Globetrotting Languages
Sometimes, you need a jump start.
And no, we’re not talking about your car. We’re talking about your language studies!
And when your language education needs a jump start, language learning apps can be what sparks life into your learner battery.
Popular apps for language learners provide a wide array of learning options covering virtually any language you could imagine. Whether you use iPhone apps, Android apps or a different device, there are plenty of options out there.
Innovative language apps use clever new strategies to help you improve your language skills. Language learning game apps provide a fun, interactive way to upgrade your fluency. Apps for kids offer a cute and easy option for learners of all ages.
With so many language apps on the market, it can be hard to sort through them all to find the best language learning apps.
Luckily, you don’t have to! Here are the best apps of 2021 to mix and match to jump start your road to fluency!
What to Look for in Language Learning Apps
Every app has something to offer. But the best language learning apps will have certain qualities that make them stand out from the crowd.
When searching for language learning apps to download, look for these features:
- Interactive functions, including text, audio and video content
- Review options, such as quizzes, study modes and flashcards
- A dictionary or translator that can provide definitions for words
- An appealing interface that’s easy to navigate
- Balanced language lessons that can teach you more than one language skill
A good language learning app can be your portable, ever-useful study buddy. Take your time exploring your options and fill up your smart device with your favorite apps!
And if you’re not sure if an app works for you, don’t be afraid to try it out! Luckily, many apps are free or cheap to download, so explore to your heart’s content.
Why Use More Than One Language App?
When learning a new language, pairing multiple apps is both fun and useful. There are many reasons why you might want to try using several apps at once.
For instance, each app has a different focus. Even seemingly similar apps offer slightly different approaches. Some apps may be better for reading practice, others may improve your listening skills while others may help you build your vocabulary.
Using different apps will help you see the language in a different context, making your skills more flexible and applicable in the real world.
Plus, each learner responds differently to each app. Everyone learns differently. Some people are visual learners. Some people prefer audio. Some learners like to study in short bursts while others like longer study sessions.
If you only use one app, you might not ever find your app soul mate, and you might miss out on valuable learning.
Even something as little as not liking an app’s color scheme might make you subconsciously avoid using it. There’s nothing wrong with using multiple apps at the same time to help you find an app you click with on all levels.
Finally, variety is the spice of life. Using multiple apps keeps things interesting.
Think of one app as the cheese sandwich of language learning. It’s good every once in a while, but if you eat it every day, you’ll get bored fast. If you open yourself up to all the sandwiches in the world, though, chances are you can enjoy a sandwich every day without getting bored.
Best Language Learning Apps of 2021 That Make Studying Fun
FluentU
FluentU is an entertainment lover’s dream come true.
Each video is captioned and the captions are annotated, giving you easy access to any word’s definition, an associated image and example sentences. Plus, you can click on any word to see how it’s used in other videos.
FluentU also offers “learn mode,” which incorporates video clips, pictures and example sentences into engaging exercises and flashcards.
What’s more, FluentU is fully personalized. An algorithm takes into account a learner’s history to present questions based on what you’ve already learned. Plus, you select your pace and what videos you watch.
FluentU offers Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish.
Duolingo
Duolingo. If you’ve ever studied a language online or used a language learning app, chances are the name rolls off your tongue with ease.
That’s because Duolingo is one of the hottest language learning products on the market. The app offers over 30 different language options.
The app aims to help you improve your vocabulary and grammar through daily lessons and quizzes. Quizzes cover vocabulary recognition, listening activities and even voice-enabled speaking practice.
The app is free to download and additional in-app purchases are available.
Busuu
The Busuu app is a versatile language tool for language learners at any level.
To start, you’ll take a placement test to ensure the lessons you’re taking are appropriate to your current proficiency level. There are 150 units per language, so there’s a strong chance that there’s something that even nearly fluent learners will benefit from.
Plus, Busuu offers you the option of having your exercises corrected by native speakers to give you an edge up.
One study has shown that 22 hours on Busuu is equal to one college semester, so start learning now!
The Busuu app offers 12 language options.
Mango Languages
The Mango Languages app is a colorful choice that offers a nice array of languages—over 70, to be exact. This makes Mango Languages a terrific choice for students looking to study less common languages.
The app offers all the features a language learner could hope for, including activities, grammar and vocabulary lessons, voice-enabled speaking practice and more. Check out our review to get to know the program better.
Babbel
Babbel aims to improve your confidence and comprehension through interactive courses for beginning through advanced students. These courses offer exercises for reading, writing, listening and speaking for a well-rounded language education.
Plus, activities are broken down into 10-15 minute chunks to make them easy to fit into even the busiest schedule.
Babbel offers 14 language options. Read our Babbel review to see if this program is right for you.
Memrise
Memrise offers a fun app for beginning through intermediate language learners.
Through a variety of games, videos featuring native speakers and simulated text-message conversations, you’ll use your target language in a number of different entertaining contexts.
Memrise offers over 20 language options.
Mondly
Mondly aims to help you hit the ground running by memorizing key words right off the bat. By focusing on useful phrases, Mondly’s goal is to prepare you for real conversations with native speakers.
While this makes Mondly an excellent tool for beginners, the app also caters to intermediate and advanced students.
The Mondly app features audio by native speakers, voice recognition for speaking practice, a dictionary, a verb conjugation tool and more.
The Mondly app offers 33 language options.
Daily Dose of Language
If you want to learn a language but don’t want to put much time into it each day, the Daily Dose of Language app might be your soul mate.
It aims to deliver language lessons in as little as a minute a day. Lessons focus on vocabulary, phrases, slang and culture.
Plus, Daily Dose of Language is an Innovative Language product. The paid premium version gives you access to full Daily Dose lessons and membership to the affiliated Pod101/Class101 website, like RussianPod101, ChinesePod101, SpanishPod101 and many other programs. These memberships come with podcast and video lessons, grammar info, transcripts and more.
The Daily Dose of Language offers 12 languages with many more in the works.
Rosetta Stone
If you’re interested in language learning software and haven’t heard of Rosetta Stone, chances are that you’ve been living under a rock (quite ironically).
Rosetta Stone is a big name in language learning, and its app lives up to its reputation. The program uses practical scenarios to help teach you usable language skills.
The app doesn’t require a huge time commitment (just a few minutes a day), but there are plenty of language learning options to pack into those minutes.
Plus, speech recognition technology aims to help you improve your accent. A lot of materials can even be downloaded so that you can use them without burning through data.
The Rosetta Stone app offers 24 language options.
TripLingo
TripLingo is designed with travelers in mind, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great tool for language students!
In fact, TripLingo’s focus is primarily on useful phrases, so if you’re interested in travel, it might be the crash course you need to pique your interest in additional language study. It features thousands of phrases (including slang), a translator, audio lessons, flashcards and more.
The iOS version seems more stable than the Android app, which, according to many recent reviews, crashes often.
TripLingo offers 13 languages.
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