Useful Apps for Learning English
Mark Ley
A look at some popular apps that can help you learn or improve your English skills, including Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Busuu, Drops, Memrise and Hello Talk.
Language apps - a convenient tool for anyone looking to learn or improve their English skills.
Here are a few which you might find useful. Some are free, others are not.
No personal recommendations here, by the way- what suits one person may not suit another, so try for yourself and see what works best for you!
And always beware of any company or product that promises fast, easy results for little effort. Learning a language is never that easy and you may well end up disappointed.
Apps like these should be used as part of your language-learning programme, not as a substitute.
1. Duolingo
This free app offers a game-style approach to learning. It claims to have "fun, bite-sized lessons, colourful stepping stones and cute iconography".
2. Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone app aims to teach you a language 'the way you first learnt' with a fully immersive experience entirely in English. The app is especially effective with its voice recognition feature and frequently encourages you to speak the language.
3. Busuu
This one makes innovative use of AI, and its creators constantly research its effectiveness. This feedback is then used for improvements. One 2016 study found that 22 hours of using Busuu is equivalent to one term of language learning at a college or university. Does that sound too good to be true? Make your own mind up!
4. Drops: Learn English
Drops: Learn English claims it can help you improve your English in just five minutes every day! So it could be great for those who want to gain more vocabulary but don't have much spare time.
5. Memrise
Memrise started out as an online flashcard database and has rapidly evolved into something much more. With the help of video and simplified vocabulary lists, it aims to build up your English vocabulary. But don't count on it for grammar work.
6. Hello Talk
This language exchange app connects users with native English speakers around the world so that you can learn from them at the same time they learn from you. Students often complain that they never get to talk to native speakers so this could be the answer!