After using the Power English lessons I have decided to try out another English learning program called Learn Real English.
In this article I am going to share my thoughts on the Learn Real English course as a complete newbie to this program. I will explore the lessons and tell you what I think about them. ๐
After using the Power English lessons I have decided to try out another English learning program called Learn Real English.
First, I didnโt know that Learn Real English (LRE) exists, but I have noticed that several of my friends (including the readers of English the Smart Way) have been using it already. And they were all successful English speakers. So I decided to check the LRE out and see how is it. ๐
In this article I am going to share my thoughts on the Learn Real English course as a complete newbie to this program. I will explore the lessons and tell you what I think about them. ๐
Please note, that I already consider myself as an English speaker who can use spoken English. For this skill I am thankful to the mentioned Power English program I have used before.
Click here to read my review of Power English.
Alright, letโs get to the Learn Real English review! ๐
Getting the lessons
The official website of Learn Real English is http://www.learnrealenglish.com.
When you get to the website, you can see all the information about the lessons in the text and video form. You can meet the teachers here – A.J. (the author of Power English), Joe and Kristin.
In the following video I captured the process of me getting the Learn Real English lessons although a few days after I have bought the lessons,ย they have redesigned their website. The new website is nicer and the process of getting the lessons remained the same. ๐
(Note: I am using the demo version of the capturing software – that is the reason you see the big โDemo modeโ watermark throughout the video, sorry about that.)
As you could see in the video, I bought the lessons using PayPal service as I prefer it over other payment methods. But it is completely up to you. You can use PayPal or you can simply fill in the form with your credit/debit card information after clicking the big orange button on the Learn Real English website. ๐
After you make the payment, you will receive all the lessons to you email address as you could see in the video above and the following screenshot:
Now you can click and download lessons one by one to your computer.
Getting started with the course
Alright. I downloaded all the lessons to my computer as you can see in the screenshot below:
I would recommend you to download the lessons at once as I did so you can keep them in one place. It’s nice to organise everything into one folder. ๐
The course contains 30 lesson sets plus 3 bonus lesson sets.
Welcome Guide
Before we dive into the lesson set number one, it is worth reading the Welcome Guide which consists of the following files:
Welcome Guide contains introductory audio (Intro.mp3) where English teachers Kristin and Joe introduce themselves. Then there is also a PDF file that explains how to use the lessons (Welcome Guide.pdf) and Introduction.pdf.
The first lessons set – Earthquakes
Now I am going to describe the very first lesson set. Its name is Earthquakes:
As you can see, the lesson set contains several audio (mp3) and text (pdf) files. It is important to note that each one of the full 30 lesson sets includes similar set of audio / pdf files.
Main audio – the conversation
In the main audio file, Joe and Kristin are having a conversation about their experience with earthquakes in several countries they used to live. Kristin describes her experience with earthquakes in Bangkok and Japan; Joe is sharing his memories with the earthquake in San Francisco.
What I like about the conversation is a fact that teachers use real everyday English. As if they just met on the street and started talking. It means that they use English idioms and ordinary language expressions one could hear when visiting United States or any other English speaking country. You can even hear filler words like “ehm”, “so”, etc.
In this first lesson set, you can for example notice expressions as “Check this out“, “This seems far-fetched.“, or words like “Mack truck“. And even though I speak English already, I learnt so much in this single audio lesson. There were many words I have heard before, but had no idea what they mean until I listened to the conversation of Joe and Kirstin.
As I said, the conversation feels real. This can’t be compared to some traditional audio lessons where actors read text from papers. Luckily, Learn Real English lessons are different – they are real authentic conversations.
Vacabulary audio
When you finish the main audio file with the conversation of teachers, you can listen to the vocabulary audio. In this file, Kristin is describing the words and expressions that are used in the main audio file.
It is very helpful especially if you don’t understand something from the conversation. Here I have learnt for example that when someone says “This seems far-fetched.“, it basically means “This seems unbelievable“. ๐ Well I was surprised I didn’t know this expression before. Funny is that now when I learnt what this expression means I hear it everywhere! ๐
Mini story audio
The next part of the lesson set is so called Mini story. If you are familiar with the teachings of A.J. Hoge, you already know that mini stories are the core of Effortless English system.
