Learning a foreign language takes time and often money. You have to do that for it. Not sure whether you really want to learn a foreign language? Then you can also start with an app first. Nowadays there are many tools for your smartphone and tablet to learn a language cheaply. We list the best apps.
Using a language app has many advantages. There are many apps that you can use for free or try out for a while, and you can do everything from home. You download the app on your phone or tablet and you can get started right away. These apps also make it as easy and fun as possible to learn your language of choice by means of all kinds of useful options.
Tip 01: Duolingo
Duolingo is by far the best known app and helps enormously in learning a new language. If you only speak Dutch, you can only follow an English course through Duolingo. However, if you speak English well enough, you have many more options. For example, Spanish, French, German and Italian are offered, but also unusual languages ​​such as Turkish, Norwegian and Russian. Duolingo starts with the basics and first teaches you simple words and grammatical constructs that are useful when you are on vacation. When you have passed a level, you score points. The things learned are repeated over and over again. You can set goals in the app by pressing Profile / Set Goal tapping and at Settings / Notifications indicate whether Duolingo can send you a message when it is time to practice. This is recommended to help your self-discipline a bit. Duolingo is completely free, each language consists of a lot of lessons and provides you with enough information to fluently order something on a terrace during the holidays or to start a conversation with someone. Of course, the app also speaks words and sentences so that you can immediately practice pronunciation. Also Read: The 10 Best Apps to Kill 5 Minutes.
Tip 02: Memrise
Memrise is another good app. Not only can you learn languages ​​with the app, you can also improve your knowledge of, for example, topography with Memrise. The concept of Memrise is to teach smaller classes instead of offering a large course. In the app you choose a course and, just like with Duolingo, you will be heard by the app. You can listen to the pronunciation of a word or phrase, and if you need a reminder, tap Help me learn this. A so-called ‘mem’, a mnemonic or picture will appear to help you remember the phrase or word. These mems are made by users and therefore differ in quality. The app is free to use and offers many courses. You can upgrade to a Pro subscription, but the free version will also keep you busy.
Tip 03: Chat
The languages ​​are at Chat offered in English, so you must have a good understanding of English to use the app. Go through the configuration options and choose the correct level for Beginner or Advanced to choose. Babbel is very similar to the expensive Rosetta Stone teaching package and does not start with boring lists and lessons, but shows you a picture where you have to choose the right word without ever learning the word. The longer you use the app, the less mistakes you will make and eventually remember words better by seeing the images. Babbel also pronounces the answer so that you immediately know the sound. The first lesson of each language is free, after that it costs 4.95 euros per month if you opt for an annual subscription. Besides French, German, Italian and Spanish you can also learn languages ​​like Indonesian and Russian with Babbel.
Tip 04: Google Translate
Google Translate is not only a handy website, the app can also help you learn a language. You must have an active internet connection to translate sentences and words. you can also choose to download a file to translate it offline. You need to download this file per language. The app can recognize the source language itself, but you can of course also indicate from which language you want to translate a word or phrase. A smart feature is that you can use the camera of your smartphone to translate a text. Tap the camera icon and point your camera at the text you want to translate. Tap the red button and the app will scan the text. Then you can highlight part of the text and if you tap the blue arrow, you will see the translation appear. As with normal translations with Google Translate, the result is not always perfect, but the app is a welcome help to quickly translate a menu abroad. For languages ​​with a different script you can use the right-hand icon in Google Translate. For example, draw a Chinese character with your finger to translate it into Dutch or English.
Tip 05: SayHi
With Google Translate you can also translate spoken texts, but this is easier with the app SayHi. The app uses Google’s algorithms and database, but is fully focused on being able to quickly translate spoken text. At the bottom you see two buttons for two different languages. Set one language to Dutch and the other language to the target language by selecting another language at the top. For example, if you want to start a conversation with a French person, make sure the green box is set to French and the blue box to Dutch. Tap the blue box, wait for the beeps and speak something in Dutch. The app connects to the internet and speaks the text in French. Moreover, you can see the translation in the large field. Your French conversation partner can then tap the green box and say something in French after the beeps. This will then be translated back into Dutch. SayHi supports a huge number of languages ​​and can speak not only French, English and Spanish, but also languages ​​such as Hebrew, Korean and Swedish.
Tip 06: HiNative
HiNative you use to ask questions to speakers of a particular language. Tap on Profile and give under Native language which language is your mother tongue. below Languages of interest you choose which language or languages ​​you also master. Here you can also indicate your level of this language. If you then tap Home again, you can swipe left and right at the top to see questions about the selected languages. For example, someone asks you how to count from 1 to 10 in Dutch. As a native speaker, you can give the correct answer. If you want to ask something yourself, tap the big button Q and choose one of the options. For example, tap How do you say this in, choose the source language and enter your question Write a word, phrase or sentence. Tap on Post to ask your question. In most cases you will receive an answer from someone within a few hours. The app also has a premium variant. You can try this for free for 30 days, after which it costs approximately 4.50 to 10 euros per month, depending on which subscription duration you choose.
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