Learning a new language is an important item on the personal bucket list for many people. But who has the time for a language course at a community college? Fortunately, there is an easier way, at least in terms of time. Anyone who wants to learn a language these days often resorts to appropriate apps. TECHBOOK has tested the best.
Knowing one or more foreign languages undoubtedly has many advantages. Order an espresso in Rome or Florence in the local language? Chat with tourists in English? Or watch a Korean series in bed at home – without subtitles? Nothing is a problem once you have reached a certain language level. But let’s be honest: most of them only learned rudimentary English and perhaps even more rudimentary French at school. If you want to build on these basic skills or learn something completely new, you can have fun with low-threshold language learning apps. The applications attract with playful concepts, vocabulary training and learning scopes adapted to everyday life. TECHBOOK has tested several of these language learning apps for Android and iOS and can recommend the following three.
Duolingo
The green owl from Duolingo now has cult status. No wonder, because the language learning app was released in 2011, making it one of the oldest on the market. The freemium model with a free basic version and add-on extras was subsequently adopted by many other apps. Duolingo’s interface is very intuitive in both the web browser and the app version on Android and iOS devices.
The design with lots of small icons and various avatars that cheerfully comment on the learning step is clear, colorful and appealing. A total of at least 43 languages, including Latin and High Valyrian (from “A Song of Ice and Fire”), are available. However, there is an annoying limitation: most languages are only available in English. The offer in German is limited to English, French, Italian and Spanish. However, if you want to learn another language such as Japanese, Norwegian or Arabic, you have to do so in English. Unfortunately, this linguistic detour can be quite a hindrance if not even an exclusion criterion.
Duolingo works with a playful reward and collection system. For example, users receive points for completing various lessons. These points are transferable to the in-app currency Lingots, which you can use to purchase bonuses depending on your language package. The heart system is probably a question of taste. You receive five hearts every day. Every mistake in a lesson costs a heart or life. If you make a lot of mistakes and use up all your hearts, you have to wait a few hours until the hearts are filled up again. Alternatively, you can buy hearts with the lingots you have previously earned. This system motivates some users to work through the lessons particularly carefully. Others, on the other hand, are more frustrated when their language learning mistakes are “punished”.
The language learning app’s modules, arranged according to difficulty, each consist of five levels. Only when these are completed will new lessons be unlocked. There are different modes, such as querying vocabulary, arranging individual words in the correct sentence order and speaking entire sentences. If you are a little more advanced, you can decide whether you want to select the sentence modules or enter them completely yourself. And if you want to test your knowledge in action, you can always communicate with a chat bot.
Duolingo is primarily aimed at beginners who want to learn a new language easily using the app. Basic grammar and, above all, an extensive vocabulary are the focus of the application, which is therefore also well suited for children and young people. If you want to reinforce your language skills with some grammar rules, you usually have to derive them from the exercises. Incidentally, the free app version of Duolingo is completely sufficient for language learning. Anyone who takes out the subscription gets a few nice, but not absolutely necessary, extras. But if you are very allergic to advertising, you should think about subscribing.
Babble
Babble is even a few years older than Duolingo. The company was founded in Berlin in 2007. A team of linguists was also involved in the development of the individual lessons, so that the individual lessons were adapted to the respective language combination and were not simply translated. This language learning app is also available for the browser and mobile devices. If you are still unsure, you can test Babbel for seven days, after which the app costs 7 to 10 euros per month, depending on the package you book. Users can choose between 13 languages based on the native languages of German and English, including Danish, Indonesian and Portuguese. However, the app focuses on European languages.
Unlike Duolingo, the focus here is a little more on grammar, which is why the app is also suitable for advanced learners. For example, you can take a placement test at the beginning if you state that you already have a certain language level. In addition to the usual lessons, Babbel also offers small modules whose content is adapted to the culture of the respective country. Users can also set up learning reminders independently. Overall, the language learning app is a little more confusing than Duolingo, but still easy to use.
Babbel is less playful than many of its competitors. There is no reward system or colorful stickers when completing a lesson. Overall, the level is a little higher and the tasks are more difficult, but also a little less varied. So if you are serious, prefer a simpler design and want to train your language skills at a higher level, you will be able to work well with Babbel.
Mondly
The third language learning app in the group is Mondly. In terms of design and content structure, it lies pretty much between Duolingo and Babbel. There are also some playful elements here, such as a points system through which you can compare your progress with other users. Anyone who uses the app every day unlocks a quiz at the end of the week. If you successfully complete all of these quizzes, you will eventually gain access to the monthly challenge. Regular hard work is therefore rewarded.
The app includes a total of 41 languages, from Korean to Persian to Croatian – and best of all: you can learn them in German. The lessons, which are based primarily on content rather than difficulty, can be completed in any order. So you don’t have to struggle through the family lesson like with Duolingo until you get to the topic of food (which is much more important vocabulary on vacation).
The focus of Mondly is primarily on vocabulary. You can access vocabulary you have already learned at any time, even after you have completed the lessons. At the end of each lesson there is also a conversation with a chat bot so that you can directly apply what you have learned. The app’s methods for learning the new language vary between assigning individual vocabulary and entire sentences as well as repeating words. The grammar is not actively explained, but is taught afterwards using sentences that have already been learned.
Mondly is also available as a well-functioning free version. If you want to use various extras such as additional lessons, you pay between 6 and 10 euros per month. The language learning app is sometimes structured in a somewhat confusing way and is aimed primarily at those who want to expand their vocabulary in a playful way.
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Which language learning app is suitable for whom?
Basically, all three language learning apps presented here work with similar methods. However, there are sometimes quite clear differences, so it mainly depends on how you best or prefer to learn a new language. While Duolingo and Mondly work with a driving reward system, Babbel takes a more textbook approach. This should particularly suit people who prefer things to be a little more structured. This makes the app subjectively the highest quality of the three, although it is not available for free (except for a one-week test period).
Duolingo is aimed specifically at beginners who want to slowly get to grips with a language. The clear design also makes it suitable for children and young people. Mondly, on the other hand, focuses primarily on building and expanding vocabulary. In addition, the points rankings provide a challenging element that can be motivating if necessary.
The chatbots integrated into all three apps work quite well. With the increasing use of AI one can hope for improvement, but one proper conversation cannot replace even an AI. So if you really want to delve deeply into a language and master it at a high level in the long term, you can use language learning apps like these to have the language constantly present.
In addition, you should also seek contact with other language learners or native speakers. For languages such as Japanese or Korean, which have a different writing or character system, it is difficult for an app to replace manual writing. If you want to learn to read and possibly write fluently, you will probably also have to sit behind the desk in the classic way.
More language learning apps
In addition to Duolingo, Babbel and Mondly, there are also a variety of other language learning apps. Some of them follow completely different didactic approaches. It’s pretty well known Busuu, which not only focuses on classic quiz learning, but also wants to bring learners and native speakers together. A bit of commitment to the community is also required here, which is definitely in the spirit of the matter. The basic version is free, but a subscription might be worth it. Similar to Babbel, Busuu offers a comparatively mediocre offering of 14 languages.
The app follows a fundamentally different concept Rosetta Stone, because here the focus is strongly “on speaking and pronunciation”. The learners should be made fit for everyday situations and this also includes the necessary self-confidence. Accordingly, it’s not really about memorizing grammar, but rather about various listening, speaking and classification exercises. You should understand the language step by step by observing and listening. So anyone who prefers to learn in writing will be less happy with Rosetta Stone than those who love to jump into every conversation anyway. A major drawback of the app, however, is that the test phase only lasts 72 hours. The various subscriptions are comparatively expensive at 12 euros and up.