In mini story, the teacher is telling a very simple story. He uses statements and also asks questions. The questions are there to be answered by the listener as fast as possible.
For example, in the first lesson set Earthquakes, the mini story is about two friends – Luke and George. Luke says George that he can eat 50 eggs in one hour. But George thinks it seems far-fetched. George doesn’t believe Luke and therefore Luke bets George 100 dollars that he can actually eat those eggs. ๐
Of course this is not the full story, just a very short part of it.
The mini stories are designed to teach us the most difficult expressions and vocabulary.
In the Earthquakes lesson set those expressions are for example:
- “This seems far-fetched.”
- “…a dime a dozen”
- when something is “due east” (or “due west”, …)
- “pulling one’s leg”
- “It’s a given that…”
- weed through, rundown, …
- “It dawned on me…”
And there are many other expressions / words.
Don’t worry if some of these expressions sound new to you or if you don’t know what they mean.ย The mini stories are repetitive. It means that the same phrase or expression is repeated in oneย story several times from different perspectives. Also – you as a listener are involved in the storyย by answering teacher’s simple questions. This way we can learn faster and theย new expressionsย will stay in our minds. Not to mention that we learn grammar subconsciously – without even realizingย it.
Point of View story (POV) audio
Alright, another part of every lesson set is so-called Point of View story (or POV story). “Point of View” here means that the story is being told from different perspectives. The teacher says the story as if it happened in the past, then in the present and also in the future. Plus, story is being told from the perspective of another person in the story. Let me explain on the example:
The POV story in the first lesson set follows friends (Luke and George) from the Mini story – as you could read above. The difference now is that the teacher (Joe) makes you imagine that the story happened several months before, then today, and also a few years from now. Finally, the story is being said from the perspective of Luke – as if he told you the story. ๐
The idea behind POV stories is quite simple – but powerful. Listening to the same story in different tenses makes you learn the grammar subconsciously – you don’t focus on the grammar rules. You don’t need to know how does let’s say past simple tense look like. All you have to do is listen to the story and enjoy your time. I am saying this from my experience with POV stories in the Power English Course, which basically uses the same principle.
And that’s it. ๐ This was the first lesson set – Earthquakes! 29 more lessons sets to go! ๐
I have already started the second lesson set with the name Trip to Washington and learnt the new expression “Get the hang of something“. ๐
To be continued…
Well, thatโs where I got so far with the course. Now I am going to listen to the rest of the lesson sets and will update this review in the following weeks. Stay tuned.
Please do let me know whether you would like me to continue writing this review. ๐
Click here to learn more about the Learn Real English course at the official website.
And if you have any questions about the lessons so far, feel free to write a comment below and I will respond you.
Have a nice day and Enjoy English!
P.S. My friend Massimo from Italy has shared with me his experience with Learn Real English in the interview. Click here to listen to it now.
P.S. 2 I have recently recorded a interview with one of the founders of Learn Real English – Kristin Dodds. Click here to check it out. ๐
16 replies on “Learn Real English Conversation course (lessons) review”
(deleted comment)
Hi Lucas,
thanks for your message.
I just took a look at the first Lesson – Earthquakes:
Earthquakes Conversation.mp3 – 6m 05s
Earthquakes MS.mp3 – 36m 52s
Earthquakes POV.mp3 – 8m 18s
Earthquakes Vocabulary.mp3 – 25m 05s
—-
Together it is around 76 minutes of audio.
All the lesson have similar lengths.
I hope this helped. ๐
Hello Ivan, would you mind telling me how to download some listening test?
Hello Danang,
have you signed up for the Free 7-day Video Course which is accessible from the bottom of the LRE page please?
(affiliate link) http://link.ivanottinger.com/learn-real-english
(non-affiliate link) https://learnrealenglish.com/
It can give you an idea how the teachers are and what to expect from the lessons. ๐
There’s also a 100% money back guarantee – if you don’t like the lessons, you can get a full refund. Refund requests must be submitted and received with 30 days of the date of purchase.
