Introduction
This post was originally written in February 2020 and is being occasionally updated.
In our connected times, an aspiring student of languages can find tons of different tools online and elsewhere that each promises to get one to speaking a foreign language in no time at all. I study languages as a hobby, and while I cannot call myself a true super-polyglot, I possess skills from basic tourist comprehension to fluency in more than a handful of tongues. I have given a large number of online tools a spin here or there. This post is a high-level summary of my personal reflections on their efficacy and usability.
Before jumping into these mini-reviews, let me state the obvious:
None of these tools deliver on their promise on their own.
The level of “basic tourist comprehension” can be attained in a matter of weeks if you bang upon a single app. It encompasses having a stuttering command of greetings and common courtesy phrases, being able to recognize directions and read restaurant menus, knowing how to ask for help. The end result will be hardly much better than using Google Translator on your phone (and by the way, for all its perceived faults, Google Translator has to be an essential app whenever you travel to a foreign country). But if your goal is to become somewhat proficient in a language – let’s define that as at least B1 level proficiency – you will need to focus on your studies for a non-trivial period of time and likely use a combination of tools.
Language mastery normally comprises 4 competencies:
- reading,
- writing,
- speaking,
- and understanding speech.
Various tools implicitly or explicitly emphasize some of these competencies over the others. In my opinion, reading proficiency is the easiest to obtain – any tool that shows you the words on a screen will train you to read the language, regardless of whether there are defined reading exercises. Writing is one competency that you can deprioritize in your learning approach unless your goal is actually to correspond with people via letters; you will probably somewhat unintentionally practice writing anyway if you have a habit of making notes as you study.
Speaking and understanding are two competencies that combine to give you conversational proficiency. When you think about your ability to speak in a foreign tongue you most likely refer to these two. Almost all tools will train you to some degree or other to understand foreign words; not many will teach you to speak, and those that do will likely do so only in the context of standalone phrases. In any case, true conversational proficiency can only be achieved by regularly speaking with native carriers of the language – don’t ever believe anyone trying to tell you that you can master conversational skills without some form of immersion (even if the immersion is periodic and timeboxed).
Underlying all of that is pure memorization. You simply have to commit words (and eventually phrases and grammatical constructs) to your long-term memory in order to become proficient. Here as well, different apps do things differently, although the spaced repetition method is clearly at the forefront for many, be it through classic flashcards or through cloze activities or some combination therewith.
What about grammar, you may ask. Some tools take the opportunity to point out specific grammar constructs when the first example comes along, while others leave it to you to absorb grammatical structure as you study spoken speech. In my opinion, if your goal is to start communicating in a new language, focusing on grammar should be way down your list of priorities. And a grammar book is going to be your best tool for that anyway, rather than any app.
Since no two tools are made the same, a direct comparison between them is not possible in most cases. But that is not the intent here anyway. As stated above, you need to use a combination of them to achieve your language learning goals. Your personal preferences and idiosyncrasies may result in a markedly different assessment of a given tool from mine. So, don’t use this as a definite list of recommendations. Use it as the starting point to pick the tools that you believe will give you the most bang for the buck.
This is surely not an exhaustive list. If you feel like I should look into something that is not listed here, please drop me a note. Prices and functionality are stated as of the time of last use. The post is updated at intervals with additional or corrected information.
