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StartFromZero introduces you to basic Latin vocabulary and then quizzes you on it. Beginner Latin students can pick up new vocabulary on the go. However, on first impressions, we would approach it with caution (and maybe a dictionary). Entries such as “carisma charisma” and “aestus estus” are confusing: while charisma is Latin for gift and “aestus” means heat, we didn’t recognize carisma and estus, and couldn’t find them in the dictionary either.
ok Latin is an all-in-one vocabulary builder, dictionary, and word-of-the-day app. The vocabulary builder would benefit from harder games; I found the multiple-choice quiz was too easy to get right through guessing. However, it’s a good option for practicing on the go – even if you might benefit from combining it with a flashcard app.
Beginner Latin is an Android app that could help you expand your vocabulary. There’s also a Beginner Latin 2 from the same developer. Beginner Latin shows you a series of words. If you don’t know any, you should add them to your word list, which you can review later. To help you memorize the words, you can play a true-or-false game about their definitions.
Cudoo is an online learning platform that offers courses in over 160 languages. The platform also offers courses teaching soft skills and other professional development courses. Certificates are available upon course completion, and courses are provided to libraries and non-profits for free. We feel that the quality of the language courses is quite low, and that the prices are relatively high.
Quality 1.0
★★★★★
It’s nice to have native speaker audio, but I personally found the course to offer very little learning potential.
Thoroughness 1.0
★★★★★
The course didn’t cover everything listed under “Course Content” and offers no explanations.
Value 0.0
★★★★★
This course is way overpriced in my opinion. I wouldn’t even use it if it were free.
I Like
Audio by a variety of native speakers.
I Don’t Like
I wanted more explanations
Practice opportunities felt severely limited
I found the material unengaging
Content doesn’t build on itself logically.
Price
Price varies by course, from $4.99 to $24.99, with language bundles costing up to $199.
Speaky is a social language-learning app for people interested in language exchange. It’s available for iOS, Android, and the web. Users can chat with other language learners, share photos, leave voice messages or even have voice calls. The basic features on Speaky are free to use, but access to more than five translations per day requires a subscription.
Quality 3.0
★★★★★
There are some dedicated language learners on Speaky but not as many as similar apps.
Thoroughness 3.5
★★★
★
★★
The platform is easy to use but lacks advanced features.
Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★
Speaky is mostly free to use, extra features are available for a subscription.
I Like
It’s mostly free.
It’s easy to use.
There are a lot of users.
There are tons of languages
I Don’t Like
Many community members don’t actually seem interested in language exchange.
The web version doesn’t work well.
There are no extra social features.
Price
The basic features on Speaky are free to use. A premium membership is available for a subscription.
Speaky is a language exchange app. It facilitates exchange by allowing users to chat with others in the language they’re learning. Its function is pretty simple and straightforward — search for a partner with a reciprocal language combination and say hello.
HiNative is a Q&A app for language learners that want to have questions answered by native speakers. It’s available for iOS, Android and desktop, and it has over three million registered users. A free version is available that offers the basic features of the app.
Quality 3.5
★★★
★
★★
The app is pretty basic, but it works.
Thoroughness 3.5
★★★
★
★★
Many users are very helpful, but not all questions receive intelligent responses.
Value 4.0
★★★★★
The basic functions of the app are available for free, but you’ll need to pay for audio or video features.
I Like
The community is active. Most of my questions received quick responses.
The points system is rewarding.
The free version is very useful.
I Don’t Like
Many of the questions in my feed were unanswerable.
The community could be better.
Price
The basic features of HiNative are free to use. A premium subscription is available for $9.99/month paid monthly, or annually $34.99 payment
While learning a new language, one of the best resources available is other people. Native speakers are one of the most reliable sources for authoritative answers to your language questions. They know intuitively and deeply how the language is supposed to be used.
Tandem is a popular language exchange app with over one million active users. It’s available for iOS and Android and aims to bring language learners from all over the world together. It’s largely centered around its chat capabilities and language tools that facilitate communication, but there is also a tutoring service offered in the app.
Quality 5.0
★★★★★
There are lots of active language learners, especially those looking to pair with native English speakers.
Thoroughness 4.5
★★★★
★
★
The interface is intuitive and the language tools are simple and effective, though you’ll quickly run out of free translations.
Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★
The free version is all most people will need. Tandem Pro doesn’t add a ton of extra value.
