5 Best Language Learning Tools
Speaking a local language, or at least knowing basic words and phrases can make all the difference during your travels.
Whether or not you’re in a country where English is a first language, you’ll find locals will respond better if you speak to them in their native tongue. If you want to learn phrases other than “where is the nearest bank?” and “Thank you,” any of these five outstanding mobile apps (which may soon be available for AppleWatch) and websites will be vital.
Duolingo
A user-friendly website that teaches users an assortment of languages through simple drills. These exercises include a mixture of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The website also comes with an “immersion” section that posts real-world articles for users to practice techniques they have learned. There are social aspects of the app that allow you to view your friends’ progress and vice versa. The website currently offers lessons in 10 of the more popular languages like Spanish, French, and German as well as Danish, Irish, Dutch, and a handful of other languages.
Busuu
With an international community of over 40 million registered native speakers, this app relies primarily on its customers to help teach each other. Beginners start their lessons by using flash cards while advanced speakers are involved in writing and answering questions to be reviewed by fellow native speakers. Like many language learning based apps there is an abundance of languages provided. If users wish to apply grammar-focused lessons they will need to purchase the paid membership.
Foreign Services Institute
This high quality website designed by professional linguists from the U.S. government aims to guarantee fluency. The lessons are based on grammar and repetition. As many other language based websites this one offers the more popular languages as well as some of the lesser studied languages like Igbo, Serbo-Croatian, and plenty more.
Memerise
As the name suggests, this app teaches users how to speak Spanish by having them memorize different words. This app includes a multitude of different learning modules depending on the proficiency of each user. There is also a “250 most commonly used Spanish words” category that allows users to learn Spanish vocabulary by frequency. Each lesson consists of 15 words for users to learn.
Rosetta Stone
One of the most famous language learning tools, Rosetta Stone uses a very different learning style compared to the rest on this list. Instead of learning a specific language through English, for example you’ll learn how to speak Spanish through Spanish. All of the words, phrases, and audios are in Spanish, giving you the full Spanish immersion experience. In addition there is also a platform where you can schedule live tutor lessons with a native speaker.
About The Author:
Hobbs Karg, a tech writer in Fueled.
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