Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:
Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)
"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"
Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)
Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)
*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.
"I have a pretty neat library card"
Mango (Languages: So many and the endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)
Transparent Language: (Languages: THE MOST! Also the one that has the widest variety of African languages! Perhaps the most diverse in ESL and learning a foreign language not in English)
"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"
AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)
"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"
AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone
"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"
lingory
"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"
ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)
"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"
Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)
I'm a big fan of extensive reading apps for language learning, and even collaborated on such an app some 10 years ago. It eventually had to be shut down, sadly enough.
Right now, the biggest one in the market is the paywalled LingQ, which is pretty good, but well, requires money.
There's also the OG programs, LWT (Learning With Texts) and FLTR (Foreign Language Text Reader), which are so cumbersome to set up and use that I'm not going to bother with them.
I presently use Vocab Tracker as my daily driver, but I took a spin around GitHub to see what fresh new stuff is being developed. Here's an overview of what I found, as well as VT itself.
(There were a few more, like Aprelendo and TextLingo, which did not have end-user-friendly installations, so I'm not counting them).
Vocab Tracker
++ Available on web
++ 1-5 word-marking hotkeys and instant meanings makes using it a breeze
++ Supports websites
-- Default meaning/translation is not always reliable
-- No custom languages
-- Ugliest interface by far
-- Does not always recognise user-selected phrases
-- Virtually unusable on mobile
-- Most likely no longer maintained/developed
Lute
++ Supports virtually all languages (custom language support), including Hindi and Sanskrit
++ Per-language, customisable dictionary settings
++ Excellent, customisable hotkey support
-- No instant meaning look-up makes it cumbersome to use, as you have to load an external dictionary for each word
-- Docker installation
LinguaCafe
++ Instant meanings thanks to pre-loaded dictionaries
++ Supports ebooks, YouTube, subtitles, and websites
++ Customisable fonts
++ Best interface of the bunch
== Has 7 word learning levels, which may be too many for some
-- Hotkeys are not customisable (yet) and existing ones are a bit cumbersome (0 for known, for eg.)
-- No online dictionary look-up other than DeepL, which requires an API key (not an intuitive process)
-- No custom languages
-- Supports a maximum of 15,000 characters per "chapter", making organising longer texts cumbersome
-- Docker installation
Dzelda
++ Supports pdf and epub
++ Available on web
-- Requires confirming meaning for each word to mark that word, making it less efficient to read through
-- No custom languages, supports only some Latin-script languages
-- No user-customisable dictionaries (has a Google Form to suggest more dictionaries)
I would really like to share this app with all of you - Polygloss!
The premise is really simple - you are given a picture, and you need to describe it in a way that the other person will understand! Then, you'll be given the other person's description, and will need to figure out, which picture it is!
I cannot say enough how good it is for your brain. And if you will make a mistake, don't worry - other person can correct it, and you'll be able to give them a lil' reward as a thanks!
As you can see, I have a long road ahead. But maybe, we can go on this walk together!
Feel free to join me! (つ≧▽≦)つ
Also yeah, there's a lot of languages, not just Eng and German owo
Confession: I’ve been slacking on Japanese recently because my life has been so hectic recently. So here are some of the ways I’ve been trying to keep it in my brain when I can’t dedicate a lot of time to studying.
CHANGE YOUR PHONE LANGUAGE
This applies to computers as well! This is the easiest way to ensure you see at least some of your target language every day. It’s good for any level, even beginners.
If you haven’t already done this, do it now. I understand that some things are important and you need to be sure you understand them — in that case, you can always change individual apps to have different languages, just look up the app name in settings.
Podcasts/Music
Find some podcasts in your target language and listen to them before bed, during your commute, whatever. There are lots of podcasts made specifically for learners, or you can look up topics in your target language to find a podcast you might enjoy.
Music is also an amazing way to hear your target language being used. If you find an artist you like, that’s another good way to study your TL! Follow them on socials, look up interviews with them, etc.
Talk to Yourself
Any spare minute you have, talk to yourself in your target language. It doesn’t need to be out loud. You can have a conversation with yourself, try to express how you’re feeling, make up stories, or just describe the things around you in your target language. This is also a good way to see what kind of vocabulary you’re missing.
Apps
Duolingo has fired a ton of translators and started using crappy AI translations — so they’re probably not the best choice.
