Any of you use any apps for learning a language?

Liquid Plejades · Sep 22, 2020

Bonjour era,

I'm currently doing online French classes once a week during the evening. I'm on week two and can do basic things such as alphabets, greetings, introductions, letters, etc you know, the introductory stuff. With it being online and everyone having other commitments during the daytime it's hard to immerse yourself since you don't have students physically around you and such. None of my friends speak any French, so I can't converse with them. I want to really commit and focus on this for the next year at least and get decent at French. I think using an app is crucial, at least for me personally. I've used duolingo in the past but it didn't really click with me but that was honestly two years ago when I had initially thought about learning French, but right then I got a new job so I was focused on that and couldn't multitask.

Currently though, I am mostly home due to covid so I want to use this time for french

currently I am looking Babbel and Pimsleur, but open to any recommendations. The apps aren't cheap since they are around $15-$25 a month here in canada and their trials are pretty limited, at least from what I can see. Would appreciate any advice, even if it's an app I haven't heard about. I just discovered Project Voltaire which seems to be a very specialized French app but don't know much beyond that.

anyway, kindly give me your insights, and also feel free to share any pointers when it comes to learning a new language. Would be appreciated

SteveWinwood · Sep 22, 2020

duolingo is free!

i think it would be very useful in conjunction with an actual class because it is mostly helpful for vocab whereas you can learn actual grammer, tenses, genders whatever in the actual class

normally i would say its not great for learning a language completely but as a supplement it could work very well!

edit fuck i just reread the op and somehow missed the last sentence of the first paragraph, i swear i read everything! nevermind then lol

Liquid Plejades · Sep 22, 2020

SteveWinwood said:
duolingo is free!

i think it would be very useful in conjunction with an actual class because it is mostly helpful for vocab whereas you can learn actual grammer, tenses, genders whatever in the actual class

normally i would say its not great for learning a language completely but as a supplement it could work very well!

edit fuck i just reread the op and somehow missed the last sentence of the first paragraph, i swear i read everything! nevermind then lol

It's ok, I might try to again. There was something about the lesson plan and interface plus my new job stress that probably caused me to stop it.

Snake Eater · Sep 22, 2020

You can't beat Duolingo

Bradford · Sep 22, 2020

WaniKani is essential for Japanese.

Sunster · Sep 22, 2020

Duolingo need to stop being cowards and add Tagalog.

Vincent Alexander · Sep 22, 2020

Bradford said:
WaniKani is essential for Japanese.

I'll have to check this out. I regret that I took 3 years of Japanese in college then never kept up with it.

Dalek · Sep 22, 2020

What is Duolingo's IAP for? The last time I logged in it seems they give you a certain number of "misses" before you have to pay to continue.

Deleted member 12028 · Sep 22, 2020

Does anybody have that site of how the us govt taught languages? Seemed like an amazing resource, but lost the the link

Huncho_Houdini · Sep 22, 2020

Duolingo is good for only a very basic start. I've heard good things about Pimsleur. Assimil isn't an app but is a great program overall.

Princess Viola · Sep 22, 2020

Dalek said:
What is Duolingo's IAP for? The last time I logged in it seems they give you a certain number of "misses" before you have to pay to continue.

They actually got rid of that system quite a while back. Unless there's some other IAP features I've missed, the only paid content in Duolingo now is their premium Duolingo Plus option, which just gives you no-ads, offline lessons, progress quizzes, and let's you restore a streak once a month if you miss a day of lessons.

Jintor · Sep 22, 2020

Anki. Make your own flashcard. Apps are a supplement to my learning, not the driver.

CanUKlehead · Sep 23, 2020

Been using Duolingo, four sessions a day. I feel like it gives me a foundation for German like, doing so gives me confidence to jump into a proper class, as opposed to thinking I'll be fluent after using the app, you know? But hey, 538 day streak, wooooooo

coldzone24 · Sep 23, 2020

Jintor said:
Anki. Make your own flashcard. Apps are a supplement to my learning, not the driver.

This right here.

Using Anki has been more effective than my in-person classes I had been going to before coronavirus for learning Dutch.

moblin · Sep 23, 2020

Lingodeer was designed for a few big east Asian languages but they added a basic French course and it's a little bit more engaged than something like Duolingo. Also, free if you're into that.

Anki as mentioned is A+ for flash cards.

Beelinguapp is great at what it does.

