Best language learning apps in 2023

What are the best and/or cheapest language-learning apps?

Duolingo is a given, It’s completely free, and it makes a game out of language learning. Lessons are broken up into sections (Basics, Phrases, Basics 2, etc), and the idea is to set a goal and earn continuous streaks for practicing every day. Lots of fun.

Busuu is another, and is based on learning any language in “10 minutes a day”.

Memrise follows the same logic of making learning into a game and even allows you to compete with friends. The more you learn, the more seeds you plant in your “garden of memory”.

There are also apps for specific languages MindSnacks, another learn-by-playing system, offers an app for each other their available languages.

If you’re studying Japanese, there’s this one that offers lessons in vocab, grammar and uses a Quiz-style learning method.

Want to learn Romanian? That one’s harder to find resources for, but I use two apps: this and this.

Generally, just searching the language you’d like to learn in the app store will bring up lots of options, the reviews and screenshots are usually enough to help you figure out which option would work best for you.

Best of luck in your language-learning endeavors!

In your opinion, which of these language apps like Babbel, Busuu, and Rosetta Stone is the best to use for learning a new language?

I can provide some general information on some of the popular language-learning apps.

Babbel, Busuu, Duolingo, Mondly, Rosetta Stone, and Memrise are among the most popular language-learning apps available, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Some apps, like Babbel and Busuu, offer a more structured approach to language learning, with courses designed around specific topics and grammar concepts.

Duolingo and Mondly, on the other hand, offer a more gamified approach, with a focus on making learning fun and engaging.

Rosetta Stone is a more traditional language learning program, with a focus on immersive learning through pictures and audio. Memrise offers a unique approach, with a focus on using mnemonics and memory techniques to help users learn vocabulary more quickly.

list of the language of learning apps

1.  Babbel
2.  Busuu
3. Rosetta Stone
4. Duolingo
5. Mondly
6. Pimsleur
7. LingoDeer
8. TripLingo
9.  Lirica
10. Memrise
11. MosaLingua
12. Drops
13. Mindsnacks
14. LinguaLift
15.  HelloTalk

is Duolingo useful for beginners?

Duolingo by itself is not sufficient. It does not teach you grammar rules (you learn by examples), it does not provide you with speaking and writing practices (but rather translation), it has some weird expressions that are only used in Spain… the list goes on.

Here is how Duolingo helps me to learn Spanish:

Low learning inertia. It requires little effort to start. Never gathered enough willpower to sign up for a language class or to start on a grammar book? For Duolingo, just download the app and it pretty much guides you through the whole course. And each lesson or “bubble” takes only several minutes to pass.

Good range of vocabulary. You will probably not speak fluent Spanish just with Duolingo, but you can definitely survive. Order food, ask for directions, and make basic conversations. Duolingo can help you reach there.

Less scary grammar. It does not give you a long list of rules and exceptions. You will just learn the most commonly used words and phrases (repeatedly) so you gradually get a good feeling of how it works. (This can be frustrating as well, especially the more complicated tenses towards the end. But again, Duolingo cannot substitute a proper grammar book.)

It is encouraging. The game-like feature of Duolingo keeps you going. Every time you complete a level of lessons, you unlock higher levels (and that little owl will pop out and say “Congrats!”) If you leave your app untouched for a few days, you lose the “power bar” of your lessons. It even keeps track of how active/ lazy you have been over time.

Is Rosetta Stone good for beginners?

Rosetta Stone is actually a very good beginner tool for Chinese.

The program is also very vocabulary based and not so much on teaching you sentence patterns, grammar, or writing (so you learn things like: "I like a door", "I like a lamp", "I read books", "The man eats an apple", but nothing extremely more complicated than that).

 It's great for giving a good base vocabulary and basic sentence patterns. Once you get comfortable with that, then you'll need to start learning characters and more complicated sentence structures, so I would just use it as a supplement.

Also - using Rosetta Stone is super easy (almost mindlessly easy), and it's great for when you want to study but aren't really into it - it's honestly quite fun.

How good is Rosetta Stone for learning Mandarin? Are there better systems?

@joshsprague

 I think it tries to get your brain to start thinking the other language's words intuitively when you see the things they represent.

If you went all the way through the Rosetta program, you would probably have a great foundation for jumping into the native culture. However, something about Rosetta's method can make it challenging to keep going back to it day after day. The biggest hurdle in any self-taught language learning is going from beginner to intermediate content. I feel like Rosetta runs into this wall as well and in the end you need something else to drag you across that threshold.

With that said, language learning is really modular, and I've never found a single product that was the wholesale solution it advertised. Jumping into multiple books, CDs and real-life situations is all part of building an understanding of the new language. So, Rosetta might fit into your learning well, but I don't see it as the end-all solution.

What's a better language learning program for Mandarin and Cantonese: Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur?

 You start with simple phrases, of course, but it should be a real practice of communicating in this language. 

Rosetta Stone's method is based on flashcard quizzes. Pimsleur lessons offer long explanations of different phrases in your native language and then give you a chance to repeat these phrases. If you have to choose between these two, there is no question that Pimsleur is closer to real-life communication. However, to be effective, it has to be used together with real speaking practice.

Yes, both programs have a certain value to help you learn the very basic vocabulary in this language. But do they actually help you start communicating in it?

In my personal opinion, it is better to find learning materials that help you practice real-life communication. Try to use dialogues instead of one-word flashcards. Try to build your vocabulary by learning phrases, not words. And, even more importantly, try to start thinking in this language and practice making your own phrases in real conversations.