Language Acquisition via Language Learning Apps: My Advantages and Drawbacks
I love how new technologies make life so much easier for us. Thanks to apps, we have so many different ways to learn new things — including using these to help us learn new languages.
Language students often ask me if a language learning app is worth it. After all, shouldn’t you focus on textbook-based learning (like you probably did at school)?
However, I love language-learning apps.
Not all of them are great for all languages, but if you know what you want, you’ll find these apps hugely beneficial for the language you are learning.
I test many language-learning apps, and as a polyglot, I know what I want from a language app and how I want it to help me learn.
Let’s learn the how and why of these apps.
What Are Language-Learning Apps?
Language-learning apps are unique systems that work on your phone, laptop, or tablet. These apps offer unique lessons, each structured around a specific learning goal and using a particular learning technique.
Some apps offer games, others give you helpful suggestions, and some engage you in real-life learning scenarios.
But let’s look at these apps and how they helped me learn and revise the languages I already speak.
Pros of Language-Learning Apps
I’ll start with what I really like about language-learning apps. Of course, not all these pros apply to all learning apps, but I’ll give a brief overview, and I’ll dive deeper into my favorite apps in a moment.
Language-learning apps:
- Help you learn a language in bite-size installments or mini lessons, which means you can fit learning, practicing, and mastering into your busy lifestyle.
- Offer a diverse number of approaches to language learning, including auditory lessons, video lessons, written lessons, virtual reality lessons, and more.
- Are affordable, and some have a decent freemium version, like Duolingo’s free lessons.
- Help you connect with a supportive learning network of other app users.
- Help you create a large immersive database of language formats to explore, like podcasts, newspapers, books, poems, music, TV, movies, and more, which all helps your immersive learning journey.
- Some language-learning apps work well when used together — so I like to use Duolingo for fun lessons (like warm-up lessons), followed by a more in-depth Babbel lesson, while Mondly and Rosetta Stone help me expand on my vocabulary and build other language skills.
- You can choose lessons on the apps to suit a situation you need specific language skills for. For example, if you are going on holiday in Greece, you can look up lessons on tourism, travel, and local customs.
- Help increase your motivation to keep learning, because you can compete against other language students, connect with tutors, and practice your pronunciation with world-class speech recognition software.
Cons of Language-Learning Apps
Of course, it’s not all moonshine and roses with language-learning apps, and what works for me may not work for you.
However, these are the most obvious “bummers” about language apps to watch out for:
- The heavily gamified presentations can lead to you focusing on winning points, not on actual and meaningful language learning. (I’m very competitive, so I have to watch out that I don’t fall into the “click to win” syndrome.)
- Limited speaking practice, and you can forget to practice the language with native speakers.
- Becoming overly reliant on the lessons, instead of living the language.
- Over-reliance on the apps can prevent you from engaging with local people and actually becoming fluent.
- False promises, such as saying you’ll be “fluent in three weeks.”
- Costs involved in signing up for multiple apps.
- Not all languages have sufficient content on apps, which can limit your progress.
My Favorite Language-Learning Apps
I use apps to supplement my learning and language revision work.
While I have used many different language-learning apps and written extensive reviews on these, my go-to language apps are Babbel, Mondly, and Duolingo.
Of course, the language app you choose will be influenced by what languages the app offers, at what level, and whether the language you want to learn is being taught in your native tongue or in a language you speak well.
If you love true immersive learning, like I do, then you’ll love apps like Rosetta Stone, where you learn the language you choose in that language — which is how you learned your mother language.
Briefly, I love these apps because:
Babbel
I adore the minimalist interface, and the Babbel app is really helpful when I practice my language skills. Plus, the review feature is a real winner. Even something as simple as the browser extension (Toucan) can help me explore and refresh my language skills.
Mondly
Using technology, such as virtual reality and augmented reality can really help me to get the best out of my language learning experiences. I enjoy the AI-assisted learning on Mondly, and the chatbot can be a delightful (and less intimidating) language partner.
🌍 Ready to explore over 40 languages? Dive into learning with Mondly — it’s fun and effective! 🚀📚
Duolingo
The Practice Hub on Duolingo, combined with the almost addictively gamified features, make Duolingo a great assistant in my language learning journeys. Best of all — it’s free!
Read more:
- My Babbel Review — What the Popular Language Learning App Has to Offer?
- Duolingo Review: Is This App Good for Learning Languages?
- Mondly Review: What Have I Really Learned with This App?
Final Thoughts: The Golden Rule When It Comes to Language-Learning Apps
Before you rush out and purchase a subscription for a language app, consider that one app may not cover all bases in learning to speak a foreign language.
My golden rule is to never put all my learning eggs in one basket. Instead, I use various learning apps to help me get the best and most comprehensive learning approach in language learning.
Whether I am learning an entirely new language, revising a language I already speak well (but maybe have gotten a little rusty in), or just brushing up on specific vocabulary, I love using several language learning apps.
Combine these with podcasts, books, movies, TV series, music, newspapers, and more, and you’ve got the best possible integrated learning approach for language mastery.
Each of us are somewhat different in how we learn, so don’t just take my word for it. Instead, use freemium versions and trial subscriptions to help you discover which language-learning app (or apps) are best for you.
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