I’d recommend dictionary app that has some sort of flash card feature is also good, or an anki deck. Drops is good, and has a lot of languages, but keep in mind you’ll need audio. Anything that’s easy to get out and do for even just a few minutes is perfect.
Apps won’t teach you a language on their own, but doing a little every day helps remind me the language exists and keeps it in my mind.
Texting/Writing/Posting
Whether your friends know your TL or not, force them to experience it by randomly messaging in Japanese! Or, if you feel fancy, download an app like “HelloTalk”, “Tandem”, “Speaky”, “Tabee”…there are a lot.
If you keep a digital journal (like I do…inconsistently), try to write some entries in your TL.
If you have a blog, which I assume you do, post in your TL. Even if you’re a beginner, you can make a sideblog dedicated to saying stuff like “I’m hungry” and “Green is my favourite colour” in your target language.
Open your notes app and just write random words you can remember or sentences you can string together.
I know it’s really difficult, and don’t beat yourself up because you aren’t studying as hard. A language can be a lifelong companion — you’ll have phases of studying constantly, and sometimes it’ll take the back seat, but there’s no rush to learn it. Have a great day :)!
Chinese Learning Apps I've heard good things about:
Pleco - a great dictionary app. The free Clip Reader area is a reading tool where you can paste any text in. There's also one time payment add ons that can be purchased depending on one's needs.
Readibu - a reader app for Chinese specifically, has better translations than Lingq. Free version is fine for reading. Most online pages can be imported into Readibu if you paste the URL into the 'search' for reading material area. So if you want to use Readibu to read webnovels or news articles, that is possible. If not, try Pleco's Clip Reader tool instead to paste in text from online.
SuperChinese (in app store it's the monkey icon) - I've seen people recommend this instead of duolingo and lingodeer, they have lessons with grammar and vocabulary up to HSK 6 from what I've heard. If anyone knows what HSK level they teach up to, please feel free to add that to this post.
Dot Languages (in app store it's the polar bear icon) - an app with graded reader articles by HSK level. Recommended for HSK focused vocabulary, and providing good reading materials.
Hanly: Chinese Decoded - a free app for learning some of the most common hanzi. I have looked at it and it has similar information to some beginner hanzi reference books, certainly enough to get started learning. Hanzi taught with radicals, which is useful.
Skritter - an app for learning hanzi, recommended for Chinese as much as WaniKani is for Japanese, teaches a LOT of hanzi. Comparable to bigger hanzi reference books that exist (and Skritter has more hanzi than some popular hanzi reference books I've seen which only include the HSK hanzi).
Youtube - searching "Chinese lessons," "Chinese comprehensible input," "Chinese listening," "Chinese learning podcast" and other variations will help you find a LOT of channels that teach Chinese. You can look at this Mandarin Input Media google spreadsheet for browsing the CI Lessons youtube channels and some other Chinese materials on youtube. The spreadsheet does not include everything, there's so much on youtube! Youtube also has cartoons, podcasts, shows, and audiobooks. Try out Mandarin search terms in youtube too!
Special Mentions (not apps, but useful websites that you can use on your phone if you want):
HeavenlyPath.notion.site - an excellent site for looking up reading material recommendations by difficulty. Their Comprehensive Reading Guide - from Beginner to Native Novels article is an excellent guide for learning how to read, what tools can be helpful, and what Graded Reader resources exist. If you want to start reading webnovels, I highly recommend exploring that site and it's guides.
Vidioma.com - if you struggle to find material on youtube to study with, this site shares youtube Chinese Comprehensible Input Lessons, categorizes it by difficulty, and tracks your study time. So you can just open up this site, click 'beginner' videos and start watching. Or 'intermediate' or whatever level suits you. It may also help you if you find being on youtube directly distracts you, and you end up watching other stuff that isn't for learning Chinese. Vidioma was made by someone learning Chinese, and his goal is to make a free site for Chinese like the Dreaming Spanish, so learners can just log on and watch CI Lessons to learn and see their progress go up. Maybe it will motivate some people. I find the site useful for finding new stuff at a level I understand, since I don't have to sort through Youtube on my own and guess of the difficulty of a given video on Vidioma.com.
