If you need to learn a second language in a hurry, you could do much worse than download Duolingo.
The owl-logoed app is a leader in language learning, spanning everything from Arabic to Zulu and just about everything else in between, including many lesser-used languages.
The app is geared up to help you get conversant with a second language quickly using an exciting and colorful curriculum that's heavily interspersed with examples from native speakers. This latter is essential to get the accent and pronunciation correct, especially so if you don't have a native speaker to practice with.
However, you will probably not be expertly fluent in any of the languages on offer in reality. Some languages are easier than others to master. For example, native English speakers will probably find German, Dutch, and French the easiest. While tonal languages, like Mandarin and Cantonese, will prove much more of a mountain to climb by comparison. Thanks to the multiple tones used in this language family, even being slightly off with your pronunciation can entirely change the meaning, usually for the worst.
At best, you can expect to have a good solid foundation in the language. And maybe even hold a simple conversation. You're probably not going to be discussing the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe any time soon.
However, a lot of what you learn is designed to improve your pronunciation and get your mouth moving in the right direction. For it is highly debatable, you would in real life deploy the sentence,"The sandwich is under the rhinoceros"(Dutch) and"The fish bites the mug"(Vietnamese) in a sane conversation with a local.
● Learn over 35 languages in easy to digest bitesize lessons
● Courses designed by language experts
● It makes language learning fun
● Track your progress and earn rewards for daily practice
● Every language course is entirely free
Duolingo is widely credited with putting the fun back into learning a new language. It's popular with both individuals, school teachers, and businesses as an effective means to add a new language to your repertoire.
While free, you can get rid of the adverts by trading up to Duolingo Plus, which you can try for seven days for free. The ad-free upgrade also gets you fun features like the Mastery Quiz to self-evaluate your progress and the ability to download courses to learn offline.
● It's free
● A great fun way to learn a new language
● Excellent for kids and adults alike
● Speaking, listening, reading, and writing get equal emphasis
● Handles grammar well without making it off-putting
● Critically acclaimed as the top language learning tool
● Not all the languages on the website are offered on the mobile app.
Duolingo is easy to use and makes learning a new language a pleasure, whether it's for travel, furthering your career, or stretching your brain a little.
The app is downloadable from Google Play and the App Store, where it scores 4.6 and 4.7 out of five, respectively.