Did this help you please? ๐
hi ivan
my name is emy and i am totally disappointed from wasting my time trying to learn English in a different places but actually after i bought this course and found your review about it i get some motivation to try it so please would you tell me if i did all of this instruction may i will be a good speaker in English and may i ask you how much it take from you to be a native speaker in English
Hi Emy, thank you for your comment. Yes, this course helped me with my speaking – also with understanding common English idioms and phrases. ๐
How much time is it going to take to become fluent?
It really depends on your current level of English – so it is difficult to answer this question. What I can suggest – or at least that’s how I did it – is to immerse into English as much as possible. Dedicate at least one hour a day to be actively working with English materials. It can be LRE course, it can be other course, or watching your favourite sitcoms, movies, audiobooks… The important thing is to be persistent and do the “English stuff” you truly enjoy. ๐
This way I am sure you will become fluent in English. ๐
Hi Ivan,
thanks for sharing your thoughts about the Program.
I already hold a Master degree in Law taught in English. I have problem in speaking nor listening. but I am not fluent like natives and also I feel a little bit nervous and not comfortable while speaking. do you think that following this program will help me to overcome this problem and reach the native fluency level.
Moreover, being one who already finished the “Power English Lessons”, which one is better for my case?
thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Ahmed
Hi Ahmed, thank you for your question. ๐
Congratulations to your Master’s degree!
I feel that you are experiencing exactly the same situations with English as I did.
To answer your question – From my own experience of using both courses (Learn Real English and Power English) I would say that Power English is more focused on psychological aspects, overcoming the nervousness of speaking and developing right mindset.
Learn Real English (LRE) on the other hand takes a little bit different approach and focuses on teaching us specific English idioms and useful phrases that are frequently used among native English speakers. I also found Learn Real English more advanced than Power English (considering the difficulty of taught idioms and phrases) – but this my be just my opinion.
From your writing it is certain your level of English is quite high. So if I understand right, the only challenge you are facing at the moment is the nervousness while speaking.
I would say that Power English lessons are more suitable for your situation – especially because AJ talks a lot about the mindset and psychological aspects of speaking. However, if you are interested in mastering many real phrases and idioms that native speakers use on daily basis, LRE can help you a lot in this area.
If you haven’t done so, check out and listen to the interview we did with Yeลim Beฤen. We talk there a lot about nervousness, confidence and fears of speaking. Yeลim shared many useful and actionable ideas there. ๐ Here’s the link: https://englishthesmartway.com/2016/04/08/from-english-learner-to-professional-english-teacher-in-england/
Btw, attending drama school / drama course can help a lot in many areas of life – including English speaking (but more on that in the interview). ๐
I wish you all the best with your English Ahmed. ๐
P.S. The following articles / podcasts also touch the topic you might find interesting:
https://englishthesmartway.com/2015/06/18/fear-of-making-mistakes-anxiety-of-speaking-a-foreign-language-my-story/
https://englishthesmartway.com/2014/12/17/how-to-overcome-the-anxiety-of-speaking-a-foreign-language/
Link to Power English review (just in case): https://englishthesmartway.com/2013/08/31/power-english-lessons-course-review-effortless-english/
Ivan,
thanks a lot for your prompt reply.
Actually I took the decision yesterday and bought the LRE Program and I already started the first lesson “Earthquakes”. the story and the level of speaking was OK for me, also most of the expressions were new for me. It is fun to practice and I am sure I will hear a lot of them while watching American movies.
But, let me share with you my initial thoughts. Firstly, I feel that we, as non-native persons, will not use these expressions in normal conversations so it will be easily forgotten. Second, I got the idea that the program will have a part for practicing speaking which I didn’t find, except for the short answers of mini stories. So, from your experience with similar program, do you think that only listening for an hour each day will improve speaking?. Third, I think that repeating the same lesson each day for consecutive 7 days is very boring. Forth, the mini story part was very simple and boring for me as it is very basic and repetitive.
for the things I liked, it was mainly the vocabulary and grammar parts especially the new expressions.
So, based on the above, and to get the most benefits, do you think that it is better for me to buy the “Power English Lessons”, or they are almost the same and it will be better to continue with LRE?
