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Prices checked November 13, 2026. Prices are in US dollars.
Seen Olly Richards' StoryLearning courses and wondering whether $297 for a story-based course is worth it? StoryLearning sells "Uncovered" courses in 15 languages. Each one teaches you through a story told in chapters, with video lessons that explain the grammar and words from each chapter.
This review covers how the courses work, what our team found when we used French Uncovered, what it costs and who should pick something else.
How we tested StoryLearning
Alysa Salzberg, on our team, used French Uncovered Beginner (Level 1) during its 7-day free trial in July 2024. She listened to and read the story chapters, watched the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation videos, did the exercises and quizzes, downloaded the materials and read the course emails. In November 2026 we checked StoryLearning's course chooser, the French Uncovered sales page and trial checkout, and the Black Friday sale page, and listened to the free audio preview of chapter 1.
What is StoryLearning?
StoryLearning is the company of Olly Richards, a polyglot and the author of the Short Stories book series. Its main products are the Uncovered courses: Spanish, French, Italian and German Uncovered offer three levels to start from, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Russian two, and Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Latin, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish a beginner course.
Every course follows the same loop. You listen to a chapter of the story first, then read it, then work through short videos on its words, grammar, pronunciation and culture, then go back to the story. French Uncovered Beginner has 10 chapters and more than 60 video lessons, built around a mystery called L'Homme au chapeau (The Man in the Hat), in which three friends follow clues across France. Spanish Uncovered sends the same three friends across Spain. French Uncovered, the course Alysa used, shows how the others work, though the teacher and accents differ by language.
What is it like to use?
The story is the heart of the course, and the free preview on the French Uncovered page is well recorded: in the opening of chapter 1, "La bibliothèque", one narrator reads at a slow, clear pace in standard French (Marta est scientifique. Elle parle avec ses amis, Tony et David.). Alysa found that the French course also offers the whole story in Canadian French, which few French courses do.
After each chapter, a teacher walks you through what you just heard. In French that is Diane, a native speaker, who explains grammar with examples from the story and a whiteboard. Alysa liked these videos: they are friendly and clear and cover a lot. Her one complaint was that a single video often packs in several unrelated grammar points, which is a lot for a beginner to absorb at once.
The rest of the course is more hands-off than an app. Alysa could open any lesson in her level in any order, and download nearly everything to study offline. Some exercises are meant to be done on paper, like downloading a chapter's transcript and writing down the cognates you find. The end-of-chapter quizzes were short, mostly multiple choice, and let her finish without correcting her wrong answers.
Does StoryLearning help you speak?
Not much. French Uncovered teaches pronunciation in Diane's videos, but when Alysa used it, the course had no pronunciation checker and no way to practise speaking inside it. The dialogue practice was a script to print out and practise with a partner you find yourself. StoryLearning's sales page now also lists "pronunciation training" and "speaking activity packs", but it doesn't describe anything that listens to you speak.
For speaking practice, Copycat Cafe goes further. You hear an everyday conversation, slow a line down and rebuild it by ear, then say it aloud and get a 0–100 pronunciation score on every word, with a tip on what to change. You can then use the same language in conversation with Copy, your AI conversation partner, out loud or by typing, so you can rehearse without a partner.
What's good about StoryLearning
Here is what stood out.
- Learning through a story. Alysa liked learning words and grammar from a story, because the context makes them easier to remember.
- Plenty of listening and reading. Every chapter comes in audio and text.
- Clear grammar videos. Friendly and easy to follow.
- Freedom and offline use. You can open any lesson in your level and download nearly everything.
- One payment and a long guarantee. You keep lifetime access, and at the regular price StoryLearning offers a 365-day money-back guarantee.
What's not good about StoryLearning
And here is what held it back.
- No speaking feedback. Nothing checked Alysa's pronunciation.
- Little to keep you going. Alysa found the course barely tracked her progress, and none of its emails were about her studying, so it suits learners who don't need nudging.
- Light exercises. Quizzes are short and mostly multiple choice, and some activities are on paper.
- A story that stops on a cliffhanger. Alysa found the French Beginner story ends on a cliffhanger, so you need the next level to find out what happens.
- Lots of sales emails. Alysa received many emails during her trial, most of them selling something.
How much does StoryLearning cost?
Each Uncovered course costs $297 once, shown as a markdown from $397, with lifetime access. The French Uncovered page offers a 7-day free trial and a 365-day money-back guarantee. Where a language has three starting levels, they are Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced; the bridging levels (2, 4 and 6) are for students who finish the level before. Bundles of every level in one language cost more; the French Gold bundle, for example, is $997.
The free trial needs a payment method. When we opened the French trial checkout, the order showed $0.00 but asked for PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card before the trial could start. The page also offered a $37 add-on, "Fearless in French", which was not ticked. StoryLearning says you are not charged until the trial ends.
For Black Friday 2026, StoryLearning's sale page lists any Uncovered course for $97 through December 1, with a 30-day money-back guarantee instead of 365 days. Our StoryLearning Black Friday guide covers the deal.
Is StoryLearning worth it?
Yes, if you want to understand a language through stories and you study well on your own. $297 buys a full level you keep, with grammar explained in video lessons and a whole story to listen to and read. Through December 1, the $97 Black Friday price makes it an easier decision.
It is a weaker buy if you need reminders and progress tracking to keep going, or if speaking is the reason you are learning. For more detail on the French course, read Alysa's full French Uncovered review. To compare it with other courses in your language, see our guides to the best French, Spanish, Italian and German courses.
Alternatives to StoryLearning
If you like learning from stories but want to choose your own material, LingQ lets you read and listen to stories, articles and podcasts with a click-to-translate reader.
If your main goal is to speak, our pick is Copycat Cafe, whose speaking practice is described above. It teaches French, Spanish, Italian and German, and pairs well with a story course if you want both. It costs $29 a month or $174 a year, with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment.