Curiosity about learning languages can sometimes lead to confusion. Most of these popular websites have different ways to teach language.
But, if you’re a beginner, you may want an extensive but easy-to-follow course that you can easily access online.
Let’s discover what are the top sites to learn languages that efficiently use high-quality audio recordings, videos, blog posts and more.
There’s plenty of sites to learn languages
The internet has a large encyclopedia where students can just learn a language with a few clicks.
Many of these websites start for free, but we’ve also noted top sites to learn languages with several price rates.
But which features should you check when looking for a language learning website?
- Interaction with the learners – Language websites should be interactive for the students. It should include reading, writing, speaking, engaging, and other forms of practice.
- Pricing – If you believe that free websites are the best option for learning, you may have been looking at the wrong angle. There are apps and language platforms that offer the best price rates suitable for everyone
- Availability for mobile learning – Not all websites have mobile versions. We listed a few of those apps in this article.
What Are The Benefits Of Learning A Language Online?
Learning languages online is definitely one of the trends that not only students but also entrepreneurs, businessmen, and anyone who just wants to learn a new language.
After all, you will not be learning for yourself. In fact, you can even teach your friends or family so that you can practice speaking or writing daily.
Learning a language enables you to connect with other people and appreciate another person’s culture.
Finding out the best website to learn a language is key to self-development.
Duolingo
A learner needs to have a clear visual of how a website works. Particularly, if you are learning a new language.
Many blogs for learning and other language learners mention Duolingo as one of the top sites to learn languages because it’s user-friendly.
Learning at your own pace easily is one of Duolingo’s core elements.
If you have zero knowledge about a certain language, Duolingo has a gamification system for learning a language that makes it very fun and easy to use.
Moreover, Duolingo has a mobile app that you can take on the go. So, you’ll never have a dull moment when waiting in line in shops or if you are traveling.
Duolingo also has courses available for fictional languages. That makes it more entertaining and eye-catching for people who are very invested in their favorite movies or TV series.
While it has many advantages and key features, Duolingo still lacks in many aspects. Many users of Duolingo feel that learning through this website is very simplified and intended for beginners.
Hence, if you want to upgrade your learning to an intermediate or advanced level, you may have to check other learning language websites or apps instead.
If you are picking up a language for the first time, we believe that Duolingo should be one of your top preferences.
Price
The best news about using Duolingo is that it starts for free!
On the other hand, Duolingo offers various pricing packages for students and teachers alike.
Duolingo for Schools is available for free which allows teachers to create a separate space for their students to learn and track their progress amongst themselves.
Subscribing to Duolingo Plus will remove ads, track your progress, and allow you to do other exclusive features offline. It costs $9.99 a month for subscribing to their services.
Be careful! Duolingo Plus auto-renews, so you need to cancel the plan manually!
Omniglot
Are you a reader that wants very extensive research about the language’s origin?
Or, are you a beginner without an idea on which language to learn first?
What we think is the best aspect of Omniglot is its wide range of content with videos, historical information, and even external links to websites that may encourage you to learn a language deeper.
There are also cons…
- Rather than a very easy-to-the-eyes approach, Omniglot feels outdated and very much resembles an encyclopedia.
- It is also meant for learners that want to know trivia, very useful phrases, and tongue twisters.
That said, this website is beginner-friendly with a vast amount of educational resources and information in up to 300+ languages.
Price
Omniglot is another free-to-use website.
However, if you want to contribute, you can either donate to them directly or share some of their links with your friends, family, or colleagues.
Babbel
With 14 rich and motivating courses, Babbel is one of the modern language learning websites that many polyglots enjoy.
Since it is a course and curriculum-based platform, beginners who want to be serious about learning a language will feel focused when using Babbel.
Babbel has features similar to other apps like word repetition, grammar correction, and any user can skip from beginner level to intermediate or advanced.
If you are committed to learning a new language, Babbel isn’t a free website to use. However, it has low-cost rates for people who just want to try out learning and then upgrade whenever they’re ready.
Price
Babbel has a pricing package of $6.95 per month (annually) – $12.95 per month (monthly).
Exclusive features for Babbel are available for people who want to pay more for learning. Users can experience live video learning where they can practice their speaking and writing with Babbel Live.
Pricing for Babbel Live starts at $99 per month with unlimited classes. They also have a 20-day money-back guarantee.
FluentU
FluentU engages users with hands-on experience in learning languages by having a recorded video of a native language speaker for your desired language.
It also has interactive subtitles where you can hover and check more information about that specific word.
With 10 different languages and a gamified learning system, you can enjoy all of the available resource materials and videos with downloadable transcriptions.
Yet, many users may feel like having a plateau when learning through FluentU since you don’t have many options but to watch the videos and only review via self-learning.
Furthermore, you are limited to only watching and passively learning without experiencing the writing and reading aspects.
FluentU, like most learning apps today, is available on both iOS App Store and Google Play Store. So you’ll be able to watch any of the video tutorials anytime.
Price
FluentU offers a monthly billing of $29.99 or $19.99 per month if you pay annually. You’ll get 4 months free for the annual pricing which makes it one of the best grabs on this list.
Not sure if FluentU is the best learning language app? FluentU offers a 14-day trial for any of the mentioned packages above.
Busuu
When it comes to features and premium content, Busuu makes sense with their price rates.
The free features are similar to Duolingo or Memrise, you may feel that the free version of Busuu is intended for starters. It is also directed to people who are only learning the language for your hobby.
While grammar lessons and other corrections are exclusive to premium pricing, Busuu for free allows its students to learn languages using flashcards.
It also has quizzes by the end of the mini-lessons and some languages may have practice writing materials.
Moreover, Busuu Premium has a goal-oriented setup where you can create certain goals for your language learning.
Tip: Busuu allows you to chat with native speakers of that specific language you are focusing on.
Price
Busuu starts for free but has limited features that might block you from learning more. If you want an intermediate or advanced level of learning, Busuu Premium starts at €5,83 / Month Billed annually.
On the other hand, if you want more features like learning 12 languages at once or an AI-powered review and learn them offline, Busuu Premium Plus (€6,66 / Month Billed annually) is your best choice.
Bookmark These Sites When Learning
Since you’re already aware of the top sites to learn languages, we encourage you to bookmark these sites for your reference.
Once you are confident with learning at the immediate or advanced level, you can try the other websites.
Advanced learners try to learn other languages to expand their businesses.
Whether your reason to learn is for your career or education, there are many language website options to choose from.