Finally, I noticed that your writing is excellent and outstanding, do you recommend any writing websites.
Thanks so much for your time and reply and looking forward for your reply.
Ahmed
Hi Ahmed,
here are my thoughts – yes, I agree – we – as non-native English speakers usually don’t use idioms as frequently as native speakers. But at the same time I think that phrases like “This seems far-fetched.” or “It dawned on me…” can be used quite often even by non-natives as we are.
When I went through the LRE lessons I started noticing the phrases and words I haven’t before – in my day-to-day life. For example – I could have heard the phrase “This seems far-fetched.” like hundred times, but my brain would just filter it out until I listened to the explanation of this phrase and understood what it actually means. ๐
(btw, it may have something to do with with the The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon phenomenon)
And of course – I could have learnt this new phrase elsewhere – it didn’t have to be by listening to LRE lessons. But what I like about LRE is that it contains many phrases like this in one package so I could learn plenty of new expressions more efficiently in less time by listening to real English conversations of native speakers.
Yes, you are right – I also found it challenging to listen to the same lesson for 7 days. Frankly speaking I didn’t follow this rule to the point with every single lesson. But I have to tell you that the lessons which I listened to 7 or more times stuck in my brain much much deeper. Plus, when you really use the mini story lessons – by answering simple questions, it will help you to remember the new phrases even more.
Yes, the mini stories are usually simple and repetitive (both in LRE and Power English). The reason for this is that when we for example listen to the mini story in the first lesson, we can focus on the parts that are new to us. It is similar to reading an English book – it is better if we clearly understand at least 80% or more because then the reading is easy and we can remember the rest of the unknown words and phrases there (e.g. 20%). At least this is my personal experience.
The repetitiveness of lessons is there also on purpose. It helps our brains to remember new phrases deeply.
If you are interested, here’s how I usually listened to each LRE lesson (approximately):
– main conversation – 5 to 7 times
– mini story – 5 to 7 times
– point of view (POV) lesson – 3 to 5 times
– vocabulary lesson – 1 to 2 times (depending on the difficulty of the new words)
But – I believe that everyone of us is different, so I would say it is best to create your own personal schedule based on your needs and feelings. ๐
Yes, Power English lessons are quite different from LRE lessons. But both – Power English and LRE use the same (so called) Effortless English teaching method and have similar structure. You can find my review of Power English here: https://englishthesmartway.com/2013/08/31/power-english-lessons-course-review-effortless-english/(the same link as in the previous comment).
Whether Power English lessons or LRE lessons are better for you – that’s really a tough question. ๐ I really like the courses and I am the longtime fan and affiliate partner of both. I respect all three teachers who are behind the courses – AJ, Kristin and Joe.
I first invested in Power English years ago and I got the LRE just last year because I wanted to see how is it like and I wanted to learn some useful English phrases.
If you are interested in Power English lessons, I would either use it after finishing LRE lessons, or I would do 1 lesson from LRE one week, then 1 lesson from Power English next week, and then another lesson from LRE, then lesson from Power English, …and so on… ๐ But I wouldn’t use both courses at the same time – meaning – 2 lessons at once. I think it would be too much new information from my point of view.
But again – that is only my personal opinion. ๐
Thank you for your compliment about writing. I don’t do anything special to practice writing – I just write a lot. ๐ For example emails, articles, newsletters or comments like this. It helps a lot just to write. Anyways, your writing is also really good Ahmed! ๐
Thanks Ivan for your above detailed answer.
you really helped me a lot with your explanations and suggestions.
Based on that, I decided to purchase the “Power English Lessons” and to follow your advise by listening to a complete lesson from LRE for consecutive 5 days then listening to a PE lesson for the next five days until I finish both programs.
So, to minimize the boredom feeling, I will do each set included in one lesson each day for 5 days (instead of 7), and I will also move on both programs in parallel by finishing one lesson from LRE then followed by a lesson from PE (each for consecutive 5 days).
So, please advice if this could be the best practice, or you propose some amendments?
Finally, I would like to know about your personnel improvement for the Speaking aspect, how was your level before starting and which level you reached? how long it took from you to follow the Program? was it daily and how long was your daily practice?