Tools I used extensively










Pimsleur
Verdict: Pimsleur used to be my starting point for every language. It remains my favorite approach to language studying, although it is one of the more expensive tools around. | |||
Last used: 2018 French, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, German (ranging from full courses to several lessons) | Available Languages: Over 50 | ||
What it does: • Guided acquisition of conversational proficiencies via audio call-and-respond approach, underpinned by spaced repetition. • No visual input is involved, so it is the ultimate hands-free approach to learning. • English-language prompts get gradually replaced by those in your target language, so as you progress, you eventually listen to just the language you are learning, with only new translations thrown in, bringing you as close to immersion as is possible without having a live person to converse with. • Reading is covered in a very unsubstantial way as an add-on; writing is not practiced at all. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A teaser of the first lesson in each language. Every full-access subscription includes a 7-day trial, during which you can cancel at no charge. | Full access cost: Premium version costs $19.95 per month. If you prefer to save a bit of money by forgoing add-ons, an audio-only version costs $14.95 per month. The CD-based single level courses are still offered at $345 for the 30-lesson pack. |
Duolingo
Verdict: I not a big fan of the kiddified and gamified approach, nor of the occasional absurdity of the studied vocabulary. But as a free resource, it is definitely worth a look for new learners of a language. | |||
Last used: Early 2019 French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese (ranging from a couple of months daily to just a few days in total) | Available Languages: Over 30 | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder. • Most of the practice is in the form of multiple-choice, focused on reading and listening, although there are speaking prompts as well. • Further topics on your learning path are getting unlocked as you progress, so you cannot jump too much ahead of yourself. • Spaced repetition is present very cursorily – you will be prompted to refresh a past topic, but purely as a suggestion. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Everything. | Full access cost: If there are premium options at an additional cost, I am unsure why anyone would need to have them. |
Memrise
Verdict: A favorite of mine for building out the vocabulary, much more so than Duolingo. I continue to use free features extensively. | |||
Last used: Ongoing use French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese (at least a couple of months daily in each instance) | Available Languages: Hard to count. All of the major languages are covered with multiple levels, and a search for any relatively obscure language seems to produce results. The platform of Memrise apparently allows for the creation of any courses (not just language), so besides the “official” offerings you can take advantage of its vast user-generated content – which, admittedly, could be hit or miss. Note that the mobile app lists only 19 “major” languages for selection, but if you go through the website and add something beyond those 19 to your learning profile, it will become accessible in the app. | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder, underpinned by spaced repetition. • The repetition reviews are suggested in an in-your-face manner and you have to explicitly choose to skip them (as opposed to most other apps that simply alert you that a review is ready for you somewhere). • You can technically jump ahead when you want, although most people will likely stay on their guided path. • Activities vary between multiple-choice flashcards and unscramble questions; there is no visualization of vocabulary. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Practically everything. The “Learn with Locals” feature is listed as part of the paid subscription, but is seemingly included for free when it comes to major languages. “Immersion” may also be throttled after some initial tryout period. | Full access cost: Additional features can be unlocked for $39.99 a year, or for a single “lifetime” payment of $99.99 – and that covers the entire platform. |
Rosetta Stone
Verdict: Rosetta Stone is one of the most well-known tools for language study, both because it has been around for a while and also because it continues to be fairly aggressively marketed. It is one of the most sophisticated and in certain ways challenging tools, at a reasonable price. As stated in the drawbacks block below, the “natural” way works for toddlers but may not translate into working for adults. | |||
Last used: Early 2019 Hebrew (full course), French (limited run many years ago) | Available Languages: About 25 | ||
What it does: • Guided “natural” acquisition of a language. You associate visuals with words and phrases without ever seeing a translation or a grammar explanation – which is theoretically how kids learn to speak. • All input and practice is of multiple-choice fashion; grammatical constructs are inferred through side-by-side visualizations. • You are technically practicing all of the four competencies in a sophisticated ecosystem. • You can jump to future topics if you like, but most people will stay on the suggested path. • Spaced repetition is involved within the context of each topical unit, which would have nearly 50 sessions emphasizing different competencies. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 3-day trial. | Full access cost: Regular 12-month subscription for a single language is listed at $179 but there are always deals around that bring that down to under $100. Occasional lifetime access deals also pop up. |
