What is Puzzle English?
Puzzle English is an online platform (website and mobile applications) for self-study of the English language. It was launched in 2011 as an author's project of Alexander Antonov. The service is used by over 5 million users. In 2014, the company received investments from Genezis Capital and Sol Ventures in the amount of half a million dollars.
The basis of the learning format in Puzzle English is listening comprehension training. Phrases, voiced by English and American speakers, are presented in the form of audio and video puzzles that you need to collect. The site has grammar video lessons and assignments to consolidate the skills that have been worked out. Language learning is carried out including video clips, TV series and musical compositions. Before starting training, the service offers to take a test to determine the level of all language skills. Payment can be made with electronic money, Qiwi, Yandex.Wallet, WebMoney, through online banking, Sberbank and Alfa-Bank.
What is Puzzle English for?
This site is great for learning to comprehend correct English speech by ear, as well as for quickly expanding your vocabulary. Therefore, the main purpose of Puzzle English is that it trains the perception of English speech by ear, that is, the main emphasis is placed on listening. To do this, the site has more than 2,000 entertaining and educational audio and video clips. There are also grammar exercises. But the interface itself is very convenient - everything is divided into categories - pronouns, adjectives, verb tenses, etc.
There are also short but funny video tutorials on the theoretical part and for understanding oral speech. During the lesson, young teachers entertain students as best they can, which users really like. After all, there is nothing better than learning while having fun. Examples of phrases and sentences are taken from famous songs and films. And under the video there will definitely be a text version of the lecture. For example, this is how the exercises for the demonstrative pronouns this and that look like:
What Sections are Used by User?
Once on the site, the user is asked to choose the purpose of learning English - study, work, travel or self-development. After that, you need to choose your level of language proficiency - beginner, intermediate or advanced. Then you need to log in through social networks or register on the site. This will take you to the main page of Puzzle English with many tutorials and subsections.
Puzzle English has seven main sections:
Tasks: video puzzles, audio puzzles, lessons, simulator, translates.
Games : translator, duel of minds, master of phrases, baggage of words.
Words: word training, Danetka, exam, sets, my vocabulary.
Courses : academy, Ticher method, children's course.
Films: TV series, films, cartoons.
Podcasts: Conversations in English.
Other : mailings, songs, tests.
You can study in a random order, independently deciding what and when to watch, listen, perform, or, in order not to get confused in a mountain of information, engage in a personal plan that the site itself will develop for you. To do this, you need to indicate the purpose of learning English and the level of language proficiency.
After that, the system will independently draw up a lesson plan and select exercises for you. You complete tasks and get points that you can spend in the prize store.
Let's consider the most interesting sections of the service menu in more detail.
Puzzle English Quests
From the “Tasks” menu, the most interesting subsections, in my opinion, are audio and video puzzles.
Audio Puzzles are simple exercises for beginners that train your listening comprehension and comprehension of English. An English-speaking announcer pronounces phrases in English and Russian, the user listens to it, then composes a phrase from individual words, like a picture from puzzles. All words can be placed in the "Personal Dictionary".
To complicate your task, you can select "Print on the keyboard" - the puzzles will disappear, and the answer must be typed on the keyboard. To simplify the task, you can turn on the slow-motion playback mode, then the speaker will speak more slowly.
It is very convenient that under each phrase you can ask the teacher a question, why the sentence is constructed this way, why this particular word was used. You will receive a response shortly from a professional tutor.
Video puzzles - you are watching an interesting video clip, under it there are words in random order. From these words you need to collect a phrase. After correctly assembled parts, a new expression appears. So, you train grammar, intonation, remember the structure of sentences in English, replenish your vocabulary.
There are over 2000 short videos on the site, which differ in emphasis, topic, level of difficulty. However, in free mode, you can only collect 20 phrases per day.
At the same time, I am glad that the subjects of the video puzzles are very diverse. There are serious, informative topics, and there are entertaining and funny topics. For example:
How to make mom angry?
What are cats thinking?
"Game of Thrones" in the office
Why do we hug, etc.
Here you can find training videos on grammar, which are also accompanied by practical exercises to consolidate the material. The grammar is skillfully explained by young, interesting people, as well as the main audience of the site. These lessons are very exciting. The tasks are distributed according to the level of difficulty.
Another interesting site menu is "Games", which are very popular among users, because this is a great opportunity to learn while playing. You perform exercises in a playful way and at the same time memorize new words, train your listening comprehension, learn to make up phrases.
At Jigsaw English, the visitor can play four exciting games:
Translator is a funny game for modern and advanced learners. These are the favorite MEMES in English by many. You are given a phrase that you can also listen to, you need to translate it and you will get a funny picture.
Duel of Wits is a game that can be played with a friend on puzzle english or with a randomly chosen opponent. First, you are given three topics to choose from, then you will be given the same tasks. In the first round, you need to answer three questions within three minutes: one task - one minute. There are hints. The winner is the one who answers the most questions. If the opponent does not answer these questions within 24 hours, then you will be awarded a victory.
The Phrase Master is a very original task. You are watching a short video where one phrase is spoken, it is not written anywhere. The phrase must be perceived by ear correctly and reproduced as accurately as possible from the first letters of the words by typing the text on the keyboard. The one who was more precise won.
Word baggage - you are asked to listen to a word in several pronunciations (British, Australian, American). You need to type this word on the keyboard. The fewer mistakes, the more points.
Each game can be played once a day in free mode or 20 times a day if you have a paid account activated.
How much does the subscription cost?
Of course, you can study at Puzzle English absolutely free of charge, but in this case you will be limited in many ways. For example, you can work out no more than 20 phrases a day, or play only once a game. You can also use the points you earn to enhance your website experience.
However, it is better to buy a subscription and use the service without restrictions, because a paid subscription costs very little - 9,990 rubles per year! For a full subscription, you can use all modes and menus of the site free of charge. But you can purchase and remove restrictions on a specific section.
For example, one course according to the Teacher method costs 1,990 rubles, the same is the cost of lessons according to the Personal Plan. Least of all you need to pay for games - 490 rubles / year. The "Films" section, including series and cartoons, costs 2,990 rubles per year. If you choose several modes at once, then you will receive a good discount - from 30% to 50%.
My conclusion
Puzzle English is an effective and simple service for learning English on your own. The main emphasis is on training the skills of listening comprehension of foreign speech. The opportunity to study for free, as well as the low cost of tuition fees, make this site attractive to many users. And mobile apps allow you to practice anytime, anywhere.
Overall, http://puzzle-english.com is not a magic pill that will do everything for you, but overall, it is a great site for daily English practice. It will be a good helper for training oral communication with English-speaking interlocutors, for mastering the basics of English grammar and replenishment of common vocabulary.
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