English Great free language learning app

[sevvy]

Hello there! I've been using this application personally and I find it very useful. It's called Duolingo and it's completely free. It helps you learn language by helping you learn vocabulary and pronunciation. This is a fantastic approach in my opinion -- as opposed to teaching grammar. You eventually learn the grammar through the software by exposure.

I've been using it to learn Spanish personally, but it's compatible with many other languages as well. I figure this could be something students can benefit from as well. Visually, the app seems more geared towards more mature students, but I also have a six-year-old nephew who uses the app to learn French. Perhaps, you just want to learn a language for yourself? Anyway, I highly recommend Duolingo!

 

[Susie]

I have used Duolingo in the past and really enjoyed it. I think it's an excellent program for adult learners. I tried to get my kids involved in using it but they didn't really enjoy it. An app that they have both really liked is "Mind Snacks". It's an app that uses games to teach the basic of vocabulary. It's fun for me to play along with them as well and it gives me some extra practice with the basics.

 

[gsltw]

I've been learning languages for a long time now (my love of languages was sparked all the way back in primary school! Thanks Mrs Martin!) and I have to agree with Susie. While Duolingo is a great tool, I don't think it has wide appeal to younger learners and, dare I say it, to the students who are just learning a language for school. The focus on translation-type exercises (Duolingo's raison d'être) makes for a less-than-exciting experience (I say this as someone about to begin a Masters degree in translation, so perhaps this has nothing to do with Duolingo).

That said, Duolingo does a lot of things right as far as gamifying language learning goes. You can level up, buy "upgrades" with your points, compare scores with your friends, unlock new levels and so on. It's just unfortunate that the platform is a little too rigid in its focus on translation exercises, because I don't know of any other platforms really going hard on the gamification angle like they are.

 

[briannagodess]

Aw, unfortunately Duolingo has not yet finished the course for Korean yet. I'm using other apps to learn Korean right now. I do think Duolingo is one of the best apps out there for learning about languages. It offers courses for a lot of languages and mind you, it takes them some time to develop those courses. So it means that they dedicate time and effort just to give people free language courses. And in my mind, that's such a great thing to do for strangers like us. I'm waiting for the day that the Korean language course will be up and running.

 

[remnant]

I have read about Duolingo and even bookmarked it but never thought it was such an important resource. I have also had the opportunity to read reviews of other apps like Busuu. I have always wondered whether there apps are interactive when one is learning. Is one able to use videos and audio files? What about real life simulation? These are crucial to enable the learner in developing the right accent and language versatility.