10 Great Apps for Learning the English Language
English is the universal language, but that doesn’t mean everyone can speak it well. Yes, that even includes native English speakers. For that reason, and more, apps for learning English have become hits worldwide.
If English is not your first language, it’s totally understandable to make mistakes. However, if you’re serious about being fluent in it, but don’t have the time to enroll in a course, you can install apps for learning English.
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Excited to learn English and speak fluently like a local? In this post, you can read about the 10 great apps for learning English and try installing a few.
Table of Contents
10 great apps for learning English
People learn English for a number of different reasons. But regardless of their motivation for learning this universal language, these apps can help boost their progress:
Zoolingo
Available on iOS & Android
Price: Free download & paid subscriptions
If you have kids in preschool, you can install one of the best apps for learning English—Zoolingo.
Zoolingo is a feature-packed Spelling app well-beloved by kids. This educational app features an adorable monkey mascot named Moolingo, which you can see all over the app.
It’s also rated with a perfect score of 5/5 by educators for its rich educational content, which is depicted in over 1000+ puzzles, preschool games, and activities.
The vivid, expertly drawn graphics will also entice children to tap on the interface, learn basic English lessons, and, most importantly, have fun. They can learn about English nursery rhymes, vocabulary, opposite words/synonyms, grammar, spelling, and the alphabet.
Besides English lessons, they can also learn about flags, shapes, colors, emotions, math, occupations, and animals, and many more.
Kids from all over the world can learn English with Zoolingo easily since it’s available in 16 languages. Even better, Zoolingo is 100% free to download and can now be used offline.
Start learning English with your kids by learning more about Zoolingo here.
Duolingo
Available on web, iOS, and Android.
Pricing: Free and paid subscription
This list would not be complete without one of the most famous apps for learning English. If you’re living in a rock, you wouldn’t know Duolingo, a giant in the language-learning apps market.
Duolingo has hundreds of millions of users who are not only learning English, but also Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, and many more. Each user can learn the 30 languages for free on the app.
The app teaches you the basics of any language such as possession, greetings, numbers, phrases, and sentences. As you move up, you will get to learn about gerunds, business terms, politics, and even spirituality!
Duolingo’s addictive factor is that you earn points and awards the more you use the app. It also shows a leaderboard, where you can compare progress with your friends. The vibrant graphics, cute owl mascot, and intuitive interface are also contributing factors to its success, as well.
Its paid version, Duolingo Plus, removes ads, gives offline access to courses, and offers progress quizzes.
If you’re learning English for the first time, we can’t see a good reason why you wouldn’t use Duolingo.
Beelinguapp
Available on iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and Pro versions
Beelinguapp is one of those read-along apps for learning English, where you can learn by listening to audiobooks.
For example, if you speak Italian, you can read books in English, or vice versa.
When you launch the app, it will take you to its library where you can choose books based on language, reading level, and category. You can browse titles on popular culture, science and technology, short stories, novels, basics, children’s stories, and more.
After choosing one, you will be asked to read it right away or continue collecting books. When you start reading, two sections of texts will appear. One is the Italian version and the other is the English version. As a narration of the Italian text will play, the Italian and English text will be highlighted.
As for the interface of the app, it’s not very hard to navigate it. The books also have charming cover arts.
However, using the app itself eventually can be overwhelming. That’s because you have to listen and read at the same time. But if you’re the type of person who’s a visual-auditory learner, then you might love this app.
Hello English
Available in iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and pro
Hello English is an app that teaches spoken English, conversational phrases, vocabulary, and grammar. It includes 23+ languages like Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, Thai, Arabic, Malay, and more.
The app offers 475+ interactive lessons and games, along with grammar tips. You can also get tips and exchange discussions with English teachers through the app. You can pull up definitions and synonyms from its built-in dictionary, play with friends, or get the assistance of chatbots as well.
As for its performance, the app loads fast. It also has a surprisingly clean interface, which helps users focus more on the words.
There is also a voice guide that narrates sentences in each course. For instance, if you speak French, you will have options to hear the pronunciations of every single word in the English sentence or just the sentence. The app also shows a definition in French beside each word.
Whether you’re planning to travel in an English-speaking country (in the far future) or learning an exhaustive English course online, this app can boost your learning.
Xeropan: Your English Teacher
Available in iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and pro
Xeropan is not just another one of the ordinary apps for learning English. It also has an interesting storyline!
On the app, you have to complete English lessons and skills so that you can get into the time machine and save the world.
Xeropan is unique because each set of lessons is named based on emotions like fear or stress. But if you prefer to take the more traditional route, you can head over to the Skills tab, where you can choose to learn words, practice speaking, or read the grammar guide.
You can learn a vocabulary lesson, a voice lesson, a grammar lesson about irregular verbs, and more. You can even explore informative topics like how your brain responds to pain. And there’s more—they have a catalog of weekly lessons, which you can access if you pay for the pro version.
As for your progress, you can view it on your profile. It will show certificates, badges, and achievements as well.
It’s a pretty comprehensive tool for a language-learning app.
Notably, the app has a gorgeous art direction and a groovy “outer space” background music. One small flaw that shouldn’t be a big deal is that they used stock photos as the lessons’ featured images. It would have been more consistent if they used animated graphics and characters.
If you’re tired of the super formal and pseudo-friendly apps, you could install Xeropan.
