When comparing FSI Language Courses vs Ayni, the Slant community recommends Ayni for most people. In the question“What are the best sites for learning foreign languages?” Ayni is ranked 24th while FSI Language Courses is ranked 25th. The most important reason people chose Ayni is:
It is focused on practice with penpals and it provides content about how to get the most out of language exchange.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Available for some less-common languages including Thai
Pro Free
Pro Good for learners at all levels
Pro High-quality content
Pro Fast-paced
Pro Focuses on practice
It is focused on practice with penpals and it provides content about how to get the most out of language exchange.
Pro Engaging conversations
Writing a real person is much more engaging than repeating words from a program. You are more likely to continue with Ayni than other programs because you can actually have a conversation instead of simply learning words and phrases.
Pro Free
Pro Great to find an active penpal
This is a small community (+2000 active users) but active, as it does not look like a social network but more like a collaborative platform for matching.
Cons
Con Includes some outdated vocabulary
Con Created for American diplomats, so includes some specialized vocabulary that is less relevant to other learners
Con Some drills are too repetitive and boring
Con Not a lot of users to interact with
It is very hard to find a Japanese or Korean pen-pal on Ayni. However even some of the more popular languages don't have many users to talk with.
Con Website has a lot of grammar mistakes
The website itself (English version) has quite a few grammar errors throughout. The lack of attention put into the site, especially language errors on a language site, are concerning.
Con Not recommended for beginners
There is no content if you start learning a language from scratch.