There are lots of reasons to learn a new language: whether you want to chat up the locals on your next vacation, converse better with your in-laws in their native tongue, or increase your chances of getting a job abroad. The thought of learning a brand new language (or even re-learning a mostly familiar one) can be intimidating. Instead of fumbling through a sub-par language course in a traditional classroom environment — and struggling to find the time to practice — check out these helpful apps and online training courses, all designed to get to up and running with a new language fast. uTalk Language Education: Lifetime Subscription Part of the reason why traditional language lessons don't work is that they teach you formal diction that's nothing like the way people actually talk. uTalk teaches you practical, real vocabulary used by locals through engaging games that help you measure your achievements as you progress. You can choose six languages to learn over your lifetime subscription from a massive list of 130 languages, including Afrikaans, Cantonese, Czech, and many more. Usually this subscription is $389.94, but you can get it on sale for $29.99 — or 92% off. Online course: Become Fluent in Any Language with Gabriel Wyner Figure out how to learn a new language in months, not years, with this course taught by Gabriel Wyner — a true lover of foreign languages. You'll explore memorization tools, linguistic concepts, and free software that will ensure speedy fluency. The course also breaks down the four essential stages of language acquisition: understanding correct pronunciation, building vocabulary and grammar skills, reading and listening effectively, and conversing with native speakers. Usually this course is $49, but you can get it on sale for $9.99, or 79% off. Online course: Fluent in 3 Months Premium Language Learning Featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC, and Forbes, this course is your hack to getting fluent in three months. Taught by world traveller and polyglot Benny Lewis, you'll learn the tools, resources, and daily habits you can employ to learn new languages — plus, the course gives you access to immersion resources for speaking Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Esperanto, English, Russian, Italian, Japanese, German, Irish, Portuguese, American Sign Language, and more. Usually this course is $97, but you can get it on sale for $29 — that's 70% off the usual price Rocket Language Learning Service Learning a new language can be exactly like taking classes in high school — sure, you learn the stuff, and about two years (or let's be real two days) later, it's like it never even happened. That shouldn't be the case with this Rocket Languages: not only do you learn the finer points of grammar and culture, but the voice recognition system helps you pronounce words more naturally and authentically. These 20-minute interactive audio lessons break down languages in an organic way that helps it all stick — a definite improvement over high school. Usually this service is $149.95, but you can get it on sale for $59.99, or 59% off. Mondly: Lifetime Subscription The best reinforcement is the positive kind, and this helpful app only gives it to you if you actually pronounce words correctly. Using professional voice actors and using a conversation-focused curriculum, you can take your pick of five languages from a choice of 33 total options, including English, Afrikaans, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Catch all that? The app breaks down lessons into short, digestible lessons that you can explore any time. Usually a lifetime subscription to Mondly is $1199.75, but you can get it on sale for $69.99 — that's 94% off the original price. |