Drops: Language learning games 4+

I love using this. The free version is more than enough. Gives little time but really helps to ingrain words into memory

Hi, Thanks for playing Drops, we're thrilled to hear you love it! Keep learning and let us know if there’s anything you would suggest us to improve on! :)

Yes, it is a beautiful looking app, but if you’re serious about learning, Drops is both a waste of time and money plus it will likely hamper your learning ability. It’s really disappointing to see this app has an editor’s recommendation when it just so bad.

My review is based on it’s claimed support for Thai. I subscribed to the premium features for 1 month; as the month comes to the end, I’ve canceled my subscription. Drops is teaching more of a “Google Translate” version of language learning. There is no thought given to how the target language work. At best you’ll just end up speaking English in Thai.

First problem, it’s too focused on words. This is fine for building vocabulary as a supplement to a full featured language course, but it’s not suitable for forming core of your language learning. It’s definitely overpriced for what little it provides. You are much better off using Anki for your SRS/flash card needs. Anki is both cheaper, more usable, and customizable. Plus you get to create your own vocabulary lists with Anki and you can include sentences so you can see the word in context. The only advantage Drops has over Anki is looks.

Let’s talk about that focus on words. It could still be workable if Drops cared about the language you’re learning. But they clearly don’t or are engaged in some extreme cultural imperialism. They try to force Thai into a variant of English. The two languages are quiet different. Thai words simply work different than English ones and doing this straight across translation makes no sense. Worse, it will make you come off as extremely rude when speaking Thai as it used the extremely personal versions of Thai pronouns and it’s doesn’t take into account the gender of the learner. In Thai the 1st person singular (I/me) is gendered. But Drops uses ดีฉัน, or the slightly less formal ฉัน, if the speaker is female and ผม if the speaker is male. Often the images show a male doing something with the pronoun being ฉัน. Yes, men can use ฉัน too but only in extremely informal situations with people you’re already very close to. You would never refer to yourself as ฉัน if you’re a male speaking to someone older than you. It would be incredibly rude, but that is what Drops teaches.

Likewise Drops completely messes up family relation words, because, again, they work differently in Thai than English and Drops only cares about English. For example the English word “sister-in-law” doesn’t have a direct translation in Thai as which side matters in Thai but doesn’t in English. So there are two words: น้องสะใภ้ and พี่สะใภ้. But Drops doesn’t explain the difference.

Then don’t get me started on the transportation section — trying to translate so many words that are irrelevant in Thailand, like tram. Hell, who even says “tram” in English? There is no attempt to focus on words that would be useful in Thailand, this is most obvious in the the food sections. I doubt anyone from the Drops team has ever visited Thailand.

Then there is no discussion of tones or discussing how Thai syllables work. Drops breaks words in naïve ways. Thai has strict rules how to make syllables. To test your knowledge of words Drops presents words broken in parts that you must put together in the correct order. It’s a good idea but, like so much of Drops, it’s poorly executed. You don’t have to know the word to know the order, you just have to know the syllable rules because often the words are broken up in a way that there is only one possible way to combine the words. Thai vowels are often written before the word the come after. You can’t end a syllable with ใ for example, you know that it must start a syllable. So if you are presented with two parts and one ends with a vowel that starts a syllable, I.e., ใ, ไ, โ, เ, แ, you know it must come before the second part.

The “typing” exercises would be better off using the built in keyboard. It’s good for practising spelling but since in real life you’re going to use the keyboard, why invent a new interface for it. It would be better for the user to get used to the keyboard for the language they are learning so they will be able to chat once they have minimum skill.

On that note, the most important part of learning a new language is conversation. There is no attention to conversation at all in drops. No way to map out question/responses like you’d do with Anki. So with Drops you’re just going to end up with a grab bag of words with no understanding of how to use them.

Finally, the UI for Drops is frustrating. You can’t rotate it and you’re forced on the iPad Pro 12.9” to hold it in the uncomfortable portrait orientation. The Apple Pencil is completely not supported in any meaningful way. You end up having to use your fingers like a savage. It feels like such a downgrade because the Apple Pencil is so much more natural than touch.

TL;DR Drops ignores the culture behind the language you’re learning; Drops ignores the way the language you’re learning works instead forcing you into an English centric model; You’re not going actually enhance your skills using Drops. Best bet is to just go grab Anki. Learning languages is work and you have to put that work in. It’s so worth it. Drops will not help you if you’re serious.

Hi, Thanks so much for your insightful feedback, we are sorry to hear about your negative experience with Drops. You can imagine it wasn't our intention to offer a less than perfect product. Mistakes happen, and we're sorry about it. We are still a small team, dedicated to work extra hard, and we are burning the midnight oil to fix these. We'll discuss your feedback with the team and see what we can do! Thanks again for your feedback, we really appreciate it!

i love this app so much, it's helped me learn so many languages already

Hey, Thanks for learning languages with Drops, we're very happy to hear it has helped you and you have had fun with it! :) Your positive feedback is much appreciated!