LingQ
Verdict: This is one of my favorites, even though I am not convinced that it can be more than a complement to other tools. The idea of language acquisition through reading real materials is not without merit, but you lose a significant amount of control over the input – many words that you don’t know but also don’t need will clutter your path. Additionally, languages with complex grammar – with cases, declensions, conjugations, joining prepositions, joining possessives, etc. – will present every such variation of the same word as a separate term. This creates a lot of noise both in your actual studies and in the accompanying stats, since hardly anybody would find it useful to study different forms of the same word independently of each other. Nonetheless, LingQ offers significant help in breaking down foreign languages in real contexts. | |||
Last used: Ongoing use Hebrew, French, Italian, Portuguese | Available Languages: 20 in fully developed state (including all majors), 20 more in beta | ||
What it does: • Language acquisition through reading and listening to texts, coupled with spaced-repetition vocabulary building. • LingQ provides tools to dissect any text and to track which language terms (words or phrases) you know and which you have to study, so you are building your comprehension and vocabulary word-by-word; you choose which words to mark for studying and which to mark as known. • Vocabulary reviews include multiple-choice questions, dictation/typing, cloze, and classic flashcards; you can grade yourself on your knowledge of a given term, which feeds into the spaced-repetition algorithm. • Texts are almost invariably accompanied by sound, so you can complement your reading with podcast-like listening practice. • There is no visualization of vocabulary. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Unpaid access gives you a teaser in the form of a small allowance of 20 LingQs – your learned words – to create and practice. This is entirely insufficient to get a feel for the tool, especially as a person not familiar with it is likely to fill that up within literally a quarter of an hour. Access to the library is unfettered even after you run out of free LingQs. | Full access cost: Subscription has a number of options, from $12.99 per month to $7.99 a month for a 24-month period. |
Alternatives: An entirely free tool called Learning With Texts (LWT) can be installed and configured on your desktop to provide largely the same method of language learning. It takes some effort to actually do so, and then all of the learning materials are entirely up to you to find and import into the tool; the interface is rather confusing. I am a very technical person and I quickly reached the limit of what I wanted to do on my own to facilitate my studies – but for some having the configurable tool that is absolutely free may be a strong attraction.
Innovative Language
Verdict: If you ever listened to a Pod101 podcast or YouTube video, you are familiar with Innovative Language. It is a definite leader in podcasts for a fairly affordable cost, but I feel that this can be only a supplementary studying tool. | |||
Last used: Early 2020 Hebrew (extensively), French (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: Nearly 40 | ||
What it does: • Free-path listening comprehension tool via podcasts. • The easy-to-digest sessions each illustrate a specific topic and provide listening practice, together with vocabulary, a bit of grammar, some conversational pointers, as well as cultural context. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: You sign up for a free account and get access to some podcasts and limited tools; the 7-day free trial with full access commences when you activate the free account. The first three podcasts in every set are nearly always free to listen to without any additional tools. At the time of initial sign-up, you are always offered a bundle of starter tools (which you can download to use offline) for $1 – that covers enough material to last new learners several months; your trial Premium access will be extended to 30 days in that case. | Full access cost: Basic subscription for a single language is $4 a month, while Premium is $10 a month (your personal “Word Bank” of flashcards is only available for Premium subscriptions). Premium Plus, which adds 1-on-1 instruction, is at $23 per month. There are frequently available discounts for Premium subscriptions. |
Alternatives: There are plenty of podcast offerings online in individual languages. For Hebrew, for instance, I used HebrewPodcasts; for French, I have checked out FrancaisAuthentique, InnerFrench, Comme Une Francaise.
Mondly
Verdict: I am decidedly not a fan at present. Unscrambling sentences is not my preferred approach to learning. The bot feature can be a game-changer when it is polished up a bit more. | |||
Last used: Early 2020 Hebrew (daily for over a month), French (quick test drive) | Available Languages: Over 30 | ||
What it does: • Thematic vocabulary builder. • Studying is done mostly through unscramble questions with an occasional multiple-choice thrown in. • There is a visualization for one or two questions in each lesson; practically all of the interaction is of read-and-listen variety. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A teaser of a limited set of starting lessons. | Full access cost: Subscription is either $9.99 for a single month or $47.99 for a full year for one language. There are frequent sales that offer you access to all languages for the single yearly fee. I came across a lifetime access deal for 5 languages for $65 as well. |
iTalki
