What are the most useful websites to learn a language?

Learning a new language is not just fun but actually highly beneficial. It’s a widely accepted notion that you never learn a new language, instead, you experience it. Learning a new language helps understand the diversity and experience of the different cultures of the world. In a recent study conducted by Swedish scientists, it was found that learning a foreign language could increase the size of your brain. Learning a new language ultimately helps you grow mentally and psychologically. Apart from all this, it helps expand the job opportunities available to you, increases your chances of being completely independent when you travel and, in some cases, even help you get cheaper higher education abroad.

While learning a language sure has a bunch of different benefits attached to it, we cannot forget that we are in the middle of a world crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has reduced your options of going outside to universities to learn languages. In that case, you might want to learn these languages online, but the next problem would be, which online website for language learning is actually professional without compromising the quality of the content.  Rest assured I will answer all such question herein today.

1.Duolingo

Currently the most popular website for language learning, Duolingo starts by teaching you the most basic words in the language of your choice. It focuses on familiarising you to the words first and then follow it up with simple sentences and the gradually increase the level of difficulty. You’ll go through lessons with native speakers, followed by quizzes to help you strengthen your learning. The app also listens to you speak so that it can determine how you’re progressing.

2. FluentU

Here, you learn the language with the help of videos. These videos are not instructional, but rather regular videos featuring the foreign language. The videos have interactive captions to help you learn the language. The captions are presented in both languages, one that you are familiar with and the other that you’re trying to learn. They also offer a 15-day trial so you can check it out after which you will have to officially enrol with them.

3. Rype

This language learning website has an interesting business model. Instead of using quizzes or videos to teach a new language, you learn from a personal instructor over a video call. The only downside is that don’t offer as many languages when compared to some other sites but they plan on adding more in the future.

4. Memrise

This language learning website is designed for getting started with a language rather than for real fluency. Similar to Duolingo, you learn a language by playing word games that help you memorize the language with ease. They even support an offline mode so you can learn the language anywhere. The basic features are free to use but the Pro version comes with its costs. The Pro version gives you access to a grammar bot, listening skill exercises, a video mode, and analytics on your learning performance.

5. Babbel

This language learning website takes a more personalized approach to teach you a new language. Instead of starting with the same words as everyone else, you get to choose a topic about which you want to learn. So, you can customize your course to your own liking. Once you choose a topic, you’ll learn the vocabulary for that topic first, which keeps the lessons interesting and useful.

6. Preply

This language learning website helps you learn the language within your comfort zone. It helps you speak naturally with professional online tutors from 185 different countries. Here you will find native speakers and certified private tutors who are verified by the site and you can also take online lessons at the perfect time for your busy schedule. They offer pretty reasonable prices when compared to some other online learning platforms.

7. Multibhashi

This is an ed-tech platform that facilitates online learning in an effective and innovative manner through the medium of audio-visual training sessions and app-based learning. Here, you can either opt for a group session or demand complete attention from the instructor. They teach through audio-visual online learning sessions, so, can have a real-time interaction with the trainer, ask questions, get the doubts cleared, and practice the lessons taught. They also offer some of the most reasonable prices in the market.

8. Anki

This language learning website focuses on helping you memorise things easily. Their methods are a lot more efficient than traditional study methods. Their method is content-agnostic which supports images, audio, videos and scientific markups. They focus on synchronization, optimization, increased flexibility and an open and wider reach because this helps in greatly decreasing the time spent on studying and instead increases the amount you learn.

These are some of the best online language learning websites that offer a course for individuals without compromising on the quality of the content. I suggest visiting each site and reading a little more in detail about their course and then choosing one that benefits you the most.