• gramie@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      I second this. I have learned four languages aside from my native English, and Language Transfer is easily the most natural and effective system I have ever used.

      My wife has a lot of trouble learning languages, but she found Language Transfer very effective as well.

      It’s completely free and relies on donations. I have been a monthly donor on Patreon for about 5 years now.

  • reddig33@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Check with your local public library. A lot of libraries offer online language learning programs.

  • loopy@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    I’ve enjoyed using Mango. It’s always been free but there’s a paid version now too. It dives right into useful conversation, but gives cultural context before, like formal/informal or when certain phrases are used. It has flash cards built between lessons to help with memorization and you can even record your pronunciation and hear/see the audio clip and how it compares to how you are saying it. It also has the ability to download lessons for offline use. I first used it because it was one of the only apps/websites that specifically taught the Levantine dialect of Arabic not found on other apps.

  • theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 months ago

    I quite like busuu for Spanish so far. It is a lot better than Duolingo trash as it actually explains things rather than just throwing stuff at you that is often incorrect anyway.

      • theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        9 months ago

        They currently have 75% off if that makes a difference to you but I don’t pay for it and have been having a fine time with it just watching a short advert every now and then.

          • jaeme@lemmy.ml
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            9 months ago

            Nice excuse for your own laziness and immaturity. My advice is to stop learning other languages if you can’t handle the tiniest of opinions. Part of language learning is cultural humility, you’re just a culture pig who needs their feelings coddled.

            You have a bad and selfish attitude.

  • Turbula@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    The best app is whatever you use to consume media in the target language.

    The only way to acquire a language is to expose yourself to it in a natural context. You can’t acquire a language just by studying with flashcards or grammar exercises or whatever – any app that offers enhanced versions of those will at best be a minor supplement to actually using the language.

    • thepreciousboar@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      Your comments seems to imply that just using the language is enough to learn it. This is not necesserily true, especially with more complex grammars than english. You need a source to teach you grammar and basic vocabulary, then you use these basics information to roughly understand spoken language and slowly building up your actual vocabulary and consolidate the rules. You cannot skip neither of those two passages

    • MudMan@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      This is the answer. The answer is Netflix and Youtube. Anything with media using both audio and subtitles in the language you’re trying to learn.

      You still need a teacher to get you past learning enough basics of vocabulary and grammar to get started (and no, language learning apps are probably not an effective way past that) but once you have enough basic words and you understand how a sentence is put together the answer is to watch media even if you don’t fully understand what’s being said, paying attention and stopping sometimes to use dictionaries and translators to get you there on sentences you almost get.

      I know people who spent years spinning their wheels on learning apps while refusing to sit through media in the target language because they get frustrated or tired by the effort of trying to keep up. It’s a bit annoying, but it really works.

      • Simulation6@sopuli.xyz
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        9 months ago

        I have never found subtitles to help in learning a language. They have increased my reading speed though.

        • MudMan@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          To be clear about what I’m saying, the setup is subtitles in the same language as the audio. So if you’re learning French you set French audio with French subtitles.

          That REALLY helps bind the pronuntiation to the writing and it actually makes it far easier to understand the speech. Assuming you’re reading the subtitles at the same time, of course.

          You won’t understand a lot of it, and you’ll have to put up with the frustration of losing the plot often for a while, but it does help, in my experience.

          Subtitles in your own native language just make you tune out the audio and read the dialogue. That’s not helpful.

  • spaduf@slrpnk.net
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    9 months ago

    Anki is a lot more robust than just about anything else out there. Particularly as a supplement to other learning. I’ve been through a lot of different language learning systems and my anki decks have been a constant throughout.

  • ryan@the.coolest.zone
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    9 months ago

    Which language are you trying to learn? There are different answers depending on that.

    As someone learning Hindi, I’ve found that Duolingo is wholly insufficient in grammar and vocabulary (the entire course is far too short) and did not concentrate on listening comprehension. I’ve started using a combination of the following:

    • Clozemaster for vocabulary in context of (sometimes pretty wild) sentences. (I’ve got a lifetime subscription to Clozemaster, it goes on sale during holidays.) Clozemaster has grouped “common words” and a combination of reading/listening skill and multiple choice / vocab word transcription / entire sentence transcription. It feels very overwhelming at first as you’re just thrown in but keep at it - start with reading and multiple choice and once you know the words and sentences in your grouped section start typing them out via listening.
    • A combination of textbooks and websites to explain certain grammatical concepts.
    • A listening-based podcast, example Innovative Language, for listening comprehension. (This also goes on sale regularly.)
    • ryan@the.coolest.zone
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      9 months ago

      Self-reply: looks like Clozemaster Pro now has a ChatGPT-enabled “Explain” feature which is extremely helpful and breaks down the sentences. You can do this on your own with ChatGPT of course, copying sentences in and asking (I have done this), but it’s nice to have the option embedded in.

  • Ludrol@szmer.info
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    9 months ago

    The most important factor in language learning is consistency. So try to find something that is fun and engaging for you. Anki for vocab + textbooks or youtube lectures for grammar is one of the cheapest options.

  • Ms. ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    I got a lifetime purchase of Lingodeer a while back, for super cheap during a back to school type sale I want to say in the $70 range. I’m trying to learn German but it has a good number of available languages. I’m not sure how it compares to other apps but I find it works well enough for me