Memrise is free and very popular but similar to Duolingo in its structure so ymmv.

Do not pay money for Drops. It's very slick but incredibly basic.

Sybil · Sep 23, 2020

There's also Mango Languages, which is pretty much nice organized flashcards. What I like about it is they have a "literal" slider which shows what the sentence literally means in the language (versus the implied meaning in English). I don't think it's free, but where I live public libraries will offer you membership if you have a library card.

I wish there were more language apps to assist in East Asian (and SEA) languages. Most of the mainstream apps are honestly garbage for them, no offense

elseanio · Sep 23, 2020

My Japanese apps:

WaniKani (flaming durtles)
Anki
KanjiTree
Rosetta Stone (free course through my employer, not that far into this yet)

And say I use Anki the most. These were all supplement to an actual class before covid hit, but now that's cancelled I use textbooks.

CloseTalker · Sep 23, 2020

CanUKlehead said:
Been using Duolingo, four sessions a day. I feel like it gives me a foundation for German like, doing so gives me confidence to jump into a proper class, as opposed to thinking I'll be fluent after using the app, you know? But hey, 538 day streak, wooooooo

i dunno, I'd hope 538 days of four sessions a day would give you more than just the confidence to take a proper German class haha

CanUKlehead · Sep 23, 2020

CloseTalker said:
i dunno, I'd hope 538 days of four sessions a day would give you more than just the confidence to take a proper German class haha

Yeah but it's like 10 to 15 mins a day. Anddtbf, I've been able to start watching some shows in German wo subtitles, and I can pick up a lot. But not ready to take a language test.

I did know something was clicking when playing Wolfenstein II (the current series), when the guy in the beginning kept referring to die käfer, and knew that meant beetles, so he meant The Beatles lol

JosephManderley · Sep 23, 2020

I like Duolingo, but I wish it focused more on immediately helpful phrases.

I am using it to learn Polish and recommend it, but as others have said, it should be used alongside another method as an extra I think.

Pirateluigi · Sep 23, 2020

I love Lingodeer. Dont know how good it is for French though.

For Japanese, definitely Wanikani for learning kanji

CloseTalker · Sep 23, 2020

CanUKlehead said:
Yeah but it's like 10 to 15 mins a day. Anddtbf, I've been able to start watching some shows in German wo subtitles, and I can pick up a lot. But not ready to take a language test.

I did know something was clicking when playing Wolfenstein II (the current series), when the guy in the beginning kept referring to die käfer, and knew that meant beetles, so he meant The Beatles lol

Haha that's pretty awesome. Good for you!

Ravelle · Sep 23, 2020

Snake Eater said:
You can't beat Duolingo

I use Duelingo for my time killing Japanese learning. I signed up once for for a subscription but for some reason they billed me a bunch of money at once when my free trial was over instead of monthly. You can use it free but the ads after every 2 lessons is annoying

ZackieChan · Sep 23, 2020

Anki. Anki. Anki. It's the best.
You get a lot of value from the act of actually MAKING the cards. That's the "learning" phase. Also, instead of using your own language, use photos instead. It creates an environment where you're thinking in concepts/pictures rather than translating from the foreign language to English in your head.
Use the Fluent Forever card templates that are somewhere on the Fluent Forever site. They're pretty versatile.

Liquid Plejades · Sep 23, 2020

Ok, since people kept recommencing it I gave duolingo a try again since the last time I had tried it 2-3 years ago. I def like it more and can see myself using it 15 mins a day since its free.

Went through the first lesson of Pimsleur since its free, and I actually really like it. Its slow and methodical, but its perfect since it forces me to learn. I can see why some native speakers and people in general say its a little old school since some of the words are not as modern, but I don't mind using it to learn and when im comfortable enough I can learn the more advanced/modern stuff.

Memrise I tried as well during the night, it felt very similar to Duolingo, but instead of cartoon it has actual people so it somewhat feels more interactive.

I think I am going to subscribe to Pimsleur and use Memrise/Duolingo along with it since those ones are free. I plan to dedicate one hour a day to this at least, so 30 minutes on each Pimsleur lesson, and the remainder on Memrise/Duolingo and maybe a flashcard app as well for maximum immersion.

I spent last night one hour using the three apps before bed, and I can say some new words and ask some new questions now. So I am hopeful that with months of dedication I can get somewhere.

