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I am going to share with you some free language learning resources which I found to be helpful and lesser known to the general public. I will exclude well known learning strategies such as Duolingo, Podcasts, YouTube channels and pirated material.
- Overview
- Duolingo
- Google Translate
- Memrise
- Busuu
- Rosetta Stone
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Below is a list of my favorite ways to learn languages from my phone, complete with pros and cons for each choice. Using an app to learn a language is super handy because you can follow lessons and check your progress anywhere, even if there are just a few minutes to spare.
My Review of Duolingo
Learning a new language with Duolingo has been a breeze. When I open the app, I simply choose the language I want to learn, and I'm all set to start the course. What's great is you don't need an account at first, although I do suggest creating one later to track progress.
This app begins by using text, pictures, and audio to help you learn a different language. The idea is to associate the sound of the translation with the visuals of the text and pictures, and then have you manually translate the audio back into your preferred language to help reinforce the new words.
Every section you complete moves you forward to more difficult tasks, to build on your vocabulary and sentence structure. You have the option of testing out of several sections at once if you’re familiar with the language, and Duolingo will adapt the questions based on how well you do.
Languages You Can Learn: Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, German, Hindi, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, English, Portuguese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Dutch, Greek, Polish, Swedish, Latin, Irish, Norwegian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Indonesian, Finnish, High Valyrian, Danish, Romanian, Czech, Hawaiian, Welsh, Zulu, Swahili, Hungarian, Scottish Gaelic, Haitian Creole, Esperanto, Klingon, Navajo, Yiddish
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How to Use Google Translate
Most of these apps teach you a language through exercises and progressive steps, while Google's simply tells you how to write and speak anything you run through it. Still, I think it's a great option for beginners.
I like to learn languages with Google Translate for two main reasons: its long list of supported languages, and the several language learning methods.
You can use it to translate text, handwriting, and your voice. This means you can enter text manually, draw the text, or speak it to convert it into the target language. You can even save your favorite translations to refer to them quickly whenever you like.
Google Translate may be different, but it's certainly a great tool if you're stuck on a specific word or phrase, or if you prefer to target your learning to particular phrases and sentences only. It can especially prove to be beneficial if you're speaking with someone that doesn't know your language
Another reason I think this app is a must-have if you're traveling is instant translations. Available for some languages, it's a type of augmented reality that uses your phone camera to translate, in real time, any text you point it at, like signs and menus. You definitely need to try it out!
My Review of Memrise
Memrise isn't as smooth as Duolingo or as easy to use for quick translations as Google Translate, but it is easy to work with, supports offline courses, and lets you learn a massive number of languages. You can start off simple or skip all the way through to more advanced lessons.
I find Memrise to be unique in how it teaches new words and phrases. They incorporate words into sentences alongside words that sound similar in your language, which makes it easier to remember. You might also come across multiple images with familiar objects overlaid with foreign words, helping you make stronger connections.
Another clever method Memrise uses is mixing up translations. Instead of learning words one by one, you learn a few new words together and then keep reviewing them in a different order. This helps ensure you really grasp the words before moving on to the next round of learning.
Languages You Can Learn: Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Yoruba
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Busuu's app is user-friendly and offers flexibility in how you interact with the courses. You get to pick where you'd like to begin in the course. Depending on the language, this might be beginner, elementary, intermediate, upper intermediate, or advanced courses.
The words and phrases you'll learn are especially helpful for beginners who might find themselves around people speaking a foreign language and need to learn words in real situations quickly.
The app teaches you vocabulary words and phrases, presenting them both on their own and within sentences. As you progress through the levels, it also evaluates your knowledge through quizzes to ensure you're learning effectively.
Unfortunately, Busuu doesn't support as many languages as some of these other apps, and you do need a user account to get in. Also, some quizzes and other features may require a premium account, but there are many, many words and quizzes that are absolutely free.
Languages You Can Learn: English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean
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Rosetta Stone is a professional-grade service for language learning, but they offer this free app meant specifically to help travelers learn basic words and phrases.
There are dozens of pictures tied to common phrases that are spoken aloud in the language you're wanting to learn, and you have to repeat the words back to practice your pronunciation. One thing I appreciate is that it can skip forward to any lesson or let me follow through from beginning to end.
There's also a phrasebook with basic words and words related to restaurants, hotels, and getting around—all very useful for someone traveling. If you want, you can purchase additional phrasebooks covering topics like shopping, colors, emergencies, and currency-related terms.
Languages You Can Learn: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, English (American or British), Filipino (Tagalog), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin American or Spain), Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese
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iOS
- Speechify. Speechify has a clean, easy-to-use interface and has received over 20 million downloads worldwide. It is one of the most used and well known text-to-speech apps available.
- Voice Aloud Reader. Voice Aloud Reader offers 40 different languages in a variety of natural voices. Due to its relative accuracy and speed, this text-to-speech app boasts an average rating of 4.5 stars from 6,500 reviews on the App store and 4.3 stars out of 122,000 reviews on Google play.
- Narrator’s Voice. Popular among content creators, Narrator’s Voice adds some fun to the language learning process by giving users more options of how they want to hear their texts, which is reflected in the app’s bright green-and-black theme.
- T2S. T2S may be less flashy than some of the other text-to-speech apps on this list, but its positive reviews show that it has a high level of functionality that outweighs its no-frills appearance.
Dec 22, 2020 · Learning a new language takes a huge investment of time, but it doesn't necessarily cost a lot of money. These are the best free apps for learning a language.
Feb 9, 2024 · This article is a comprehensive review of Language Transfer, the best free language learning app. The content highlights the unique features & benefits of this unique app, including its intuitive teaching approach, audio-based learning, and diverse language options.
Jul 2, 2022 · Using abbreviations can save reading time and get you replies ASAP. In business texting, it’s important not to use too many (or any) acronyms and abbreviations, as these are very often considered unprofessional and childish. That said, know when to use and not use a texting abbreviation.
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Dec 19, 2023 · What Is the Best Free Language Learning App? The best free app for learning a language is Duolingo, hands down. We recommend it enthusiastically, no matter your level or language goals, as it has...
