7 Best Language Learning Apps of 2021

Pimsleur is not just an app but an entire language learning technique. Unlike any other language learning app, this approach doesn’t have you matching cards or playing games. Instead, it is an all-audio approach to learning new languages.

You will not learn reading or writing the language but only strictly conversational skills. Even the FBI uses this Pimsleur method to train its agents and field operatives in new languages. Initially, there were CDs provided for the same listening to which for 30 minutes each day gave listeners a fairly good grasp of new languages within 10 days.

The same approach is now translated into the Pimsleur mobile app. The app is designed to utilize your downtime across the day like when you are commuting, having your lunch, or at the gym. This way you’ll be giving in only the part of your day where you were doing nothing important.

The best thing about the Pimsleur app is that it can work even without internet. So, if you are stuck in a village somewhere in Mexico or the Alps mountain ranges, you can still use the app.

The app provides courses for around 51 prominent languages including Spanish, Russian, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Norwegian, Hebrew, Portuguese, among several others.

The name of this app comes from the tower of Babbel mentioned in the Bible where humanity got all its languages from. The Babble app can be said a tower of languages (14 to be specific) where anyone can learn any language that they wish.

The key to learning any new language is to be able to actually use it in a real-life context. The Babble language learning app is designed with that very goal in mind, to help its users interact with real people in the real world.

The human mind can remember any information within a second if the information is relevant to him/her. So, instead of drilling abstract words, sentences, or grammar rules, the Babble app teaches new languages through real-life dialogues.

The Babbel app has a unique didactic method that successfully translated a rich encyclopedia of languages into a digital course. This results on you getting a very powerful language curriculum available at your fingertips, anywhere, any time.

The name “Busuu” originates from the Busuu language in a remote village of Cameroon spoken by only eight people in the entire world. A team visited that village in Cameroon to meet the community and save the language.

The same team ended up creating the Busuu language learning app to promote people learning new languages. The Busuu app is an award-winning language learning app that makes mastering languages easier, more entertaining and effective for all.

The app is perfect for everything, from learning for a higher grade, prepping for travel experiences, or a career boost, the Busuu app has got your back. A study found out that 22 hours of Busuu app’s lessons are equivalent to a college semester of language learning.

Busuu app has helped more than 100 million people in learning new languages by giving them short goals to achieve. This way, learning a new language becomes a fun game you complete one milestone at a time.

Drops has a unique approach out of all the apps here. What is the most common excuse that people use to avoid following their hobbies is that they don’t have time. The Drops app has the perfect solution for it.

The Drops app allows you to only use for 5 minutes a day. It’s not like the limit is a minimum of 5 minutes, but actually a maximum of 5 minutes. The app offers minimalist but amazingly designed illustrations to beam the vocabulary of new languages into your memory.

The app gives the ultimate gamification experience in language learning with crafty illustrations and fast-paced micro-games. The 5-minute limit and highly gamified app UI may seem unrealistic, but the surprising thing is that this approach works like a charm.

The 5-minute time limit encourages extreme focus from the user, further enhancing the effectiveness of memorization. And the best thing, you ALWAYS have 5 minutes!

The Drop language learning app has recently launched two more sub-apps: “Scripts” for those interested in learning to write new languages, and “Droplets” companion app to support kids learning languages.

Rosetta Stone is a language learning service that has been around for almost 25 years. They did everything from cassettes, to CDs, and now they are riding the digitization wave with their own language learning app.

Rosetta Stone is the best-known language learning service; Rosetta Stone has come a long way since it started in the '90s. The app helps you in fine-tuning your pronunciation from the very beginning with their patented TruAccent speech-recognition engine.

The Rosetta Stone app got an update last year, bringing augmented reality into the mix with Seek and Speak feature. Just point the phone camera at any object, and the app will translate in the language you're learning.

Memrise is the best of the language learning app on this list. The users can learn new languages watching native speakers have a real conversation. The app uses a variety of fun and proven memory techniques to help its users to learn new languages.

The Memrise app offers a highly personalized learning experience to its users by giving the right level of challenge to keep you motivated. The app uses short videos to show how real locals express different phrases in conversation, this way, speeding up your learning process.

Memrise also helps you to spot patterns in the language to make it easier to improve your linguistic skills. All the fun of Memrise app comes with two things: memes and gamification. So, you get to learn your favorite new foreign language by playing short games and learning from language memes.

The best thing is that the users’ community creates these memes. The memes are based on funny or bizarre associations with the studied words of your chosen language.

With Duolingo, anyone can learn a new language. The app's free, bite-sized lessons feel more like a game than a textbook. The design of the app makes it super easy to learn and have fun while doing so.

The app motivates the users to consistently learn with the "Streak" feature that tracks the number of days you've reached your point goal. You know Duolingo is the best language learning app when people explain other language apps with a statement like, “it’s somewhat like Duolingo.”

The Duolingo app lets you progress naturally at your own pace. The app users begin with common words, simple phrases and gradually move to more complex sentences. Besides the usual set of languages, Duolingo also offers courses on fictional languages like Dothraki (Game of Thrones) & Klingon (StarTrek).