Verdict: iTalki is the best-known marketplace for individual language tutoring. Practicing listening and speaking with a native carrier of the language is as close to an immersive experience as you can get without leaving your computer. For that, look no further. | |||
Last used: October 2019 Hebrew (extensively with different teachers) | Available Languages: I did not count the number of options in the drop-down on the home page but I suspect it might be close to 200. Obviously, the number of available tutors is proportional to language popularity. | ||
What it does: • Live conversational practice. • You can find a tutor in your target language from among hundreds of offerings, arrange for lessons based on your mutual availability, and conduct all necessary financial transactions. • The actual sessions will occur through Skype, and you will have to come back to your iTalki dashboard to confirm that the lesson took place and to provide feedback. • Each tutor has their own teaching plan and approach, and you can try offerings before buying full lessons. • There are no long-term commitments – you pay as you go. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Real people sell their language skills as a service here, so nothing beyond seeing profiles of tutors. | Full access cost: One-on-one tutoring is obviously the most expensive approach to language learning; even with the cheapest tutoring options the cost will quickly add up. I paid between $15 and $25 per lesson. Trial lessons are usually half the cost of the full session. |
Verbling
Verdict: Verbling is a significantly lesser-known alternative to iTalki. I’d go to iTalki first and look at Verbling only as a backup. Your need for a full ecosystem may dictate the opposite. | |||
Last used: October 2019 Hebrew (extensively with one teacher) | Available Languages: Over 50. The number of available tutors is proportional to language popularity. | ||
What it does: • Live conversational practice, with flashcards as an extra feature. • You can find a tutor in your target language, arrange for lessons based on your mutual availability, and conduct all necessary financial transactions. • Each tutor has their own teaching plan and approach, and you can try offerings before buying full lessons. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Real people sell their language skills as a service here, but trial lessons are usually offered for free. | Full access cost: Many teachers offer multi-lesson packages at discount – that helps with the cost, and also locks you into a medium-term commitment that may force you to study more intensively. I paid $390 for 10-lessons sets, which was a discounted bulk price. |
Tandem
Verdict: As with any social environment, there will be a certain waste in terms of connections, as some approaches will be rebuffed (or ignored) by the other side, and sometimes you simply will not click with the other person. Nonetheless, I have made a few good connections, both initiated by me and by others. It has to be said that I find myself more helping people with English than practicing my target languages, but the bottom line is a measure of practice can be found by using this platform. | |||
Last used: Mid-2020 Hebrew, French | Available Languages: Over 150. I suspect the number of users native to a given language is in large proportion to the popularity of the language worldwide. | ||
What it does: • Live conversational practice. • Self-billed as “the world’s largest language exchange community”, it connects people in a “trade your skills” manner; you theoretically both practice a language with a native speaker and teach that same person your native language in one-on-one interactions. Notable bells and whistles: | |||
For free: Practically everything you’d ever use on the platform. Inline translations will be limited to 5 every 24 hours, but you can get by if you have Google Translate running separately on your device. | Full access cost: $35 for 12-months access, but I doubt even that is worth shelling out. |
Alternatives: There are several similar platforms, with different bells and whistles (some more, some less), that purport to offer similar opportunities to trade language skills. I had absolutely no success at Hellotalk, and I only cursorily checked out MyLanguageExchange. Your mileage may vary.
Tools I only test-driven


















MosaLingua
Verdict: Conceptually among the best that I tried, but the implementation caused me too much annoyance. | |||
Last tried: Late 2020 French (not too extensively) | Available Languages: Only 7 majors | ||
What it does: • Semi-guided vocabulary builder combined with podcasts. • The training is essentially a flashcards system with a spaced-repetition algorithm. • The new words and phrases are mainly suggested by setting your thematic preferences. • Visualization of content is part of both flashcards and dialogue learning. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 15-day trial | Full access cost: 12-month subscription costs $59.90. Lifetime deals for $99 one-time payment are occasionally available. |
Mango Languages
Verdict: Definitely a contender for a very reasonable price. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French, Hebrew (within limits of the free trial), Yiddish (several lessons for a free language) | Available Languages: Over 70. Some of the rare and more obscure languages are marked as “Free” – you can study them in full without any fee. | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder. • You study via the read-and-respond flashcard method underpinned by spaced repetition. • No vocabulary visualization. • No writing exercises. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A teaser of the first lesson of each language (and you can get the first lesson of Specialty Units within a given language to play for free as well). Each full subscription includes a 14-day free trial, during which you can cancel at no charge. | Full access cost: Subscription goes for $7.99 a month for a single language or $17.99 a month if you want access to all languages at once. |
