I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on this topic. Not because I’ve learned several languages- I haven’t- but because I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to learn languages. My major in college was linguistics, which is basically the study of language, so I took a lot of classes (with some AWESOME teachers) where I learned the best ways to learn a language. One of the classes was even called “Second Language Acquisition (SLA).” In SLA our teacher listed some of his favorite online language learning programs; my list includes some of the ones he recommended along with a few that I’ve tried out over the years. Please, please, please, don’t expect to become an expert at a language just by using these websites/apps! Honestly, the absolute best way to learn a language is to go live where people speak that language (we linguists call that immersion).
1. Duolingo
One of my personal favorites, Duolingo allows you to “compete” against your friends and have fun learning a language are the same time. Some of the languages available include Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Danish, Russian, Esperanto, Hebrew, Vietnamese, and Italian! They’re even working on adding Klingon! Ha’DIbaH tuj!
Free
Here’s a link to the website:
There’s also an App: look it up in the App Store or Google Play
2. Tinycards
Tinycards is a cute app that offers flashcards to help you memorize, well, whatever! You can choose from flashcards sets they already have or you can make your own. They literally have thousands of decks with topics ranging from Chinese symbols to constellations.
Free
Download it in the App store! Sadly, it’s not available for Android yet :(.
3. Memrise
Is it Meme-rise? Or Mem-rise? I’ve heard it said both ways. However you pronounce it, it’s pretty great! Memrise is similar to Tinycards, but it’s been around for much longer. I’ve used it to practice the Koine Greek Alphabet (because one day, I’m gonna be a Bible Translator!), and also to work on memorizing the most common 5000 words in Spanish. Memrise doesn’t only offer language learning courses, though, they also offer topics like “Reading Notes on a Staff.”
Free
You can download the app or get it online.
4. Mango Languages
Mango is a language learning program available through libraries. When you get on the website or go to the app, it asks you to sign in through your library. You can pay for the program, though, if your library doesn’t offer it.
Free (if you are accessing it through your library)
Link: Mango
Also available as an app.
5. Quizlet
I’ve used Quizlet for several years now to help me memorize vocabulary for my Spanish classes. I love Quizlet because it not only allows you to create your own deck of vocabulary words and definitions, but you can also search for a course or subject that you’re taking and, chances are, someone may have already created cards for that subject. For example, I took two semesters of German, and we had to learn A LOT of vocabulary words. So, I searched for the German book we were using, Treffpunkt Deutsch, and several people had already made cards for the vocab words in that book! Also, you can find subjects other than language on Quizlet as well.
6. Lang-8
Lang-8 allows you to write “journals” in the language that you are learning and then have it checked by native speakers of that language. You can also help ESL learners out by checking their “journals” for any English errors. It’s awesome!
Free
There’s no app for this one, but you can find it online.
So, there’s my top 6 language apps/websites, but I’m always on the lookout for new ones, so what are your favorites??
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