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If you have been wanting to learn a foreign language, there’s never been a better time to start. With smartphone apps, you can now learn any language from the comfort of your couch. Of course, mastering a language not native to you isn’t easy. It will require immense dedication and practice. But your Android smartphone can be of great help in this journey.
The Google Play Store has tons of apps that allow you to learn new languages at your own pace and schedule. These apps teach you everything from vocabulary and grammar to the right pronunciation and usage of words in sentences and much more. Whether your goal is to just have basic conversations in a foreign language or to master the language and leverage the skill professionally, as long as you have that burning desire inside you, it’s doable.
But before all of this, you must find the app that is best suited for your goal. To help you with your search, we have compiled a list of the best Android apps for learning new languages. While all apps offer the same core functionality, i.e. teach you new languages, their approach and teaching methods vary. Go through the article below for more information about each app. We have included a brief description, Google Play rating and size, cost of in-app purchases, and screenshots or promo videos, as well as a Google Play Store download link.
Best language learning Android apps 2023 downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, including a direct link for easy downloading.
All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Duolingo
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $149.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
With over 300 million users around the world, Duolingo is one of the most popular apps for learning new languages. The app offers courses in more than 40 languages and you can enroll in as many courses as you like at once. While it may not be the best idea to simultaneously pursue multiple courses, as it could all get mixed up and confusing, Duolingo’s game-like mini-lessons make things a lot simpler.
Whether you are a native English speaker or not, this app has language courses for everyone. Its expert-curated science-based lessons start with basic words, phrases, and sentences before gradually moving to the more complex side of languages. With regular practice, your grammar and vocabulary get strong, helping you improve your speaking, reading, and writing skills over time.
Duolingo also offers additional resources such as Stories and Events to make your learning process more fun and effective. Moreover, its playful rewards and achievements motivate you to make practicing a daily habit.
Babbel
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $12.95 – $399.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Babbel is another popular name when it comes to Android apps for learning new languages. It offers more than 60,000 lessons in 14 different languages. You get thousands of hours of immersive and interactive language content crafted by dedicated professionals, with each lesson broken into small segments that only take 10-15 minutes of your time every day.
Language lessons in Babbel are tailored to real-life situations and customized according to the local culture. So instead of learning the same phrase and vocabulary in multiple languages, you’ll be learning native language skills. This practical approach helps you quickly develop natural speaking abilities in foreign languages. Of course, the app will also teach you formal words, phrases, grammar, pronunciation, and sentence formation.
Mondly
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $4.99 – $191.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Mondly focuses on conversational skills more than developing vocabulary. You get lessons on specific real-life situations in 33 languages. So if you’re planning a trip abroad and need to learn some basics in the native language, this app has got you covered. It offers audio pronunciation from native speakers, so you can learn to pronounce words and phrases the way they speak.
Since mastering a language requires you to amass a sizable vocabulary, Mondly eventually comes to that. But conversational skills are its forte. It even boasts AI chatbots to help you practice speaking foreign languages. The app uses speech recognition technology to determine whether you are speaking correctly and provides feedback accordingly. Mondly keeps track of your progress and lets you compete with other users on the platform.
Rosetta Stone
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $299.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Rosetta Stone has been around for decades, which is a testament to its effectiveness when it comes to teaching foreign languages. Now available as an app, it offers interactive and contextual lessons in over 20 languages. Its proprietary speech recognition technology helps you develop speaking abilities from the very beginning. The app asks you to repeat a said word and match spoken words and phrases with images on the screen.
All this while, Rosetta Stone will guide you to improve your vocabulary and grammar in foreign languages. You can tailor your lessons according to your goal. Simply specify why you want to learn a language and the app will give you curated lessons that gradually take you closer to that goal. It divides lessons into 10-minute segments and lets you download courses for offline access.
Memrise
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $199.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Memrise uses video lessons to teach you foreign languages. The videos are supplied by native speakers, with the whole of its 65 million+ user community contributing. The app boasts more than 30,000 such videos, allowing you to learn the pronunciation, tone, and accent of the language as the locals speak it. When you are ready to begin conversations yourself, you have an AI chatbot for practicing.
This app offers lessons in more than 20 languages, with each course comprising of a rich variety of practice sets, quizzes, and games. These features make your journey more fun and engaging. Memrise also has language lessons curated to real-life situations, helping develop basic conversational skills.
Lingualeo
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $299.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Lingualeo offers a wide range of resources to help you learn languages. It boasts vocabulary training courses, grammar exercises, thematic courses, and video lessons, as well as featured collections of language-themed articles, speeches, books, and more. All of this helps you develop your reading, speaking, and writing skills in foreign languages.
This app’s game-based approach allows you to compete with other users and earn rewards for achieving goals faster. With more than 23 million users around the world, it’s a pretty big community, so competition is high. You can use the same Lingualeo account on the app and website, allowing you to continue your lessons from the device of your choice.
Busuu
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $169.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Busuu is another popular app among language learners, with more than 120 million people using it to learn new languages globally. It offers courses in 14 languages, with the option to select your current skill set. If you’re a complete newbie to a language, the app will start lessons from the lowest level. But if you do know some basics, it won’t waste your time teaching what you already know.
Regardless of your expertise in a language, Bussu allows you to create a study plan of your own. This ensures that you are learning at a pace best suitable to your schedule. If you need help, you can always turn to the 120 million-strong community where you will certainly find a few native speakers of the language you are learning. You can have conversations with them and get feedback to sharpen up your skills.
Drops
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $194.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Drops offers courses in more than 45 languages. It uses illustrations and fast-paced micro-games to teach you essential words, phrases, and conversational skills in a fun way. The app doesn’t give much importance to grammar in its lessons, ensuring that you don’t lose the fun element as you progress. The grammatical part of the language fills in automatically over time.
Language courses in Drops are broken into bite-size lessons that only take a few minutes to complete. So even if you have a busy schedule, you can squeeze in one lesson daily for regular practice. Each lesson feels like a new level in a game, so you enjoy more as you learn.
Beelinguapp
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $1.99 – $54.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Beelinguapp focuses on reading comprehension where you read stories in different languages side by side. You can also listen to the story in your target language. This allows you to translate words and phrases between your native language and target language in real-time and grasp their usage and pronunciation naturally.
This unique approach of Beelinguapp makes it a crown favorite. The app offers courses in around 20 languages. While the courses are curated for beginner, intermediate, and expert learners, it’s best suitable for people who already know the basics. You will develop reading and speaking skills faster with Beelinguapp if you know simple words and phrases.
Mango Languages
– Price: Free to download
– In-app purchases: $0.99 – $199.99
– Size: Varies with device
– Google Play rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
If you’re a native English speaker looking to learn a new language, you won’t find more options anywhere other than Mango Languages. This app boasts courses in over 70 languages for English speakers. You can even choose regional variants of some languages, such as Latin American and Castilian variants of Spanish. Mango Languages also offers English courses for 21 foreign languages, so its collection is huge.
Like most other apps on this list, Mango Languages teaches you real-life conversation skills from the get-go. It uses audio clips from native speakers to help you with the pronunciation of words and the accent. Lessons are downloadable for offline access. You also get interactive listening and reading exercises here.