Are you about to learn a new language? Or are you looking to improve your skills in a language you know? No matter what your current knowledge of a language is, your end goal will always be to learn to speak the language properly.
Learning a language needs motivation, dedication, and a way to learn. Right now, phone apps are among some of the best ways to learn a new language.
Read on to find out the things that make a good language-learning app and our picks for the best ones.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Language Learning App
Define Your Goals and Time Commitment
App’s Interface & Learning Style
5 Best Language Learning Apps for 2024
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Language Learning App
While there are a lot of apps on iOS and Android that can aid you in learning a new language, not all of them are worth your time. So, choosing a good app for your language learning needs is crucial. Here are some of the factors you should consider when choosing a language-learning app.
Define Your Goals and Time Commitment
When choosing a language learning app, it’s important to know what your end goals are. If you’re looking to fully learn a language, you will be choosing a learning approach that provides in-depth learning. However, if you’re looking just to learn a language at a conversational level, you might want to go for a gamified app that offers simple and easy learning.
While you can opt to spend hours every day learning a new language, it simply isn’t practical for everyone. So, look for an app that offers flexibility in learning.
App Compatibility
It’s important to consider if the language learning app you choose is even compatible with your device. Most language learning services are already available on major platforms like iOS and Android. Desktop users can also get access to a web app, so make sure your selected app is available on the devices you own.
Not just that, most language learning apps require an internet connection to stay up to date on their courses as well as to stream learning material.
So, we recommend getting a fast internet connection that won’t hinder your learning experience. Subscribing to any of the Xfinity Internet plans would work since they offer great internet speeds and interrupted connectivity.
Analyze the App’s Features
This is arguably the most important aspect of a language learning application. Look for the following aspects in the app:
- Core Lessons:Check for the quality of the lessons for the language. Analyze to see if the app offers proper lessons that cover the essentials and whether they are engaging, structured, and created to help you make smooth progress.
- Interactivity:If the lessons aren’t interactive, it’s natural that you’re going to be less interested in taking them. Look for apps that allow you to practice speaking, listening, writing, and reading.
- Grammar & Vocabulary: It’s crucial to learn the grammar and vocabulary of a language. Otherwise, you’re just going to end up making a senseless word soup. Some apps offer a repetition system that helps you maintain your vocabulary. Others can explain the grammar rules.
App’s Interface & Learning Style
Everyone has their way of learning something. A lot of us are visual learners, while some like to learn using audio, and others might only learn with hands-on experience. No matter what your learning style is, check to see if your preferred app supports your way of learning.
Gamified learning is a great way to progress. This is backed by research that says that gamification attracts attention and increases motivation and engagement.
Some apps like Duolingo are famous for their approach towards learning, by offering game-like features that can make language learning fun and somewhat addictive.
This method of learning allows you to progress toward your next goal by earning points, going through levels, and unlocking new content as you complete a lesson or an exercise. This can bring in a huge sense of achievement, which can further motivate you to learn.
But, without further ado, let’s talk about our picks for some of the best language learning apps for 2024.
5 Best Language Learning Apps for 2024
While keeping the factors we discussed above in mind, we tested out a lot of language-learning apps to cherry-pick some of the top language-learning programs. Let’s take a look.
FluentU
| Pros | Cons |
| Short Clips That Make Learning Engaging | User Interface Isn’t the Best |
| Great for Visual Learners | Lacks Verbal Practice Features |
| Short and Sweet Lessons |
With FluentU, it’s clear from the start that it’s made for people who are visual learners.
The main framework of the app is created around video content. FluentU takes videos from YouTube, as well as other sources, and integrates them into their platform while including subtitles, quizzes, and explanations.
Some of the main languages in focus include Spanish, Italian, and German.
When you sign up, you can choose your current level in the language. After choosing whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or expert in the language, based on your knowledge, you will be presented with a course agenda, which consists of various learning modules.
Each of these modules will cover a different aspect of a language, including grammar, topics, and other thematic concepts.
Duolingo
| Pros | Cons |
| Free, with some limitations | Inconsistent Material Quality |
| No Limit on Languages | Grammar Lessons Aren’t Prominent |
| Low Subscription Price |
Duolingo is a brilliant example of gamified learning design. Not just that, the basic app is entirely free to use with a low number of ads.
Even when compared to some of the paid apps for language learning, Duolingo still ranks above some of them and earns a perfect score. The app offers around 37 language courses, including some fun fictional languages like High Valyrian and Klingon.
However, the real cream of the crop is languages like Spanish, German, and French.
When you choose a language to learn, you often start in chronological order, although you can go back and repeat a lesson that you completed. Each module in a language has multiple levels. After completing each level, you can move on to the next one. If you finish all levels in a module, you earn a gold coin.
The app also has a streak system that tries to keep you hooked by giving you constant reminders and adding more to the streak if you keep it going.
Babbel
| Pros | Cons |
| User-friendly and Minimal Layout | Requires Payment for Full Courses |
| Paid Option for Detailed Classes | Less Amount of Languages |
| In-Depth Lessons |
Babbel is a great app for learning a language since it offers a traditional school-like curriculum.
The minimal interface of the app prevents the new language from being overwhelming to learn for new users, without making it too boring. Each lesson for a language guides you through translations that include variations of the phrase or word, whether it’s informal or formal which is important to learn in many languages.
You can also see some of the new words you learn in conversations. You can choose to listen to them, repeat phrases, and learn about the verb groups. The language lessons are usually completed in 20-minute bursts, which is easy to do, whether you’re commuting, having a lunch break, or going to bed.
Currently, Babbel has 14 languages to choose from and is free to sign up for. The first lesson of each course is free. After that, you can get a monthly subscription or a one-time payment that gets you lifetime access.
Memrise
| Pros | Cons |
| Offers 22 Languages | Phrases Are Taught in Isolation |
| Based on Science | Lack of Grammar Explanation |
| Customized Learning |
While Memrise isn’t an app I recommend using if you want to learn the ins and outs of a language, it’s a great app for learning to speak a language at a conversational level.
The app uses short videos to demonstrate how locals express themselves using different phrases during conversation. Memrise also allows you to spot patterns in a language to easily improve your skills.
If you’re revising a language you already are familiar with, you have the option to skip the phrases you know. The app has lessons in 23 languages currently. Some of the lessons are available for free, but you’re going to need a monthly subscription or one-time payment for lifetime access.
Mondly
| Pros | Cons |
| Several Free Features | Website Is a Little Confusing to Navigate |
| More Than 41 Languages | |
| AR/VR Integration |
Mondly is a great language tutor software to use if you’re looking to learn accurate pronunciation of words.
The app takes a different approach to learning a new language. From the start, the lessons in the app focus on multiple phrases rather than simple words. This allows you to have the practical tools needed to have conversations quickly rather than learning a bunch of new words.
Pronunciation is something that a lot of apps don’t have proper focus on. However, Mondly fixes this by allowing you to have two ways to practice pronunciation. You can hear native speakers talk in the app or talk to an AI chatbot, which can use speech recognition to assess and coach you.
Mondly does have a paid subscription that gives you access to lessons for more than 33 languages. However, there is also a free tier that gets you some free lessons for a trial.
Choosing the right language learning app can make a huge difference when looking to achieve your goals in a satisfactory manner. Keeping this in mind, make sure you explore different apps to see which ones suit your needs.
