Whether you're preparing for vacation, studying for exams, or just wanting to broaden your horizons, it's always a good idea to learn a new language. But you don't have to spend tons of money on textbooks to do that. Because you can also learn languages very easily with various apps. We have listed the best apps for you here.
Duolingo
Duolingo is one of the world's most popular language learning platforms. Its 150 million registered users can choose from 28 different languages, including Vietnamese, Esperanto and even High Valyrian.
The app gives users the feeling that they have continuously achieved something. You will be entrusted with a number of small tasks that will improve your language skills. For example, you will be asked to associate a word with its translation into the target language. Sometimes you need to speak into your smartphone's microphone to pronounce the phrase shown on the screen. Sometimes you need to type in a simple sentence and translate it.
All the while, you'll see a progress bar and get badges and prizes for passing certain levels. The more you use the app, the more XP or experience points you will receive. With these points you win Lingos, the virtual currency in the Duolingo world. You can use them to buy cool things in the shop, such as outfits for "Duo", the app's mascot.
The app can be downloaded for free and offers you numerous lessons for practicing your target language. Available: iOS and Android .
Babbel
With only 15 languages available, Babbel has far fewer options than many other apps. However, it uses tried and tested language learning techniques that are effective and offers the option to download lessons for offline study. While not all of the content is available in the free version of Babbel, it does offer access to 40 lessons. As a result, you get significantly more content from the free Babbel app than from some other language learning apps that also have free and paid versions. However, if you are interested in the Permium version, you pay between € 5.99 and € 9.99 per month, depending on the subscription period.
The beginners lessons in Babbel start with building vocabulary through pictures and repetition. As the lesson progresses, the vocabulary will be practiced in dialogue and common idioms to clarify the context. As the user becomes more proficient, the dialogues and sentences are adapted to increasingly complex or difficult examples, which supports the rapid development of conversational skills. In addition, Babbel uses speech recognition to fine-tune the spoken language skills. Available: iOS and Android ..
Memrise
Memrise is another free language learning app. It is easy to use, supports offline courses, and enables a large number of languages to be learned. You can just start or move on to more advanced lessons.
Something unique about Memrise is the way you are taught new words and phrases: words are put into sentences with similar-sounding words from your preferred language to make the connection so you can remember them. Sometimes you will also see multiple images that you can scroll through and that overlay the foreign language text with a recognizable image to create additional association.
Another method that Memrise uses is to mix up the translations. That way, you'll learn a few new words at once, and then learn them over and over in a different order to make sure you know them before moving on to the next round. Available: iOS and Android .
busuu
busuu provides an app that is easy to use and in which you can work flexibly with the courses. Simply select an assisted language you'd like to learn, log in, and then decide where in the course to start - beginner, elementary, intermediate, upper intermediate, or travel.
The app teaches you vocabulary and phrases, both in isolation and in sentences, then quizzes you as you move through the levels to test your knowledge. Some quizzes and other features may require a premium account, but there are many, many words and quizzes that are absolutely free. Said premium account costs € 9.99 per month or around € 70 for an annual subscription. Available: iOS and Android ..
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is a professional language learning service specifically designed to help travelers learn basic words and expressions.
There are dozen of pictures associated with common phrases that are read to you in the language you want to learn. You will also need to repeat the words to practice your pronunciation. You can jump forward to any lesson or just go through from start to finish.
There is also a phrasebook with basic words related to restaurants, hotels, and getting around - all very useful for someone traveling. You can buy additional phrasebooks if you need words for shopping, colors, emergencies, and currencies, for example. Available: iOS and Android .