Appreciate all the recommendations. I will try some of the flashcard apps people recommended.

mute · Sep 23, 2020

Anki flashcards were my thing. Very customizable and lots of decks to find (at least for Japanese there were tons....)

Would make cards for grammar, pronunciation, writing, vocab. Good stuff.

shnurgleton · Sep 23, 2020

I'm interested in gaining at least restaurant level proficiency in Mandarin. Any suggestions?

HotAndTender · Sep 23, 2020

I've been using Duolingo since lockdown, i'm currently on a 172 day streak learning Spanish
It's tedious at first but it's really good once you've unlocked more areas. I have Plus subscription for more features.
I have bought some GSCE learning books and i listen to Spanish music/podcasts to help listen to the language.

Arkestry · Sep 23, 2020

I've been trying to learn Turkish and tried Duolingo but beyond the very basics it was woefully inadequate for me. Maybe it's because Turkish has some complex grammar rules but I basically felt like Duolingo didn't explain anything and just fed a bunch of words into a lesson generator and called it a day.

I've been trying Babbel recently and it's so much better it's a joke. They explain everything and do a really strong job of reinforcing previous learning, and they even have little bits of information about Turkey which my girlfriend confirms are absolutely accurate, which is really valuable.

CatAssTrophy · Sep 23, 2020

What are the limitations of Duolingo? I was going to try it a while back but a bunch of life stuff happened that knocked me off the wagon.

The Albatross · Sep 23, 2020

My wife used Duolingo for trying to learn Spanish because she's a teacher and she hadn't taken Spanish in about 15 years. I... don't really think it helped, but w/e, worth a shot. She's got a handful of phrases down but conversationally I'm not sure if it really helped.

CatAssTrophy · Sep 23, 2020

The Albatross said:
My wife used Duolingo for trying to learn Spanish because she's a teacher and she hadn't taken Spanish in about 15 years. I... don't really think it helped, but w/e, worth a shot. She's got a handful of phrases down but conversationally I'm not sure if it really helped.

Hmm, that doesn't sound very good. I'm looking to learn Spanish in my free time and at my own pace, but if people are saying Duolingo is fun but doesn't really give them a substantial/practical amount of learning then it almost sounds like a waste of time.

Whatever happened to that PC software that used to be real popular and had like every language ever? Or is that old hat now?

Huncho_Houdini · Sep 23, 2020

Jintor said:
Anki. Make your own flashcard. Apps are a supplement to my learning, not the driver.

Excellent for vocabulary, I agree.

moblin · Sep 23, 2020

CatAssTrophy said:
Hmm, that doesn't sound very good. I'm looking to learn Spanish in my free time and at my own pace, but if people are saying Duolingo is fun but doesn't really give them a substantial/practical amount of learning then it almost sounds like a waste of time.

Whatever happened to that PC software that used to be real popular and had like every language ever? Or is that old hat now?

Rosetta Stone? They used to drown the television airwaves with ads back in the day. They're still around but there are considerably better options, including many free ones.

Hattoto · Sep 23, 2020

Tandem and HelloTalk are good if you want language partners to practice.

Ikuu · Sep 23, 2020

HelloChinese, Anki, HelloTalk, Tandem, Pleco, Skritter are all good for Chinese.

Twonny · Sep 23, 2020

Sunster said:
Duolingo need to stop being cowards and add Tagalog.

This is what I'm waiting for too. Would love to be able to learn Tagalog.

CatAssTrophy · Sep 23, 2020

moblin said:
Rosetta Stone? They used to drown the television airwaves with ads back in the day. They're still around but there are considerably better options, including many free ones.

Free? or "Free*"?

I'd love something completely free, but pay-gating stuff or requiring a subscription to get the "real" experience hurts. Though I am willing to pay a one-time cost to get full access to something if I own it forever. (can you tell how often I've been burned by apps these days?)

Chivalry · Sep 23, 2020

Bradford said:
WaniKani is essential for Japanese.

You'd be better off just reading Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course. All Japanese-learning apps/sites are pretty poor substitutes for proper textbooks.

enchiladas potosinas · Sep 23, 2020

for french the fun-mooc.fr courses (vivre en france a1, a2, and b1) are a good starting point. after that I would use anki and 5000 most common words deck to expand your vocabulary. immerse in french media and then make your own anki decks for words you need to look up. a french grammar book is good to have for reference.

ive also had good luck with tandem and hellotalk for finding language partners. I also use a language tutor on italki once a week.