I Like
There are plenty of language partners
The interface is easy to use and attractive
The free version offers a lot of value
I Don’t Like
You’ll need to use other learning resources as well
Though Tandem has some safety features, you may encounter people using the app as a dating tool
Price
There is a limited free version of Tandem and a pro version available at $6.99 for one month, $10.67/month for three months, and $6.67/month for a year’s subscription.
Mango Languages is a pretty good resource with numerous languages available along with their regional variations. It’ll work the best for beginners or for those interested in studying a few languages at the same time. Anybody past the intermediate level won’t find Mango Languages very useful.
Quality 4.0
★★★★★
It is well designed, has a beautiful interface, and is intuitive to use.
Thoroughness 3.0
★★★★★
There are some gaps in terms of writing and grammar, along with a lack of materials for intermediate or higher level students.
Value 3.5
★★★
★
★★
The price is fair and will give you access to materials for over 70 languages.
I Like
It’s very easy to use and has a slick design.
The intense drilling of useful real life sentences and words during lessons will really help you remember them.
Cultural and grammar notes incorporated in the lessons are well-prepared to help you understand the language you’re learning better.
The subscription gives you access to over 70 languages.
I Don’t Like
Most courses finish around the intermediate level with some less popular languages ending before that.
There’s not enough grammar practice.
During drilling, when a student is prompted to complete a task such as coming up with an appropriate translation of a sentence, the command is read out loud. Listening to someone repeat very similar commands over and over again is tedious.
The Google Translate plugin is a rather lazy and disappointing way to give students answers about words or sentences they’d like to translate.
Price
A subscription to Mango Languages costs $14.99 a month or 179.99 yearly.
Ideal for people who are already at an upper beginner/intermediate level, Clozemaster will help you build your vocabulary and learn new words and sentences in context. While you won’t learn much grammar or improve your speaking and writing much, it is great at what it does and the videogame aspect makes it fun and addictive to work though. Although the exercises are all pretty much identical, there are various ways in which you can increase the difficulty and Clozemaster’s free account is almost as good as the Pro User one.
Quality 4.0
★★★★★
Very easy to use with thousands upon thousands of sentences for you to work through, Clozemaster’s main exercises are well-designed though some features are a bit hit and miss.
Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★
Although you aren’t given any explanations, Clozemaster’s huge database of sentences allows you to learn words in context.
Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★
The free version offers a ton of value, but for those who use Clozemaster regularly, it may be worth upgrading to a Pro account.
I Like
There is an insane number of words and sentences for you to learn, and you’re exposed to them within the context of a sentence.
Just using the free account you are sure to learn a lot with only some extra (and undoubtedly useful) features being included in the Pro plan. This makes learning accessible to everyone.
Lots of languages available to learn, and you can do so from a wide range of languages, making it very useful for non-native English speakers or those who want to study two languages at once.
I Don’t Like
A couple of features such as the Cloze-reading and the speaking exercises seemed like they could have benefited from a bit more thought and effort put into them.
There is no real progression and you are basically given an endless array of different words and sentences to work through and the various exercises are all pretty much identical.
Sentences are sourced from
Price
The free version is very useful, but you can upgrade to a pro account for $8/month or $60/year.
Having never heard of Clozemaster before and having no idea what it was all about, I was immediately taken by its videogame-looking aesthetics and fun fill-in-the-missing-words exercises.
HelloTalk is a mobile app for language learners interested in language exchange. It facilitates communication between native speakers and those learning their language with the use of built-in language tools. It also offers audio lessons in 10 languages as part of a separate subscription.
Quality 5.0
★★★★★
There’s an active community of dedicated learners, but you’ll have to do some searching.
Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★
The app is easy to use and the language tools are helpful, but you could end up relying on google translate.
Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★
Both the basic and VIP membership provide great value. The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it however.
I Like
It’s exciting to practice communicating with real people
The built-in language tools are helpful
It’s easy to pick up and put down whenever you like
I Don’t Like
It’s too easy to rely on google translate
It can be hard to find good partners
The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it
Price
The basic features of HelloTalk are free. Audio lessons require a separate subscription after a short trial period.
HelloTalk VIP is available for:
$6.99/month and $45.99/year or $175.00 for lifetime access
Learning a new language when you’re nowhere near other speakers of that language can be tricky. For example, I’m currently in Nepal and trying to learn Italian. I don’t exactly get a lot of opportunities to practice Italian here.