Yolango is a new site for English Language Learners. I think it’s very engaging — both in concept and execution. There are a large number of captioned videos, divided by levels, with a bunch of fun activities that users do with them to promote language-learning. With just a few exceptions, the videos on the site are excellent choices.
However, those few exceptions are, in my eyes at least, enough to unfortunately preclude me from putting the link on my website or recommending the site for classroom use. If they were just a little more careful in the video selection, there’s no doubt in my mind that Yolango would end-up on one of my “The Best…” lists.
But having their otherwise exceptional video collection marred with one entitled “Eating Better For Sex” and another one showing a beer commercial ruins it for me. I’ll check the site again in the future to see if they revise the criteria for videos and share what I find.
Hi Larry,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Yolango, the new website we just launched last week to provide authentic video and useful tools and games to English language learners around the world. I appreciate your comment about the existence of some “edgy” content on our site. While we are confident that there is nothing that could be called obscene at Yolango, we acknowledge that some videos cover topics better suited for older kids and/or adult learners and occasionally contain, ahem, authentic use of adult language.
Your comments along with several others we have received has stimulated us to think about a “school-friendly” version of the site. We will definitely let you and your readers know as soon as this concept becomes a reality…
Meanwhile, we encourage any teachers interested in the use of scaffolded web video and related interactive games for immersive language practice to have a look for themselves and recommend this FREE service to their students as they deem appropriate. It is very early going for us so any and all feedback is highly valued and much appreciated!
Very best regards,
Travis Millman
CEO, Yolango.com
travis@yolango.com