MrPhiliasfrog · Sep 23, 2020

Salut OP,

I also recommend Duolingo as a way to get a good foundation in french, plus it's free. On the downside, you get ads after each lesson. Bonne chance!

Arkestry said:
I've been trying to learn Turkish and tried Duolingo but beyond the very basics it was woefully inadequate for me. Maybe it's because Turkish has some complex grammar rules but I basically felt like Duolingo didn't explain anything and just fed a bunch of words into a lesson generator and called it a day.

I've been trying Babbel recently and it's so much better it's a joke. They explain everything and do a really strong job of reinforcing previous learning, and they even have little bits of information about Turkey which my girlfriend confirms are absolutely accurate, which is really valuable.

I had a similar experience trying to learn Turkish with duo, so I might try Babbel.

dc3k · Sep 23, 2020

There's some language learning app that's constantly spamming Instagram with ads. It's a dramatic Ted Talk type thing from their founder. Not sure if it's good or not, I can't really remember the name of it. I want to learn Russian though.

Liquid Plejades · Sep 23, 2020

Hattoto said:
Tandem and HelloTalk are good if you want language partners to practice.

enchiladas potosinas said:
ive also had good luck with tandem and hellotalk for finding language partners.

How do these work? Just make a profile and start messaging people?Ive briefly heard about them. I assume you pay for the service.

CampFreddie · Sep 23, 2020

There's clozemaster too. It's on Android and I assume iPhone.
It's somewhat similar to Duolinguo, but the phrases are random rather than structured. I use both apps.
Duolinguo is better, but it's nice to have some variety.
You get free text excercises and one daily listening test. Pay for premium (I don't) if you want infinite listening tests and some of the more specialised vocab tests.

Huncho_Houdini · Sep 23, 2020

shnurgleton said:
I'm interested in gaining at least restaurant level proficiency in Mandarin. Any suggestions?

You're gonna want to look into some courses or specific programs. Something like duolingo won't cut it there. That's at least an intermediate level.

CatAssTrophy said:
Hmm, that doesn't sound very good. I'm looking to learn Spanish in my free time and at my own pace, but if people are saying Duolingo is fun but doesn't really give them a substantial/practical amount of learning then it almost sounds like a waste of time.

Whatever happened to that PC software that used to be real popular and had like every language ever? Or is that old hat now?

I really recommend Assimil for someone in your position, because I was in this position last year, and it helped tremendously. It's about 100-150 lessons overall, one lesson per day at around 20-30 minutes. It's basically an audio + book course. I've used it for German and made a shit ton of progress within months when supplemented with flash cards, to about a lower intermediate level.

Duolingo can be used as a supplement or when you're bored.

CanUKlehead said:
Been using Duolingo, four sessions a day. I feel like it gives me a foundation for German like, doing so gives me confidence to jump into a proper class, as opposed to thinking I'll be fluent after using the app, you know? But hey, 538 day streak, wooooooo

As above, also give Assimil a shot. Did it for German, highly recommend, created a great foundation. I did an A1 course at the same time I started Assimil and I was past the course within weeks and by the time the course ended I was already at an A2 level on my own in about 2-3 months.

CatAssTrophy · Sep 23, 2020

Thanks I'll check it out!

enchiladas potosinas · Sep 23, 2020

Liquid Plejades said:
How do these work? Just make a profile and start messaging people?Ive briefly heard about them. I assume you pay for the service.

that's pretty much it. the basic version is free but you can pay for extra features like seeing who viewed your profile on tandem.

Sunster · Sep 23, 2020

Twonny said:
This is what I'm waiting for too. Would love to be able to learn Tagalog.

You definitely can. I reckon I'm at the end stage of beginner or first stage of intermediate currently.

get this book. for a great start. Also get the TFC app. tons of free Tagalog speaking TV shows and movies. Use what you learn in conversation with native speakers to cement it in your mind.

NovumVeritas · Sep 23, 2020

What's the best way to learn Russian or Ukrainian?

Malverde · Sep 23, 2020

Salut OP!

I'm using Babbel for French and have found it pretty solid. The voice recognition isn't always great (or maybe my pronunciation is just shit) but since I am just doing this casually I don't mind.

I also started watching Miraculous Lady Bug on Netflix in the original French language with no subtitles. I only understand a few words an episode but it is colorful and neat and maybe I will eventually pick it up through osmosis.

Any of you use any apps for learning a language?

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