The best apps to learn languages
It’s not a secret that the comprehension and further application of new languages ensure both the professional and personal growth and, in many cases, enormous quantities of time and money are needed to achieve this goal. Technological developments in terms of mobile applications provided the public with a possible solution to this common modern issue.
Let’s review the top five options in the market.
5. MEMRISE
This app offers a limitless number of languages to learn –more than 150 of them- and many different types of learning methods, in which the native language mixes with the target language through pictures and images, so the fossilization of new idiomatic structures can be reached at a higher level. The approach is fun and contextualized, setting a perfect learning environment of reading, listening and vocabulary construction exercises. The premium version includes supplementary games and the offline version.
4. MINDSNACKS
Famous for its interactive platform, within a children version with 9 mini-games and a version with personalized learning algorithms to maximize memorization, retention and contextual usage. Ideal to study Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese and available in all sort of mobile platforms, Mindsnacks provides more than 50 lessons, 1000 words and a variety of online games, as well as a system to track the learning progress and to personalize the student’s experience.
3. BABBEL
Available on the web, iOS and Android, this app has a reasonable cost and provides 15-minute lessons, perfect for people with tight schedules and little time. Nevertheless, the free version of Babbel remains quite interesting, as it delivers state of the art voice recognition software to assess and improve pronunciation and fluency. Users can take courses in English, Italian, German, French and Portuguese, as well as 14 other languages like Polish and Dutch.
2. BUSUU
This social learning network allows the user to interact with native speakers of the target language and free or paid online audiovisual courses. The method implies 10-minute lessons a day and offers personalized courses in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, German, Chinese and many others. It has more than 40 million users and was designed under the MCER guidelines, a native speaker learning framework.
1. DUOLINGO
Being the most famous app in language learning, it allows its users to study grammar structures and vocabulary through interactive and dynamic online games, completing levels and losing lives. The app is completely free of charge and offers courses in English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and French, consisting of 10 to 20-minute lessons, per the student’s availability. Using Duolingo, you can even learn two languages at the same time.
LatinAmerican Post | Juan Felipe Guerrero C.
Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto
