Key Points
- Language learning apps eliminate the need for classrooms and allow users to learn at their own pace.
- These apps can be significantly more affordable than traditional language courses or private tutors.
- Advanced features like AI-powered chatbots, virtual classes, and interactive games make learning more engaging and personalized.
Planning on traveling abroad? That’s one of the reasons to use a language learning app, unless you already have the lingo down. You can add a new language to your repertoire with ease, and you’ll never have to hit a classroom. Whether you’re thinking about a new career or simply want to brush up on certain dialects, there’s an option for you. We’ve compiled a list featuring four of the best language learning apps along with the top reasons why you should use one today.
Reasons to Use a Language Learning App
They have an app for everything whether you need to find a dog walker or learn to speak Vietnamese. A language learning app could actually address both issues, especially if you’re on vacation in a foreign land. We can’t think of any reason to avoid this type of app but can tell you four great reasons to use a language learning app today.
No Classrooms
Did you enjoy going to school? That’s a question that will bring a variety of answers and probably varies by age. You’re never too old to learn something new, but stepping back into a classroom after a decade may not be as easy as you think.
Classroom space can be limited, and you may have quite the drive depending on the language you want to learn. Spanish, French, and English lessons may not be hard to find. Want to learn Italian or Japanese? Tracking down a suitable teacher or class may not be quite as simple.
Leaving the classroom out of the equation is a huge advantage of using a language learning app. It also means users can take lessons at any time, leading us to the second reason on our list.
Learn at Your Own Pace
Depending on where you went to school and when learning at your own pace may have been a problem. It’s definitely a concern in a crowded high-school foreign language class where it would be hard to get personal attention in certain areas.
That will never be an issue with the best language learning apps. These apps allow users to learn at their own pace. Whether that’s after you put the kids down for a nap or an audio lesson while driving, these apps make finding time easier.
You won’t have to worry about getting lapped in class or being overlooked. You are the star of the show with a language learning app, and some can even provide personalized lesson plans.
The Cost
The cost of taking personalized language lessons as an adult can be shocking. When you’re in school or college, it’s part of the curriculum. If you want to learn Spanish before taking a trip to Spain, you’ll need to come out of pocket.
The price of a language course varies wildly by location, the teacher, and the language. For instance, with a quick search, we found a half-dozen Spanish tutors in our area along with a handful of French teachers. The closest course we could take in Italian from a private tutor was an hour away and a few hundred dollars a month.
By using a language learning app, you can cut the cost down considerably. A full year of Babel will only cost $89 or $14.99 a month. There are mobile apps that offer plenty of content for free as well, so you may not have to pay a penny to learn what you need.
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Advanced Features
Taking a traditional language course provides some benefits you can’t get elsewhere. The ability to speak and learn with a class can be helpful for many along with seeing people speak the language you want to learn. The benefit of using an app is one of the main reasons to use a language learning app today, however.
Want to book a virtual class to learn online? That’s an option within some apps along with word-based games. That can make learning foreign languages a bit more fun, just like short video lessons and audio courses. You can check out phrase books if you need to learn while traveling or take courses set around certain topics like places and events or dining.
Are you a fan of artificial intelligence programs? If so, you’ll appreciate language learning apps. Many utilize AI to help you learn through customized plans. This technology is already helping improve real-time translation within programs, and you can find it in several of the top language learning apps available today.
The Best Language Learning Apps Today
Language apps are a popular option for Android users and people that prefer iOS. You can find more than a dozen options in both app stores, but the list of the best language-learning apps is relatively short. That’s because most perform the same job in different ways, with slightly different features and price points.
Duolingo
The best language learning app for people that want to keep things simple and fun is Duolingo. It’s an award-winning program that’s on the top of many “best” lists and for a great reason. It’s incredibly easy to use and performs as advertised.
When you first fire up Duolingo, you can choose a language to learn. From here, the app begins to build a course based on your needs and knowledge of the language. The interface is streamlined for new users and provides access to more than 20,000 interactive online exercises. That includes choosing words based on photos complete with audio descriptions.
