Not long ago, when you wanted to learn a new language, you had to take a class, hire a teacher or study a book. This is no longer the case. One of the most convenient ways to learn English nowadays is by getting an app. An app that you download to your smartphone or tablet lets you take your English lessons everywhere you go. You can study in your spare time, whether you’re on your break at work, riding a commuter train or at home.
I myself have been brushing up my English by using mobile apps. Let’s discuss some of these apps which I like.
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Duolingo
Duolingo is a free app that makes it easy to learn English (as well as other languages) at your convenience. This is one of the most popular and highly rated language apps you can find today. It’s been called the best language-learning app by the Wall Street Journal and awarded Editor’s Choice by PCMag.com.
The best part of Duolingo is that learning is fun. You learn by playing games. As you try to get answers right to improve your score, you’re hardly aware that you are studying. Gamification is a great way to make the difficult process of learning English enjoyable.
The app incorporates several crucial aspects of learning English into its lessons. You read, listen and speak. Without all three, you can’t really master a language. One of the benefits of using a phone app is that you get both visual and audio content. This is something you can’t get from a textbook. There’s also in-lesson grading, so you get immediate feedback on how you’re doing.
Duolingo is designed to provide incentives to keep going. You get “streaks” to measure how many days in a row you’ve used the app. You get hearts to indicate correct answers. There’s also an offline mode, where you can access certain lessons without internet access.
All in all, Duolingo is a fun, innovative and very effective app for learning English.
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English Everyday
English Everyday is an app that lets you progress through 12 lessons that you can move through as slowly or quickly as you want. This app can be used by anyone who wants to learn English, but it’s especially designed for Chinese speakers. This app isn’t quite as well known as some others, but it’s off to a strong start. As of this writing, it has a perfect 5.0 star rating on Google.
The lessons for English Everyday cover many typical situations where you may want to practice your English skills, such as conversation at the office, on the road, school, shopping, at a cafe, in a hospital and much more. Chinese characters are shown under the English words to make it easy for native Chinese speakers to learn the new language.
Transitioning from Chinese and other Asian languages to English is extremely challenging. English Everyday is an app that makes this process simpler.
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Busuu
Busuu is an app designed to help you learn English by only studying 10 minutes per day. Obviously, if you can do more than this you’ll progress even faster. But since many people are very busy, this approach is very convenient. Busuu was awarded one of the best apps of 2015 and Editor’s Choice by Google Play.
Busuu is a highly interactive language course that keeps you engaged as you master new vocabulary, phrases and pronunciation skills. There are memory practices, grammar exercises, writing lessons, vocabulary lessons and audio samples to help you learn the correct sound of English phrases. In addition to English, you also have the option of learning 10 other languages. A study by the City University of New York found that 22.5 hours of using Busuu was the equivalent of taking a full college semester of language learning.
Busuu is an app that can be personalized to fit your own needs. There are several levels, each with its own challenges. There are quizzes and vocabulary games to help you test your progress in an enjoyable manner. There’s an offline mode that lets you study without an internet connection.
There’s a free version of Busuu or Premium plans starting at $5.83 per month.
These are some of the great Android apps which I like. If you take some time to download and try these apps out, I am sure they will be able to help you make fast progress in your English studies. You can use them as an accompaniment to your other studies or even as a standalone method for learning English. These free apps let you take advantage of the latest technology to learn English quickly and enjoyably.
