How to learn a foreign language via smartphone: top 10 apps

The best way to learn a foreign language is through practice. Reading texts, live communication, listening to information - these methods speed up the learning process and guarantee results. It is very convenient to use gadgets for learning: first of all, a smartphone, which every modern person has. Spending a small amount of time and effort per day, you can quickly and effectively learn any foreign language. All that remains is to understand the nuances and choose the right application.

How to start learning through your smartphone

To start learning a language, you need to download any of your favorite apps to your phone or tablet. These applications allow you to listen to video and audio lessons, complete assignments, and communicate freely with direct native speakers using all types of communication - voice and text message chats, as well as video calls at your convenience.

After downloading a convenient service, you need to register on it and understand all the functions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, it is advisable to try it out for at least a week. All language applications have quite a lot of similar functions, but there are some differences in them.

Overview of language applications: features and benefits

There are six kinds of language apps that can be easily downloaded to your cell phone and used for learning.

Italki

The main communication tool in this app is skype or any other communication programs. The main benefits are:

• individualized instruction with a teacher;
• You can watch a video presentation by the instructor and take a trial lesson at a discount;
• the opportunity to communicate with direct native speakers;
• lesson reminders to your email or mobile app;
• convenient schedule of classes, the time you choose yourself;
• Keeping your own diary (with comments);
• online error correction.

Skype makes it easy to find a conversation partner and a teacher with whom you can video call or chat. The cost depends on the language and the level of the teacher. For English, the price range is from $4 to $80 per hour, and there are price tags of $1 to $2 for trial classes. 

Tandem

Positioned as the largest international language exchange community. Among the main advantages of the Tandem mobile service are the following:

• there is no need to make a communication and lesson plan in advance, to start a dialog you can go to the chat room at any time and write a message;
• the possibility of free communication, during which you and your interlocutor teach each other each their own language;
• opportunity to share answers to questions on various topics (sports, culture, traditions);
• the ability to speak words and texts through voice messages;
• user-friendly interface;
• rapid learning of spoken vocabulary;
• the continuous work of the interpreter of the foreign interlocutor's texts;
• online proofreading of written texts in chat.

With the help of this service you can learn any foreign language through language exchange: you learn, for example, English, and in return you help your foreign interlocutor to master your native Russian. It's free. It is also possible to find a paid tutor. Prices are not listed on the website. 

Hello Talk

Mobile app Hello Talk is another language exchange site. It can be used even without knowledge of a foreign language. The "smart" service has special transliteration and translation functions for this purpose, which allows you to communicate with different people around the globe.

The main benefits of the Hello Talk app:

• More than 150 available languages. Over 18 million potential language partners;
• recording voice messages in your native language;
• availability of text chat;
• advanced tools that make language practice more fun. You can chat with users or join a groups and learn in the collective;
• the ability to publish Moments - posts in the section that will allow you to connect with all native speakers of the language you are learning at the same time;
• automatic translation of messages into the interlocutor's language;
• Constant proofreading of written text;
• translate and check text messages before sending them;
• free opening of topics for discussion;
• automatic translation of native speakers' text messages;
• The ability to save and listen to sentences from the chat.

There is also an opportunity to exchange messages and have a full dialog with a native speaker in comments to the discussed topic. Language exchange in this app is free, there is no information about paid services. 

Hello Pal

A messaging service that focuses on social interaction, language learning and traveling. The site is available in English only.

The main benefits of the Hello Pal mobile app:

• built-in translators and phrase books for specific topics;
• selection of whole phrases for full communication;
• voicing phrases;
• replacing individual words in whole phrases;
• listening and correct repetition of phrases (if necessary);
• learning is done through phrase games.

In this app, you can communicate through audio and text chats, as well as make calls. There are also Travel Pal and Language Pal apps. An interesting nuance is that the app has a digital wallet where you can store bitcoins and ethers, among other things. The app is free. 

Hinative

Through this service you can ask questions and receive almost instant answers from native speakers of English, Spanish, French and other languages. Convenient and constant communication with foreign citizens all over the world. Among its advantages:

• built-in templates for asking questions;
• checking and correcting audio files by foreigners;
• uploading your own audio recordings;
• getting quick and clear answers to all your language learning questions.

With the Hinative mobile app, you can learn in seconds how to spell and pronounce a word, how to place punctuation marks in a sentence, and get an urgent translation of any phrase. An online version and apps for iPhone and Android are available. The app is free. 

Speaky

Speaky mobile application is a social network for learning languages and communicating with people from all over the world, a great opportunity not only to learn a foreign language, but also to make friends all over the globe. There are 110 languages represented in Speaky application. Platform Benefits:

• the possibility to find interlocutors with common interests;
• simple interface;
• a minimal set of simple and clear functions;
• full choice of communication types: chat, audio and video calls.

Before starting the training, you should carefully check all the settings of the service to exclude a large flow of information messages from different interlocutors at the same time.

Babbel

The website interface is available in English only. The program is compiled by a team of language learning experts. The authors promise that students will not just memorize grammar and words, but will learn to understand their interlocutors and express themselves in one of the 14 available languages. 21 hours of training with Babbel replaces a full-fledged language course at university. The app has an audience of more than 15 million people.

A lesson in the program takes only 10-15 minutes. Attention is paid to both vocabulary and grammar, with special emphasis on building dialogues. The application is voiced by a male and female voice. Some of the tasks are available for free, for the rest you will have to pay. Payment depends on the selected package (from 7 dollars per month).

LinguaLeo

It is positioned as a platform for beginners with a game form of learning, but has additional opportunities for advanced students as well. There is a course "Business English", including materials on business, finance, accounting.

The platform offers 20 courses for students of different levels, as well as simulators for the popular IELTS General, CAE, FCE and GIA tests. The program includes 6 types of interactive training, songs, dictionaries, collections of various English texts and the ability to study without an Internet connection. But the main feature is the gamification element. The developers have tried to make language learning fun. For completed exercises, students get meatballs to feed to the lion. The app is available for free, but there are paid options inside. 

Duolingo

A very popular application with the help of which millions of users all over the world learn foreign languages. Four languages are available for Russian-speaking students: English, Spanish, German, French, if you study in English - also Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic and Greek. The program teaches you to read, speak and listen, there are tasks in game form and prize points for correct answers in the internal "currency" - lingots. According to the developers, 34 hours of this course gives the result like one semester of university studies.

The app offers personalized instruction, tailored to your learning style, for effective vocabulary acquisition. Each section includes lessons on learning new words, grammar, listening and reading, pronunciation, spelling and two-way translation. Students receive an assessment of their work immediately - along with tips on how to improve their results.

The app is available for free. 

Easy ten 

The program of this application is based on the thesis that any person actively uses only 3,000 words. The program is suitable for those who have a desire to learn English but little time. The words are selected individually. In this simple way, you can learn 3,650 words in a year, spending only five minutes a day. The languages available are Spanish, English, French, Italian, German and Portuguese. There are simple drills to consolidate your knowledge. The app takes into account your mistakes and gives you the opportunity to repeat difficult words to memorize them better.

The app is available for free, but there is paid content inside.

All language apps are available in the mobile versions of the AppStore and GooglePlay stores.

If you don't have the time or opportunity to go to a tutor in your city, language learning apps can be an indispensable assistant. It is available and inexpensive, often free of charge. Test different programs, choose the right one for you and practice with native speakers or specially designed programs that will quickly improve your level.