Fluent Forever
Verdict: Credit for a different approach. If it was not so full of individual words that I have no interest to memorize, it would be more of a recommendation. Nonetheless, I may give it a longer try in the future. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: 7 majors, but 6 more are listed on the home page as coming soon | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder with an emphasis on pronunciation, spelling, and ear training. • In essence, this is a sophisticated flashcards app, heavily based on visualization and spaced repetition. • You progress through lessons one at a time, unlocking subsequent ones. • The lessons are, technically, flashcard-deck building activities – you build up your vocabulary deck by associating pictures with suggested words, and no translation will be provided to you when you practice. • Your daily dose of learning always includes reviewing past flashcards. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 14-day trial as part of a renewable subscription (if you cancel before the end of the trial, you are not charged). | Full access cost: Subscription has different options for a single language from $9.99 per each month to $6.99 a month if you subscribe for two years. There are frequent promotions that offer 50% discounts on longer subscriptions. Note that if you subscribe through the App Store, you will only have the monthly option. |
Transparent Language
Verdict: I am not a big fan of an approach that does not force spaced repetition. It is also comparatively expensive. But it is quite comprehensive. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French, Italian, and Spanish (years ago on CDs), Hebrew (within limits of free trial online recently) | Available Languages: Over 100 | ||
What it does: • Guided language acquisition through exercises involving all competencies. • Studying progress is broken into lessons, each covering 15 or so words and phrases. Within the lesson, there are multiple activities to practice all language skills as related to the lesson’s vocabulary. • The practice may be structured as multiple-choice questions, classic flashcards, typing, speaking, etc. • You can skip activities and jump forward. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 14-day trial access to all languages. | Full access cost: Subscription is either $24.95 per month or $149.95 for a year-long option. |
Babbel
Verdict: It is one of the more aggressively marketed apps in recent times. Typing as the primary learning mechanism draws on the notion that writing things down helps you remember them, but it is not an approach I favor over others. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of free access) | Available Languages: 14 | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder. • Studying progress is broken into lessons, each covering a few words and phrases. • You attempt first to record them in your own voice and then go through a series of exercises to learn their use. • Most of the activities are either typing or unscrambling a given item in a cloze-like setting. • Visualization is involved for all words and phrases. • A separate area in the app is set aside for review which is expressly based on a spaced-repetition algorithm; it will alert you when you have items to practice, but not force you to do it. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A single lesson on each level can be accessed gratis. | Full access cost: The subscription options vary from $15.99 per single month to $84.99 for the 12-months option. |
FluentU
Verdict: It is an interesting concept that requires both a lot of self-direction and quite significant interaction with the software during studies. I expected a larger library and a more nuanced approach to the texts. It would be a nice supplemental tool if not for the sticker price. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: 13 | ||
What it does: • Free-path language training through annotated videos – in a way, a more technologically advanced mode of podcast-based learning. • The library contains several hundred videos suitable for different proficiency levels; there is a mix of commercials, movie trailers, music videos, cartoons, snippets of news and entertainment programs, etc. • As you watch a video, you are given line by line transcript and translation; you can pause, examine words that you are not familiar with, and replay videos in their entirety or in smaller pieces. • Each video is accompanied by flashcards exercises to help you memorize words and phrases from the video. • Practice activities include multiple-choice, cloze typing, unscrambling, and sequential sentence building. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: In the website version, the free account gives you access to the entire library without most of the tools. Occasional items may be exposed as teasers for full functionality. With the app, you cannot use it until you subscribe. A 14-day free trial is supposed to be part of every paid subscription – in my case it was effected as a refund of the first-month payment. | Full access cost: It is one of the more expensive tools around, although the subscription is not limited to a single language. It has two options: $30 per single month or $240 for a year. There are frequent promises of lifetime access discounts on an annual basis. |
Yabla
