Travel Hack #12 Learn a New Language with These Free Apps
Before you leave home for your round-the-world trip, it’s best to be armed with knowledge of the languages of your travel destinations for a smooth exchange with the locals wherever you plan to go. But if you don’t have time to attend language classes, consider learning a couple of new languages through some free downloadable apps. These apps work a lot like games, easy and enjoyable to use while effectively implanting a new language in your head. Check them out:
Duolingo
Using the traditional flash card technique in a fun teaching app that works like a game, Duolingo builds users’ grammar and vocabulary comparing their translations of different phrases with other students or native speakers of the language. Duolingo exists With the ultimate aim of breaking language barriers within the World Wide Web, and its exercises lets students actively participate in their goal by translating excerpts directly taken from the internet. At the moment, only Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, and German are offered by Duolingo.
Busuu
With more than 3,000 keywords and phrases accompanied by images for each language, Busuu is an app that can be used by users both online an offline. Busuu offers 12 different languages, which are available for download individually, which is good for users who want to save up space in their tablets or smartphones. Busuu also has a social networking platform that lets users interact with native speakers or advanced students for feedback and assistance.
Memrise
Memrise largely uses images–called “mems”– to effectively build a user’s vocabulary on his or her chosen language. These mems can be user-created and shared through the app’s social platform. Besides language learning, Memrise also offers lessons on the geography, history, pop culture, and other interesting information about other cultures.
Rosetta Course
Built as an accessory app for students on the go, the Rosetta Course app is a complement to the acclaimed Rosetta Stone software. Unlike most of the standalone apps mentioned above, the Rosetta Course focuses on pronunciation of foreign phrases through a wide library of audio recordings. Users can even receive feedback about their own recorded sound bytes through its advanced speech recognition technology.
HelloTalk
Built more like a social network, Hellotalk encourages language learning through social interactions within the app. Users can search for native speakers to help them learn a new language. Hellotalk is available in English, Chinese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Turkish.
Get it at iTunes | Google Play