HelloTalk – Language Learning
Available on iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and Pro versions
If you like making friends and learning, HelloTalk might be the right app for you. Not only is it a language-learning app but also a social networking app.
On the app, you can add native English speakers, start conversations, read English articles, and learn how to speak the English language from them. You can create group chats, a partner, and scan a QR code. Oh, you can add other people from other countries and learn their language in conversations as well.
Besides conversing with people, you can also play word games, join live classes, get one-on-one sessions with foreign teachers, and listen to podcasts. You can translate text, check grammar, write or record your thoughts on a built-in notepad, and bookmark your favorite resources on the app as well.
HelloTalk is a jam-packed language-learning app. You could say it’s Facebook but for learning languages and cultures from other countries.
Busuu: Learn English Speaking
Available on iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and premium
Busuu is an app that focuses on teaching you English or other languages, based on your skills and goals. It has a minimalist look and is very straightforward.
If you get their Premium version, it lets you create study plans and set a goal to reach before a particular date. As for the free version, you can sign up and start your first lesson right away.
The first lesson teaches you three phrases in the English language and how to complete exercises. There’s a sample audio recording, which you can play to hear the pronunciation of the words.
Next, after you hear the samples, Busuu will quiz you. You will answer true or false questions, fill in the missing letters, and rearrange the words in the correct order.
In case you get confused about what to do next, you can tap the light bulb-shaped button at the top right part of the app.
As you complete each level, the difficulty of the exercises will also increase. You will learn how to ask for directions, how to introduce yourself, and order food in a restaurant in English.
Busuu is one of the great apps for learning English if you’re a straightforward learner. It teaches language with no other extras on the side—just plain learning and tracking of progress.
Rosetta Stone: Learn English in Context
Available in iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and premium
Rosetta Stone comes with a historical name, but its features are nothing but modern.
Rosetta Stone lets you choose courses based on your level and situation. You can choose to learn English in order to travel, build your career, seek heritage, or just plainly get better in the English language.
Each course breaks down the lessons and topics by week. You will learn 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, and in 6 weeks total. Once you choose a course, you will be asked to try a free trial of the app’s full access version or just the free plan.
If you proceed with the free plan, you will have the option to skip the first core lesson. If you proceed to the first core lesson anyway, you can answer basic voice exercises. A narrator will ask you to pronounce the words on the screen. You will also match words and images.
Meanwhile, the scoring is based on earning checkmarks. You have to complete each unit’s exercises to earn one checkmark.
Besides the learning exercises, you can also do extended learning through the app’s phrasebook, stories, and audio companion.
Rosetta Stone is great for beginners and language lovers alike. Whether you’re learning English for the very first time or not, you could rely on this app.
Memrise: Remember New Words Easily
Available in iOS and Android
Pricing: Free and premium
Memrise is another one of the most impressive apps for learning English. It has a friendly approach to it that you rarely see on other language-learning apps.
On the app, you can learn English or other languages at a beginner and intermediate level. You can also enroll in more than one course at the same time.
Memrise has a vibrant, sunny look to it. The videos in the exercises are clips of real people who speak English conversationally. There is also an audio sample if you are not yet satisfied with the pronunciations after watching the videos. We really appreciated that.
Plus, every English phrase comes with a translation in your own language and another literal translation. You can answer simple exercises such as translating a greeting in your language to English. After you go through the first exercise, the app will show you the total and the list of words you have learned.
Besides those exercises, you can also play practice games, focus on improving your pronunciation, and download the course. You can also learn on the app for as short as five minutes.
As for the progress, your rank will go higher as you give more correct answers. If you provide all the answers in an exercise, your rank will skip a few levels and go even higher. You can also choose your daily goal of words per day, from 5, 15, or 30.
Memrise has a lighthearted approach to learning languages, but don’t mistake it for being incompetent. In our humble opinion, it’s neck to neck with Duolingo and you shouldn’t definitely sleep on it.
Babbel: Take Bite-sized English Lessons
Available in iOS and Android
Pricing: Free, free trial, and premium
Last but not least is another app with a historical name, and yet its look and features are refreshing.
Babbel is an app that teaches bite-sized topics in English and other languages. It has a free version and a premium version, which you can temporarily access for 7 days through the free trial. There are also three available courses, but you can get more with premium.
If it’s your first time learning English, you can explore the newcomer courses or the exercises on the homepage. You can also choose from any of the three courses in the Course section.
The first Newcomer exercise teaches the meaning of simple conversational words, lets you fill in the right English word in a simulated conversation, and challenges you to arrange a sentence’s words in the right order.
If you finish answering the whole exercise, it will store the words you’ve learned in the Review section. This is where you can play each word’s audio sample or listen to them altogether.
Babbel also challenges you to start a learning habit by creating reminders on the app. You can choose from around breakfast up to around dinner time.
While users might find Babbel’s stockpile of lessons too short, it’s still a good jumpstart for learning English. The app is easy to work around, and you won’t have difficulty seeing your progress as you go.
Final thoughts
There are tons of ways to learn how to speak English. You don’t have to go to school, visit English-speaking countries, or read books. You can also install any of these great apps for learning English and impress native speakers in no time!
Related questions
What are the best free apps for learning English?
You could choose any between Duolingo, Hello English, and Busuu.
What is the best app for learning English vocabulary?
If you want to focus on building a vocabulary only, Duolingo and Vocabulary Builder from Magoosh can help you with that.
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