Verdict: It is an interesting concept that requires both a lot of self-direction and quite significant interaction with the software during studies. I like the selection of materials better than the one for FluentU, although the total number of videos is about the same. It can be a nice supplemental tool if you are studying one of the major languages. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: Only French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, and English | ||
What it does: • Free-path language training through annotated videos – same concept as FluentU, i.e., a more technologically advanced mode of podcast-based learning. • The library contains several hundred videos suitable for different proficiency levels; many are specially produced for Yabla. • As you watch a video, you are given line by line transcript and translation; you can pause, examine words that you are not familiar with, slow down the tempo, and replay videos in their entirety or in smaller pieces. • Each video is accompanied by a vocabulary review. • Practice activities include multiple-choice and typing. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A 15-day free trial is part of every paid subscription, during which you can cancel at no charge. | Full access cost: Subscription options range from $12.95 per month to $99.95 for the year-long access. |
Glossika
Verdict: I like the idea of learning sentences and, thus, the language in context, but focusing repetitions on writing is not how I prefer to study even though I do not contest the fact that writing things down helps you remember them. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French, Hebrew (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: Over 60 | ||
What it does: • Guided language acquisition through sentence-based study. • You are offered sets of 5 sentences that you practice by primarily listening and typing what you see and/or hear. • Individual words are never used. • No visualization is involved. • Spaced repetition is an underpinning, but it is not forced on you. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 7-day full functionality trial is available. | Full access cost: It is one of the more expensive tools around, although the subscription is not limited to a single language. A single month’s cost is $30, which is reduced to $24.99 a month if you pay for annual access. |
Lingvist
Verdict: I am not convinced that the cloze method can be the principal approach to learning, but as a supplementary tool Lingvist might be an option. There is an obvious dearth of languages that it offers. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of the free trial) | Available Languages: Only French, German, Spanish, Russian | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder using cloze reading comprehension activity. • This “learning in context” concept suggests that you retain the words of the foreign language better if they are not presented to you as stand-alone memorization bits. • It is essentially a flashcards system where you have to fill in the gaps in the presented sentences. The sentences – or sometimes word constructs – are presented to you in the packs of 50, according to a spaced-repetition algorithm. • If you provide a wrong answer, the right one is shown right away for you to retype and memorize; the entire phrase is voiced once the right answer is provided. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: 14-day unlimited use trial. | Full access cost: The monthly subscription option is $15.99 (which is listed as a discount to $19.99). The annual subscription, though, is significantly cheaper – it is listed as normally going for $79.99, but can be had for $63.99. |
Busuu
Verdict: I am not into studying with the community and the other features of the app do not make it overly attractive to me. But the cost of the premium subscription can make it a contender for some. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of free access) | Available Languages: 12 | ||
What it does: • Guided vocabulary builder. • Studying is done through a variety of exercises, including classic flashcards, multiple- and binary-choice questions, cloze activities, unscramble and typing questions. • You have the ability to jump ahead if you like. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: The free version has a number of limitations of use, and it constantly pops up notices of the “in order to continue, please subscribe” kind. If you are willing to deal with that, the free version supposedly allows you “unlimited” studying. | Full access cost: The subscription costs $9.99 per month for a single language or $13.99 for all languages; however, buying an annual or bi-annual access brings that down to roughly $3 a month in different configurations. |
The Mimic Method
Verdict: Mimic Method does not truly teach the language, although the material is technically useful. The concept of mastering pronunciation as the critical step is questionable, as any former Soviet Union émigré successfully living and working in the United States despite their heavy accent might attest. However, listening comprehension skills might benefit from this foundational work. The course is too amateurishly made for my taste. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (full course) | Available Languages: 10 | ||
What it does: • Focus on mastering the elemental sounds of the language, on the idea that this is the essential first step on the road to fully understanding the native speakers and communicating with them. • The lecture-centric masterclass gives you an in-depth look into every elemental sound of a given language being produced in your mouth (and nose) and offers practice for being able to consistently reproduce them. • A technique for breaking the recorded native speech down to syllables and sounds for practice is also explained. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: The sales pitch. | Full access cost: “Special” 50% off discount is available at all times – but it comes to $197 which is still way too high, in my opinion. I spent $47 on the course as a “Black Friday discount”. |
