phrases, starting with the 25 most useful and then covering more lighthearted and interesting topics such as foods, complements, gift ideas and ways to save the planet. You’ll also learn some useful techniques to memorise new vocabulary and reasons to learn Greek.
Pathway: Extensive Reading in Greek for Intermediate Learners
Content: A series miniature books that you can listen to and follow along with the transcript. This pathway comprises of 25 individual lessons and nearly 5 hours of audio content, with topics ranging from dinosaurs to bike safety.
Pathway: Level 4 Greek (Official Pathway)
Content: The official level 4 pathway that is aligned with level B2 of the CEFR. The official pathways include assignments every few lessons to practice what you’ve learnt. This pathway consists of 25 Lessons, 23 Assignments and 7hrs 8min of audio content. Topics are practical and interesting, for example job interviews and taking a tour of a Greek cruise ship.
Who Should Buy GreekPod101?
GreekPod101 is a wealth of knowledge for anyone looking to learn about the Greek language. That being said, those who would benefit the most from GreekPod101 include those who:
- are self-motivated and excel at independent study
- would like to learn key phrases prior to a personal or business trip
- do not have access to on-site learning classes
- love the Greek culture and language and want to know more about it
Who Should Not Buy GreekPod101?
Since everyone learns best in a different manner, a one-size-fits-all language learning program may not suit all students. Those who may not benefit from GreekPod101 include those who:
- require individualized instruction and feedback
- lack motivation or determination to study
- prefer a classroom learning setting
GreekPod101 vs. Competitors
Greek language learning programs are not as abundant as other languages but, to be fair, we must include some information about GreekPod101’s closest competitors. We will compare these programs to give you some context.
GreekPod101 vs. 101Languages.net
101Languages.net offers Greek 101 which is designed for beginners. The site calls itself a one-man project, but offers a ton of free resources. There are links to Greek radio, vocabulary games, useful phrases, quick translations and Greek newspapers to enhance your learning. You can also find travel guides to the top Greek-speaking countries.
GreekPod101 vs. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone typically has a reputation for being one of the most expensive ways to learn languages and it could well be out of many people’s price range. It does offer voice-recognition technology to help you with pronunciation. Lessons are efficient, but explanations about social norms or culture are rarely given. Grammatical explanations are also lacking for most lessons, leaving the student to look up the information elsewhere.
GreekPod101 Cost
The following is a breakdown of the monthly subscription costs for GreekPod101.
Basic Monthly Subscription $4 $2.80/month (using our coupon link)
- Access on multiple devices
- Access to all lessons
- PDF notes after each lesson
Premium Monthly Subscription $10 $7/month (using our coupon link)
The Premium monthly subscription includes everything offered with the Basic subscription plus:
- Voice-recording applications
- HD video
- Line-by-line audio dialogue
- Interactive quizzes and flashcards
- Grammar and word bank
- Custom word lists
Premium PLUS Monthly Subscription $23 $16/month (using our coupon link)
The Premium PLUS monthly subscription includes everything in the Premium subscription plus:
- Personal learning plan
- One-on-one instruction from a native Greek speaker
- Continuing professional assessment
- Personal assignments
Related: Read How To Skip Monthly Payments and Get A GreekPod101 Lifetime Premium Account!
GreekPod101 Final Thoughts: One of the Best
GreekPod101 is one of the most structured language learning programs you can find. The lessons are clear and concise and relevant to modern life.
If learning Greek is something you want to do, we highly recommend GreekPod101.
If you sign up using our referral link you can get 30% off, and we get a small commission (at no cost to you):
Michael has been an avid language learner and traveler for many years. His goal with LanguageTsar is to discover the most fun and effective ways to learn a language. He is currently learning Japanese, French and Indonesian.