Sorry for asking lots of question, but you know it will take around one year of continuous commitment, and wanna ensure that it deserve that effort? especially, that in addition to work and family commitments, I am going to start my MBA next month, so it will be extra-load for me. but I really wanted to reach the fluency level within one year, especially, that you know that MBA requires many presentations and class involvement so I need to be in my peak performance.
Thanks again Ivan,
Ahmed.
You are welcome Ahmed. I am glad I could help. ๐
It is really difficult to say exactly what was the effect of courses on my level of English. The reason for this is that I used multiple ways of improving English at the same time in addition to Power English course – for example I practised English by chatting on Facebook with friends abroad, I watched movies in English, listened to songs and so on…
And I think that every learner is on a bit different “starting” level of English speaking. So comparison and measuring is really difficult then.
But, I can tell you what I felt when I went through the Power English course and what I think it has given me – I hope it will help you. Power English course changed my mindset about English learning and English speaking. It has helped me to be more relaxed while speaking and the most important – it has helped me with confidence and showed me that I can feel good while speaking. ๐
My daily practice was at least 1 hour long. But usually I spent more than 1 hour being immersed in English because I used to listen to lessons and other resources while travelling and commuting for example (you know – using earphones and so…). ๐
I think the learning plan you describe is great! Not so many people really take time to plan their English learning although it can help us a lot to stay on track and reach our goals.
When you try out your learning schedule, you can still do little changes on the go if necessary. Your plan doesn’t have to be set in stone. ๐
If I may suggest you, I would also broaden the sources of English that I am exposed to and immersed in. For example – you can use Power English and LRE as you have described – plus, you can listen to some audio podcast shows / movies based on your interests.
So for example: 5 days Power English, 2 days other sources, 5 days LRE, 2 days other sources, …
You can also find a parter to practice English with now and then. That can help a lot too. ๐
Also, we both know that your English is quite advanced, so here’s another idea that came to my mind:
If you for example listen to the Power English or LRE lesson for the 4th or 5th time (when you are already familiar with the content and words in the lesson), you can focus on the pronunciation, accent and speed of teachers. You don’t have to analyse and think about it too much – it is just about noticing specific sounds native speakers like AJ, Kristin or Joe use. ๐ Do you know what I mean? This way you can enjoy the lessons even more and improve your pronunciation without even realising (I did it this way). ๐
And if you like, you can “shadow” the PE or LRE teachers as i describe here:
https://englishthesmartway.com/2014/07/16/fun-and-effective-way-to-learn-english-speech-shadowing/
Btw, I believe studying MBA and doing presentations in English will definitely help you a lot! ๐
P.S. Have you read my free ebook already? I discuss there how I approached my English learning process in more detail. You can download the ebook here: https://englishthesmartway.com/ebook/
Ivan,
I really appreciate your advises and the time devoted for replying to my queries. I also enjoyed your interviews and I will also try to benefit from your e-book. it seems you have challenged your self to master all the difficulties and reached the level that you can hep people now in their journey to mastering English. I wish you all the luck as I really happy to know such a respectful person like you.
I’ll sure let you know my progress after some times of trying both programs.
thanks again and if you have any pages on FB please send it to me so I can keep in touch with you.
Hello Ahmed, many thanks for your nice words. I really appreciate it! ๐
Yes, sure, please do let me know about your progress in the future.
If you are interested, you can LIKE my FB page here.
I wish you all the best Ahmed ๐
Hello Sir, I really want to learn these (LRE)lessons but I have no paypal account. The course is very chep for you but not for me because my salary is 150$ per month.I live in Burma.You are the only one in the world who can help me.Plese give me (LRE)video files download links.
God bless to you all.
Thank you.
Hello Mg Mg, I understand that LRE lessons may be out of budget for you. In the past, when I was a student I either didn’t have much resources, but I saved for a few months and then I could afford even more expensive courses and seminars. During the time I was saving, I listened and watched other resources which were free. And as soon as I saved enough, I invested in the paid courses.
Thank you very much Mg Mg. I wish you all the best with your English in in live in general.