Assimil
Verdict: Assimil has been in the business of language instruction for 90+ years, so they must be doing something right. I feel that it can only work as a supplementary tool – but the one that you have to use from the beginning of your studies since it remains on A1/A2 level for most languages. The one-time cost is lower than the yearly subscription for many other tools, so it is definitely a contender as a supplement, as long as you can find the base/target language combination that works for you. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French (within limits of the free access) | Available Languages: Over 80, but that is if your base language is French. 12 other mostly major languages are listed as possible base ones, but the availability of a target language is significantly smaller if you do not speak French already. Also, non-major languages are available mostly only in book+audio versions. | ||
What it does: • Language acquisition through dialogues. • Each lesson contains a dialogue that you study in every which way possible, including recording yourself saying the same sentences. • There are standard exercises within each lesson that can be done in the multiple-choice or typing-the-answer manner, plus cloze activities. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: The app lets you try one lesson for free (you cannot get that on the website). | Full access cost: The full version for a single language is usually €49.90, while book+audio versions cost in the range of €65. |
Earworms
Verdict: Intriguing but probably too superficial to be useful. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 French, Italian, Russian (quick test drive – a single sample track for each) | Available Languages: 17 | ||
What it does: • An uncommon approach to audio vocabulary building with music in the background. • Each audio-clip is in the call-and-respond format between two speakers, with calls in English and responses in the target language. • In every lesson, there is a small “challenge” where the roles are reversed and the English-speaking host has to respond in the target language. • Everything is sentence-based, but the sentences are drilled in separate parts and then combined. • It all happens under the accompanying mood music in the background – which is considered the key to the method’s success. • Each lesson is focused on a topic and lasts about 6-7 minutes. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A teaser in the form of a demo album that includes one track for each available language. | Full access cost: In the online app, each level for each language normally costs $9.99, and there are 3-level bundles that are offered for $24.99. You can also buy these courses on CDs, which will cost more. |
Drops
Verdict: I am not a fan of the gamified approach in general and not of this particular implementation. It is possible that the fully paid access makes it more worthwhile, but the free version does not entice me to consider it. Your mileage with respect to gamification may vary. | |||
Last tried: 2019 Hebrew (free version daily for a couple of weeks) | Available Languages: Over 40 | ||
What it does: • Thematic vocabulary builder, underpinned by spaced repetition. • In its basic free form, you get 5 minutes a day to practice, timed. • All words and phrases are linked to pictograms. • The questions are binary-choice, multiple-choice, unscramble, spelling, with some gamified variation. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Free 5-minute-a-day version is theoretically unconstrained in terms of how many days you can use it, but it limits the available topics, so you will after a while run out of new things to learn. | Full access cost: The paid version unlocks all topics, removes ads, gives you a few additional practice tools, and most importantly removes the time limit. Monthly access is for $9.99, while yearly option reduces that to less than $3 a month; you can also buy lifetime access for $160. |
Clozemaster
Verdict: It may help you memorize the actual phrases used in each item – many of which would be fairly useful to memorize – but barely anything beyond that. As a supplementary tool, cloze method could be useful, and this tool is completely free. | |||
Last tried: 2019 Hebrew (daily for a couple of weeks) | Available Languages: Over 50 | ||
What it does: • Free-path vocabulary builder using cloze reading comprehension activity. • Sentences are offered for study according to a spaced-repetition approach; you only choose whether to randomize it completely or select from a certain percentile of the frequency of use within the language. • It is essentially a flashcards system where you have to fill in the gaps in the presented sentences. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: The app is completely free. |
uTalk
Verdict: A nicely executed app that is probably too expensive for the simple features it provides. Having many rare languages makes it more attractive to some. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 Hebrew and French (within limits of free access) | Available Languages: Over 150 | ||