If you're a Total Beginner, and want to start studying primarily with apps, I recommend SuperChinese and Vidioma.com at first.
I recommend some other Structured Resource like a textbook or course (from a Library or eLibrary) if you'd like to use physical resources primarily.
If you like learning primarily by listening, ChinesePod101/Innovative Languages Chinese is a good course to start with (that's the name of the course on Hoopla if you want to check them out from the library for free - Innovative Languages owns LanguagePod101).
If you want to learn primarily with reading, reference Heavenly Path's Comprehensive Reading Guide.
On my Beginning to Learn Mandarin - Resources post, I went over exactly what I used toward the bottom after the purple text "Want to copy what I did?" I studied primarily to read, so the resources I used skew that way. And I used a smattering of different things, you do not need to do the same.
For more details about picking learning resources, read below the cut.
If you are a Total Beginner, I recommend sticking with 1-2 resources and just going through and completing them before picking a new resource. If the resources you pick do not include all 4 skills reading, listening, writing, speaking - then pick as many resources as you need to get coverage for all 4 skills, or focus on just 1-2 skills at a time.
Most good Structured Resources will cover at LEAST listening and reading, and then you may have to get creative to practice writing and speaking. Some Structured Resources cover ONLY listening or ONLY Reading, so use a resource limited to just 1 skill if that skill is one of your more important goals. (Example: Vidioma.com covers ONLY listening, Readibu covers ONLY reading. However, youtube videos often have captions so they can be used for BOTH listening and reading if you turn captions on, and many webnovels have audiobooks so one could BOTH read a webnovel in readibu AND listen to the audiobook online to practice both skills). If you get creative, most resources you find can be used as listening and reading practice. Structured Resource classes (such as at university, or online free on Coursera) usually cover all 4 skills - the textbooks/lesson materials usually cover listening and reading, and then the class exercises force you to practice writing and speaking.
If you are using self-study resources then you may have to wait to practice writing and speaking until later, or use a different resource (tutor, language exchange partner, class, a journal and voice recorder on your own) to practice writing and speaking.
On my Beginning to Learn Mandarin - Resources post, I went over exactly what I used toward the bottom after the purple text "Want to copy what I did?" I studied primarily to read, so the resources I used skew toward that skill. And I used a smattering of different things, as I tried to figure out what would work best for me.
Some other useful posts for Total Beginners: Free Structured Resources for Beginners, Common pitfalls Beginners fall into - and how to get out of them (TLDR: stick to 1-2 resources that are working for you for a while, and finish them!), How to Learn a Language: Making a Study Plan.
Because of the mess that Duolingo turned out to be, I checked out a recommended app (list of recommendations here.)
I tried Busuu today and it’s great!
It actually uses the language skill levels of A1/ A2/ B1/ B2 that are used to compare language proficiency.
The assessment test was swift and didn’t feel pressuring, you can actually re-do the assessment for a language you already started whenever you feel like it!
However, one major point of critique (which is actually about accessibility): you can not turn off speaking exercises in Busuu. You can only repeatedly click “skip” whenever they pop up. But you can not just say “I don’t want/ can’t do speaking exercise at all.” And the same goes for listening exercises but worse because you can’t even skip those within your regular exercises/ lessons!
Disclaimer: I am not Deaf/ deaf nor mute. To me these things are annoyances more than actual accessibility issues but it does make Busuu feel rather inaccessible. Sometimes I just don’t want to deal with listening exercises. And I generally don’t like speaking “on command” or vocally replying to prompts. But, again, for me these are preferences.
I know speaking and listening exercises are important to achieve an actual comprehension for a language and I recognise avoiding speaking/ listening might slow down my progression in my chosen languages of study. I recognise that I need to and do consume media where I need to listen to the languages I’m learning.
To other people, it is an actual problem of accessibility that you can not universally turn off speaking/ listening exercises in Busuu.
I just figured this might be an issue people will inevitably notice now that we are changing away from Duolingo in droves and someone had to make a post about it.
A list of Spanish language learning resources (books, youtubers, apps and more)
In the past two years, my interest in the Spanish language has grown almost at the same level as my interest in Japanese. During my studies, I have found multiple interesting resources and I wish to share them with you. I have always valued good resource recommendations from others, so I wanted to make my own list of recommendations. I hope this will be helpful to other language learners out…
