For those who like to learn foreign languages, the Internet has made life much easier. A huge amount of content, both paid and free, allows you to master any language in the shortest possible time. In this case, there is not even a need to leave the house.
Pay special attention to dedicated web applications. Let’s consider the most popular ones.
Duolingo
Duolingo, a popular language learning app, comes first. Despite the fact that the program is completely free to use, the quality of the content is at a very high level (at least for novice language enthusiasts). With Duolingo, memorizing new words and phrases never gets bored. It’s all about the simple, but effective, game elements that the application is diluted with. There is also an element of competition. The program shows the user’s rating, which is calculated depending on how much time and effort he invests in the passage of a particular language course. The ratings are compared in a special table.
Lovely hand-drawn characters watch the user’s progress and motivate him to keep going despite the setbacks. The user can choose a suitable lesson plan for himself – the daily rate of lessons. Duolingo makes periodic reminders when a user has forgotten about a class. You can learn languages right on the Duolingo website, in a simple Windows 10 app, or in a smartphone app. More than 100 million users have already registered with Duolingo. The service offers over 80 courses. However, you do not need to know English to use the application.
Memrise
Memrise is a good alternative to Duolingo. The web application allows you to practice the vocabulary of the desired foreign language. The number of courses is huge – there are even lessons dedicated to artificial languages such as Esperanto. Memrise offers traditional vocabulary courses from popular textbooks, collections of the most frequently used words, word lists for quick mastery of a particular fiction book, and even lists of obscene phrases (a must for someone who wants to become a real foreign language expert).
Memrise uses a spaced repetition approach to memorize material. At the same time, memes and game elements are involved so that the educational process does not bother the user. The application shows funny associations with the studied words, thanks to which they become very quickly fixed in memory. At the same time, a huge part of the content on Memrise is created by the users themselves. Everyone who wishes can have a hand in improving the project. Creating and editing memes (virtual cards with the pronunciation of words or phrases) allows you to increase your rating and become an Overlord (the highest step in the hierarchy of Memrise users). Like Duolingo, Memrise shows a user’s personal success and motivates them to move on.
LinguaLift
This application for smartphones on Android or iOS is suitable for those who want to study a foreign language as seriously as possible. The application is paid (subscription), but the user gets in return a personal language program (the so-called “path to fluency”) and support from tutors. The program is built on the basis of the user’s preferences, habits, daily routine. Under the guidance of a professional teacher, mastering a new language is much easier and faster than with independent studies.
LinguaLift teachers will help the user if he is confused in grammar. They can also recommend helpful resources for additional workload. That is, the main advantage of the application over Duolingo and Memrise is the ability to interact with real people with experience who are always ready to help. The list of courses is not that long, but these are complex languages that are difficult to learn on your own: Japanese, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Chinese (some of the courses are still in development).
HelloTalk
The application is designed for real-time communication. HelloTalk allows you to quickly find people to practice speaking with with just a few clicks. Users can communicate with native speakers of the target language via text or voice messages in a chat that is not much different from the popular Viber application. HelloTalk is an effective alternative to sites like Interpals.
The main advantage of HelloTalk is that it automatically finds suitable candidates for language practice. In real life, it is very rare to meet a native speaker of the target foreign language, who is studying your native language, and also get some advice from him. But with HelloTalk, it’s pretty easy to do this. The platform already supports about 150 languages, and the number of users is more than 30 million!
Busuu
Another web application that allows you to practice foreign languages (12 are available in total, including Russian). Limited functionality can be used for free, and after subscribing, many additional options open up.
Language learning in Busuu traditionally begins with mastering individual words and dialogues. Then a gradual deepening into grammar begins. All phrases are voiced, which greatly simplifies their development. A special feature of Busuu is that any user can involve native speakers in their learning process. They can help with advice, correct texts or mistakes in pronunciation. The desktop version has a chat where you can chat with native speakers in real time. There is also a competitive aspect – for their successes, the user receives special points, and his rating in the system grows.
Forvo
Forvo is a rather modest website with limited functionality. However, for the language enthusiast, this is a super useful resource. Forvo lets you know how a word is pronounced in the target language. If the desired word (phrase) is not in the system, you can create a request and over time other users, native speakers of this language, will provide their own pronunciation.
High-frequency words can have a dozen or more pronunciations. In this case, the approximate place of residence of the user who added his own pronunciation is indicated. This allows you to find out with what accents people in a particular part of the world are speaking. Anyone can help the community themselves. After creating an account, you can speak words in your native language in Forvo.
