I use apps occasionally. Completed Spanish, Greek and Arabic on Duolingo and work on a couple of other languages there. Arabic was really a joke. I got nothing out of it. Spanish and Greek were ok but nothing stuck. So, I use it just to kill some dead time. I’m also using or have used Memrise, Drops, Busuu and LingQ. I actually quite like Memrise and LingQ because they also offer stuff beyond beginner level. Drops is pretty but it’s not accessible for people with visual impairments and also not really helpful for languages with declensions and conjugations. Only learning words without grammar just doesn’t work for me. Also, they don’t really have culture specific vocabulary (only a bit for indigenous languages like Ainu, which is of course great, that they feature it). I didn’t like for instance, that I had to learn words like bacon and hamburger, Wales and Scotland for Arabic when the names of Arab countries and Arab food would have been more useful in the beginning.
All in all I’m not into gamification and prefer when there’s high quality and also advanced content. And I prefer when I can work on my computer. I don’t like when apps only have a mobile phone version like Drops.
It offers 163 languages and dialects. But in some languages they don’t have the amount of vocabulary needed to acquire A1 fluency. It depends on the language. Macedonian has A2 for example.
Mondly has a fair number, and I have only used the free version, but for the languages I tried it in (Greek, Hebrew, Korean and Polish) it is pretty clear that the lessons were developed for some other language and then then the sentences were individually translated without regard to the lesson context. which leads to some funny results.
Indeed, Suzanne. Mondly was developed in Israel, and it’s quite limited for us Hyperpolyglots in the sense of vocabulary and grammar. Bluebird in that sense has the same limitation.
They are two examples of the same interactive, addictive and game-oriented approach to learning. Both apps are good, but the difference between free and paid versions are huge.
I think apps are good as an introduction to a language, to get the basics or learn a new alphabet more easily, but I tend not to use apps beyond that point. Memrise works good for me. I didn’t like Duolingo, unfortunately.
Hi,
Does anyone know a good app that works without subscription? One that you can basically buy once, like a photo app for example, instead of having to pay a monthly or annual fee. I realise good ones can never come for free, but I’d rather pay for it once and be done with it.
Well, Duolingo is nice to use but sometimes the sentences are a bit weird and sometimes will carry on to your daily conversation. I would use it as a helping app but I would use resources such as Lingodeer or Pimsleur
I see apps as one of various tools - but not my main resource - to explore/revise/review/reinforce bits of the language at the early stages, not so much if you get to intermediate level. LingoDeer is the app I like most so far (for Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Japanese).
I also very much welcome apps for lesser known, less taught and minority languages for which there are few resources, so as to reach a wider audience and keep the language going.
Agreed. I think once you get to an intermediate stage, native content is what you really want. I’ve been really into Language Learning with Netflix and also Language Learning with YouTube. Both are not really apps but Chrome Browser Plug-ins.
I’ve just recently started working with Learning Languages with Netflix this year, and while I have found ways to really make it work for me, I don’t think I could recommend it to anyone at the beginner level. Maybe it’s better with some languages than others, but the dictionary for individual words (at least in Japanese) is atrocious, and the ruby text often doesn’t match what’s actually said.
I do really love being able to print out an entire script, and easily listening to single lines over and over as much as I like is definitely worth using it! I didn’t know about LLw/YouTube. Is it as convenient?
I do not rely on apps usually. For me, I prefer the old school method of using textbooks. In addition to that, I will check out language channels on YouTube and also talk to native speakers and consume content in my target language.
The only apps that I will use for language learning are
1.podcast apps where I can listen to different content in my target language spoken by native speakers
2. Language exchange apps where I can talk to native speakers of my target language to improve both my speaking and listening skills, as well as to improve on my accent
Yes, the same company makes YouTube for Language Learning and it’s pretty much the same thing as Netflix for Language Learning but for YouTube.
It all really depends on the content. YouTube for language learning has some great beginner content. I’ve been at Japanese for about a year now and still love watching Benjiro’s recorded italki conversation lessons using YouTube for Language Learning.
If you turn on the auto-generated Japanese and add machine translations, it’s pretty good. There’s so much free content available on YouTube, you can just go crazy with this plug-in.
well i asked you because as a certified hyper-polyglot, you could give a better review about each app than a simple mortal dude like me could 