The world is getting globalised at a pace faster than we ever imagined.Therefore, it is also becoming increasingly essential as well as beneficial, for individuals to work on their interpersonal and communication skills to keep moving further on the ladder of success. It not only provides a competitive edge in the corporate world but also helps an individual enhance as a person. Employers now-a-days are increasingly seeking people who are well versed with different foreign languages so as to maintain their position in the expanding global market scenario. It is also not a hidden fact that bilinguals are always applauded for their qualities that they build in while learning a new language. People who are capable of speaking more than one language often possess better critical thinking, concentration and listening skills which in turn fuels up the overall potential and confidence of the individual.
Now, the point to be emphasised the most is that in these changing times, where everyone is constantly brushing themselves up to win over the race to get the perfect job, and a perfect life, people barely are left with the time to actually go and attend realtime classes. Moreover, the time and cost involved in travelling is another concern which most people struggle with while taking such decisions.
But the best solution is now just a click away!
There are many apps out there which are specially designed to assist people in this journey of learning new skills and languages. How better can it get? The opportunity to learn a new language while sitting comfortably at a couch and the advantage of learning it at one’s own pace with numerous tests available!
The Rosetta Stone app has become one of the oldest and the most popular source amongst people for learning and speaking new languages.
Learning method : Its teaching approach is simple yet effective in making the learning process smooth and easy for the users. It believes in gradually introducing new words, sights and concepts to the learners so that they not only get to know about the language, but are also able to memorize it simultaneously. This approach is called “Dynamic Immersion”.
Languages offered : Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), French, Italian, German, English (American), English (British), Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Dutch, Filipino (Tagalog), Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Benefit: The Rosetta Stone App gives users the benefit to look up to the daily progress report which shows results of tests regarding vocabulary, pronunciations and sentence formations. It is an excellent option if someone is serious about learning a new language.
2) Babbel
Babbel is also one of the best apps which a large number of people across the world use for learning language online.
Learning method : It follows a systematic approach towards creating lessons which engage you in real life dialogues. It fuels on the belief that to start learning a certain language, the best way is to regularly greet and start conversing in the same as it actively puts the person in a habit to learn the vocabulary and correct accent altogether.
Languages offered : Currently, Babbel offers around fourteen languages namely -Dutch, Danish, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish and Turkish.
Benefit : The speech recognition feature of this app immensely helps and makes sure that your pronunciation is in accordance with the way the natives speak the language. The strategies it uses to provide the user the best learning experience providing more than 10000 learning hours altogether and is one of the best apps to use for learning a new language.
3) Drops app
The Drops app is a fun and attractive app which is known for its unique features which aims to transform the learner into a language lover.
Learning method : It assists in the learning process by making available engaging games with mnemonic images thereby giving a very appealing experience to the users.It is more of a visual treat to use this app since it uses pictures for communicating words.
Languages offered: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, plenty of exotic ones are available too: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, Danish, Hungarian, Hindi, Tagalog or Icelandic amongst the many others.
Benefit : It is a widely recommended app because of its certain features which mark it apart from the crowd like that of the Travel Talk feature. This feature gets automatically enabled as soon as the user enters a new country and helps him learn some relevant phrases of that place which would make the journey easier.
4) Duolingo
Duoloingo is another very popular app amongst the users for learning new languages. It is curated by some of the best language experts, and is an absolutely free app.
Learning method : it assists the learners at every stage through easy and fun lessons which include reading, speaking and listening modules. These help the user in improving the vocabulary and pronunciation skills.
Languages offered : Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Esperanto, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Hebrew, Welsh, Arabic, Latin, Hawaiian, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, English, and even High Valyrian – all for free!
Benefit : Since it is a product of collaboration of some talented experts and introduced only after extensive scientific study, Duolingo is proven to stimulate long term language retention powers.
5) Memrise
The Memrise app has seen consistent growth in its customer base and has currently more than 40 million users who are using it to get a command on a language of their preference.
Learning method: known for using spaced repetitions of flashcards which helps in levelling up the rate of learning. (Flashcards have been increasingly used to provide an aid to memory and are basically cards bearing certain information in the form of words, numbers or letters, usually they have a question on one side and the answer on the other which makes it a fun learning process for the customer ).
Languages offered: around 16 languages which are- English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese (Kanji), Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Russian, Mexican Spanish, Arabic, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish, Danish, Icelandic, Slovenian or Mongolian for free!
Benefit: with a user friendly interface and gives an opportunity to hear the natives talk in their native language, which gives somewhat a real essence to the whole learning process.
6) Bussu
Bussu is another well-known app which was rated by Google as the “best app of 2015” and also a “must have app” for learning new languages.
Learning method : It offers continuous guidance of fluent language speakers to whom one can submit his practise exercises to hone his skills and get a personalised experience. People can get fluent in speaking a foreign language with the various fun quizzes, tests, and practise sessions which are available here.
Languages offered: twelve languages namely- Spanish, English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Russian or Turkish.
Benefit– The most fascinating feature about this app is that the users can learn to speak the whole language in an offline mode! Yes, there is no internet connection required !
With the advancing technology and the evolution of the smartphones, people can now overcome the barriers of time constraints as well as the affordability issues. When the learning process is combined with multimedia tools like that of images, videos and sound facilities, the journey to success itself becomes very effortlessly appealing.
What are you waiting for now? Head towards any of the above listed apps to get one of the most versatile and personalized experiences in learning a new language. Start from scratch, experience real life narratives, and learn at your own pace!