What it does: • Thematic vocabulary builder. • The approach is see-and-listen, with spelling, transcription, and translation provided as necessary alongside the visualization. • For each of 64 topics, you go through relevant words and phrases and then play games to reinforce what you learned. • No defined spaced repetition is involved and you choose your own path through the topics. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: A free starter pack of the same words is included for every language. You can earn “uCoins” based on your game performance; your balance is shared across all of the languages you try. If you earn enough uCoins, you can use them to pay for individual topics at 40 a clip; there is seemingly a possibility that enough time spent on each topic may pay forward for the next topic, but I expect that eventually, the program will start throttling your earnings. I did not use it enough to prove or disprove that theory. | Full access cost: Beyond using earned uCoins, you have multiple options. You can buy uCoins for $2 per 40, or with further discounts if buying in bulk, and then convert those into individual lessons or packs of lessons. You can buy an entire language pack for $40.99 (which is at a discount to buying topics in bulk via purchased uCoins). Or you can subscribe for a monthly fee of $10.99 that will unlock everything for every language. |
50 Languages
Verdict: A cheap alternative in the space of thematic vocab builders with plenty of materials, minimal structure, and simplistic features. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 Hebrew and French (quick test drive) | Available Languages: Over 60 | ||
What it does: • Thematic vocabulary builder centered on a phrasebook. • The majority of the material is in read-and-listen – or sometimes just listen – mode. • For each of its 100 topics, you can learn the phrases (and individual words in some cases), use flashcards, take tests, or play games. • No spaced repetition is involved and you choose your own path through the topics. • No vocabulary visualization is involved in the main studying area, but in a separate vocabulary section, you can practice with pictures (kind of an add-on to the main program). Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: Free version has no limitations but constantly pops the ads. | Full access cost: All-languages paid version removes the adds and costs a negligible one-time fee of $9.99. |
Master Any Language
Verdict: For someone interested in a language that is not commonly taught, this may be a resource to explore. For major languages, this app’s deficiencies are too big to overcome even at no cost. | |||
Last tried: Early 2020 Hebrew and French (quick test drive) | Available Languages: Over 200 | ||
What it does: • Thematic vocabulary builder centered on learning through game playing. • Most of the games are of read-and-respond nature. • No discernible learning path – you pick games to play on your own in different thematic sections. Notable bells and whistles: Pet peeves and drawbacks: | |||
For free: The app is entirely free to use. |
Additional resources
Anki
Anki is not specifically a language-learning tool, but rather one of the first and most well-known systems that utilize flashcards to facilitate memorization. Spaced repetition heavily underpins using any Anki deck. There is a vast library of decks shared by other people, so you can always find canned study materials (of varying quality, of course). You also have complete ability to build your own decks, if you so choose. One way or another, a Spaced Repetition System has to be part of your studying arsenal, and this is a free option that asks you to do some of the preparatory work. For reasons that escape me, the iOS Anki app costs whopping $25, even though it is free on every other platform; there are free alternatives for iOS that integrate well enough with the same decks.
Alternatives: Quite a few are mentioned in the SRS Wikipedia article linked to in the Intro section. Of those, I have very briefly tried Brainscape and Quizlet. Both are snazzier, both require subscriptions for unfettered access, neither bowled me over with their bells and whistles.
Forvo
The audio-library of native pronunciations of words and phrases in 400 languages. Because it is crowd-sourced – and you, too, can provide pronunciations in your native language – the quality is rather uneven, but it is still a very good tool if you want to learn how a specific word sounds, especially for words that may not be covered by the audio aspect of your favorite study resource. You can even download the audio clip to use for your Anki deck.
Omniglot
The tagline of this site calls it “the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages”. It is not a study tool in itself, but an interesting reference resource. The wealth of information about languages, including some free instruction and various lists of terms and phrases, is quite impressive at this not very modern-looking website.
Open Culture
This is a simple compendium of free study resources for 48 languages. Some of those resources are already mentioned above, and not every resource is made equal, but it is a very handy list if you want to do some studying without monetary outlays.
Other tools I am aware of
Uncovered
A story-based language comprehension course suitable for beginners. 9 major languages.
The Staircase
A story-based language comprehension course, for French and Spanish only.
Michel Thomas
Ages ago, my wife tried this alternative to Pimsleur to improve her French. Available for 18 languages; according to reviews found elsewhere, very beginner-focused.
Mary Glasgow
Teen-focused set of podcast-based courses for French, Spanish, German, and English. I seem to own CDs of installments dated over a decade ago, but I never tried it.
Colloquials
A textbook-and-audio approach, available for over 70 languages for those who prefer that type of study.
Berlitz
One of the more recognizable names in language instruction, but not one that I ever tried. Over 60 languages are available.