There is little to do, English is the language of global commerce and it is therefore important to know it properly. Today, for almost every profession in contact with the public or even if you want to access the amount of information that exists on the internet it is important to know the English language.
If you don’t know it properly yet or if you want to deepen your knowledge of written and spoken English, your smartphone can help you too. In fact, there are many Apps to learn English without too much effort and having fun.
The Best Apps for Learning English
In this article, we will look at the best ones and give you some useful advice to complete your preparation.
Duolingo
Duolingo isn’t the most comprehensive app on the market but it’s free and that’s a good point. Furthermore, besides English, it allows you to learn many other languages.
The approach is very simple and resembles a video game. Duolingo takes advantage of the competition between users to encourage everyone to practice more. The app offers short practical exercises, perfect for those with limited time. Once enrolled in a course, a quiz will start which will be used to establish the starting level, and then you can start learning.
At the end of the course, paying a modest amount, you can take a remote exam and you can also get a recognized certification.
An interesting research looked at the Spanish course (for English). According to the results obtained with this course, 34 hours were comparable to a semester university course (see the research on this PDF document).
Duolingo is actually not completely free. There is a premium subscription that allows you to remove advertising and download the lessons to be able to continue them even without an internet connection. Fortunately, these are quite ancillary functions that do not affect the overall experience you get.
The App, however, is not perfect. It should probably be paired with grammar lessons so it can be even more effective. If you want to try your hand at Duolingo too, you can download this compelling free app from the Apple App Store or the Android Play Store.
Babbel
Babbel is probably the best-known app on this list of the best apps for learning English; thanks to a marketing campaign that also involves TV advertising.
This is an app that allows you to practice in many languages for a monthly fee. Among the many courses, one of the most popular is that of English.
Babbel too, a bit like Duolingo, is based on the “nature” method, trying to make the use of the new language instinctive through targeted practical exercises. With Babel, you can easily improve your English or learn the Anglo-Saxon language from the rudiments. Compared to free solutions, Babel offers audio recorded by native speakers and a greater balance between the various aspects of a language.
Babel proposes lessons and exercises in vocabulary, grammar, listening, and comprehension in a balanced way. In addition, Babbel offers phrases and exercises that are useful in real and daily life, rather than simply academic. From the application, it is not possible to obtain any certification but a certificate for the course hours taken which can be downloaded by connecting to the official website. If you want to try Babbel you can download it directly from the Play Store or the App Store.
LearnEnglish Grammar
If you are looking for a free app to practice specific grammar topics, Learn English is for you. The British Council app is very popular because it offers 1000 exercises and is well organized with a simple interface that is easy to acclimate to.
The app is completely in English but if you already have the basics, it is easy to understand the instructions of the various exercises. The application displays advertisements that are non-invasive. If you want to download LearnEnglish Grammar you can find it free for Android and iOS on the respective stores.
British Council is an important institution, as it is the one that manages the prestigious IELTS certification. The company offers other interesting free apps (always supported by advertising), to improve your English:
- LearnEnglish Podcasts (Android and iOS), offers podcasts to follow to improve your listening and understanding skills;
- LearnEnglish GREAT Videos (Android and iOS), an app similar to the previous one but with videos instead of audio;
- LearnEnglish Sounds Right (Android and iOS), this is a dedicated app for improving pronunciation;
- Learn English with Johnny Grammar’s Word Challenge (Android and iOS), a fun quiz to test yourself and improve your vocabulary and spelling;
- IELTS Prep App (Android and iOS), is the official preparation app for the famous English language certification.
Memrise
Memrise, as its name might suggest, is an app that uses well-known mnemonic tricks to help users learn and remember English words and phrases.
Memrise is mainly aimed at those who want to deepen their spoken and conversational English. The app offers interesting videos and exercises where you can see how native English speakers really express themselves in everyday life.
The lessons that are proposed are based on an algorithm that takes into account the words that have already been learned.
The free version allows you to follow only one lesson per day. The subscription price is in line with that of competing solutions (€ 59 per year). If you want to try Memrise, find the app on the Play Store and App Store.
ABA English
ABA English is excellent if you are looking for an app that sets the level of courses and topics according to the international certification standard.
There are courses of various and well-known levels- Beginners (A1), Lower Intermediate (A2), Intermediate (B1), Upper Intermediate (B2), Advanced (B2-C1), and Business (C1).
ABA English, unlike the other solutions presented above, is not fully automated. In addition to the classic exercises, there are also teachers in the flesh, with whom it is possible to interact and ask for clarifications and explanations.
The app is appreciated for the completeness of the courses and the ease of use. Registration is free, as is the download; to take advantage of the courses and all the exercises available, however, you need to subscribe. The cost of the subscription is in line with that of competitors. If you want to try ABA English you can download the app directly from the Play Store and App Store.
Learning English- Listening & Speaking
Learning English is a great app if you don’t start completely from scratch to improve your English level. The app brings to smartphones and tablets the splendid contents elaborated by the award-winning BBC course, available on the Web at this page.
Conversations from- BBC News, BBC Learning English Program- 6 Minute English, English At Work, The English We Speak are available in the app, correlated by transcripts, vocabulary, and exercises.
As mentioned, in order to profit from this material, it is recommended that you have already reached at least level A2.
The app, at the time of writing, is only available for Android, on the Play Store. On the App Store for iPhone and iPad, this application is not available but fortunately, there is a similar and equally valid one called “Learn English by Conversation”.
