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Find the perfect language app for you
Ready to learn a second (or third!) language? These apps can teach you in just minutes a day. Here’s how to find one that speaks to you:
If you: learn best by playing
Duolingo has led the language-learning field for years with its breezy, gamified lessons. If you want to speak it, Duolingo probably offers it: the app teaches more than 30 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and High Valyrian.
If you: want to have conversations fast
Through lessons grounded in real-life dialogue, Babbel focuses on getting you up to speed pronto. The app offers a towering list of languages – try a classic Romance language, go Nordic with Swedish or Norwegian or give Turkish, Russian or Indonesian a whirl.
If you: want a tried-and-tested approach
Rosetta Stone has been using the immersion approach to language learning since 1992. The app shows pictures in context, with no translation (or verb conjugation), to help you speak and write. No lengthy vocab lists to memorise here. Instead you’ll see someone enjoying a croissant to learn that the French word for “to eat” is manger.
If you: have only 5 minutes a day
Every lesson in Drops is a lightning-fast game of wordplay that takes just five minutes. Start by learning new words by theme (food, people, relationships), then move on to advanced topics such as politics and society. When your five minutes are up, see the number of words you’ve mastered, plus other stats.
If you: want to work with native speakers
To speak as fluently as a local, check out Busuu. Each lesson introduces a range of mini-games and exercises, after which you can share recordings of yourself to get feedback from native speakers in the Busuu user community.
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If you: learn visually
Cofounded by a memory master and a neuroscientist, Memrise uses “spaced repetition” to ramp up your vocab. Cool trick: point your device’s camera at a hairbrush, for instance, and the app will display and speak the word in the language you’re learning.
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If you: follow the scientific method
Developed by a former particle physicist, Lingvist uses big data and artificial intelligence to help you master vocab fast. The 5,000 words in each course, for example, were selected by analysing the most common terms in news articles and books. Any words you miss are strategically repeated until you’ve learned them.
If you: need to order a coffee right now
iTranslate Converse won’t necessarily teach you a language, but it’ll make you instantly conversant. The app translates live conversations on the go, in real time, which means you can use it when you need to find a train, order a coffee or locate a bathroom. The app understands more than 35 languages and dialects, including Arabic, Hindi and Slovak.