©History-Computer.com
This combination makes learning and saying words from a foreign language fun, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The app keeps track of your progress while gently prodding users towards new goals. Best of all, you can learn for free although there’s an option to kick things up with a Super Duolingo subscription.
Duolingo covers every popular language you can imagine, as well as some rarer ones like Navajo and Haitian Creole. Want to learn Klingon? They have that covered as well. It’s an app we highly recommend and you can pick it up for free if you sport an Android or iOS device.
Rosetta Stone
If you’ve attempted to learn a foreign language outside of a classroom in the past 20 years, you’ve probably heard of Rosetta Stone. The company’s CDs were found in millions of PC drives, and their modern mobile app is one of the best around.
With the Rosetta Stone app, users can choose from 24 different languages. Lessons are personalized based on your experience with the language and are easy to consume in 10-minute sessions. You can’t jump courses, but can see what lies ahead. It’s a nice touch and so is the ability to switch from French to Portuguese or Turkish in seconds.
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We also enjoyed the content from the Extended Learning section. From here, you can access phrasebooks, stories, or the audio companion. There are also short videos featuring different conversations and settings. The app gives users a lot to dig through for free regardless of the language, but a subscription really opens things up with the Rosetta Stone app.
From the intuitive UI to the fun lesson plans, there’s a lot to like about this app. Rosetta has made their classic learning software accessible to the masses on mobiles, and it’s well worth your time. It’s also the best app for people interested in multiple dialects as you can purchase one sub and access all 24 languages.
Rosetta Stone on the App Store
Babbel
Babbel is an aptly named top-rated app used by millions to learn unfamiliar languages. It’s a familiar name in the niche, and its app has similar features to our top choice, Duolingo. The biggest differences are presentation, pricing, and lesson plans.
Whereas Duolingo has a family-friendly vibe, Babbel feels more like a traditional learning tool. The app is broken down into four sections with Home, Review, Live, and Explore. Users have weekly goals and bite-sized lessons to dig into for 14 languages. Popular options in the app include Russian, Polish, French, Dutch, English, and Norwegian.
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The review section is a nifty addition, but we’re big fans of the live courses. This is where you can book an actual class within the app if you want to experience a classroom setting. Users are given two free live classes to try but will need to subscribe for more. There aren’t as many word games for the younger crowd, although there are a few fun ones like Word Trax.
Babbel is another popular choice if you want to learn a foreign language from your phone. There’s more than enough free content to give users a good head start, but specific language courses are $45.99 when you want to get more in-depth.
Memrise
Memrise hasn’t been around as long as Rosetta Stone but has quickly become a hit with smartphone users around the world. That’s due in part to their flash-card style lessons, but also for the wealth of nifty features and video lessons.
Do you learn better by seeing or hearing people speak a foreign language? That’s helpful to many, and one of the draws of this app. You can access short clips from the Immerse section of Mondly. It’s a great way to learn casual words naturally, and different from traditional lessons. They also have MemBot, an AI-powered chatbot that you can converse with.
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Memrise doesn’t feature as many languages as other apps, but there are around a dozen to choose from. Once you select a language, you can use filters to explore the course or jump ahead to certain areas. The app doesn’t wall you in like others and provides a bit more freedom to learn. It’s still an app billed as “early access” so some of the features we’ve touched on are subject to change.
You can test out Memrise for free and get a feel for one of the foreign languages in their catalog. We found the app easy to navigate and felt there was plenty of free content as well. When you’re ready to take the next step, you can pick up a lifetime subscription to Mondly for $200, go annually or pay $14.99 a month for full access.
The Wrap-Up
Language learning apps are only going to become more popular as the internet allows us to bridge the gap between continents. While the four apps we chose are widely considered the best, there are other options available designed for specific dialects if you want to narrow your focus.
| Reasons to Use a Language Learning App |
|---|
| No Classrooms |
| Learn at your own Pace |
| The Cost |
| Advanced Features |
