5 language learning apps to help you take over the world
These apps are specifically
designed to help you pick up the language of your choice, the way it suits you
If you are not careful
about your pronunciation, it's easy to tell someone in France that you are
pregnant instead of saying you are full. In Israel, you might ask someone to
buy their daughter instead of buying a slice of bread. Saying you are cold in German?
It sounds a lot like saying you are dead.
Living like a local is all
the rage for travellers, but speaking the local language is not always so easy.
But that's about to change. Thanks to a rise in Rosetta Stone-style mobile
apps, it's easier than ever to pick up a new language -or at least get a grasp
on the basics before your next trip. Here are the best ones to consider,
depending on your personal learning style and ongoing goals.
FOR SHORT ATTENTION SPANS: Drops
No reading. No typing.
Just five minutes a day.
That's how Drops promises
to get you to learn one of 19 languages. Lessons walk you through 120 word
buckets covering food, drinks, numbers, and hotel terms. Instead of showing you
flash cards with stock photos, the app focuses on clean illustrations.
The caveat: Drops places a
heavy emphasis on building vocabulary through nouns, which means you won't get
much in the way of grammar, usage, and conjugations.
FOR A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: Duolingo
While all of these apps are
free to download, Duolingo is the only one without a premium subscription
model, which means you are free to learn 23 languages at your own pace. It's
also holistic in its teaching style: You learn vocabulary, grammar, and usage
simultaneously.
The caveat: If learning to
speak is your priority, you will find the spelling exercises tedious.
TO SOUND LIKE A LOCAL: Busuu
Busuu offers the language
learning equivalent of pen pals -if you are studying French, you can have your
speaking exercises evaluated by Busuu students in France, so long as you return
the favour and grade someone else's homework in your native tongue.
The caveat: You have to go
for inapp purchases for most of the app's best features, which includes
unlimited exchanges with foreign students.
FOR A QUICK FIX: Memrise
Memrise shows a concern for
both fun and practical ity in picking up a language. A customisable format lets
you decide how many words you can absorb in a lesson. As you progress in your
learning, you earn points for correct answers, graduate through a silly rank
system, collect badges, and more.
The caveat: The app offers
little opportunity to practice your pronunciation, and it constantly nags you
to up grade to the paid `pro' version.
THE CLOSEST THING TO A CLASSROOM EDUCATION: Mondly
It's not beautifully
designed.
And it's not gamified. But
what Mondly lacks in charm, it makes up for in comprehensiveness and rigor.
Basic lessons walk you through the nuts and bolts of conversational language;
they get progressively difficult and more involved, spending roughly two hours
of instruction on each of 20 topics (animals, travel, shopping, for instance).
The caveat: Like some other
apps, Mondly keeps the majority of its lessons behind a paywall.
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