Duolingo is a popular language-learning platform that is available as both a website and a mobile application. This platform provides courses in 39 different languages. Duolingo lacks real-time interaction with native speakers and this Limits opportunities for speaking practice.
This is a beginner-friendly platform as it does not provide any certificate of completion for the same. Hence, for someone who wants excellence to become proficient in any specific language, needs to explore other alternatives. Embark on a thrilling journey with us to discover new and exciting alternatives to Duolingo! There’s a whole world of language-learning platforms out there, just waiting to be explored. Join us as we find the perfect fit for you!
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is the oldest computer assisted language learning service that offers course of 25 major languages by experts. It’s one of those apps like Duolingo but with a legacy. Rosetta Stone’s approach involves interactive lessons that make learning feel more like real-life conversations. It includes images, audio, and text to help you connect words and phrases with their meanings in the target language, just like having a conversation with a native speaker.
The platform uses advanced speech recognition technology that provides feedback on pronunciation. This feature is effective to enhance user’s pronunciation skills and overcome their fear of speaking. It also compares users’ pronunciation skills with the native speakers and offers suggestions for improvement. Apart from these, it has the following features that attract audience as an alternative to Duolingo.
- It is flexible for learners as Rosetta Stone offers content for a wide range of languages and provides resources like videos, stories, and live tutoring sessions to support different learning styles, offering a more immersive experience compared to Duolingo.
- Rosetta Stone provides a mobile app for on-the-go learning with offline access, similar to Duolingo but with more comprehensive content.
- The platform offers comprehensive progress tracking to help users monitor their improvement, providing more detailed analytics than Duolingo.
- Additional resources such as grammar and vocabulary guides, audio materials, and cultural notes are available to enhance understanding of the language in context, offering a richer context compared to Duolingo’s focus on interactive exercises.
Memrise
Memrise, a language-learning app available on both Android and iPhone, has amassed over 45 million active users globally. It has been honored with the Editor’s Choice Award on Google Play and the Apple App Store, demonstrating its quality and effectiveness. The app is free but if you want to explore more for extra features , you can get a subscription. It offers enormous number of courses.
As a Memrise user, you get access to video and audio lessons from native speakers during each course. These multimedia lessons greatly facilitate the language acquisition process. This Feature helps users to acquire the correct pronunciation. The graphical representation of words through images and videos leaves a great impact on users to recognize them. Memrise is a great alternative to Duolingo for the following mention features.
- The courses and programs on the app are more like different stages and levels of a game that keep users interactive and competitive, offering a gamified experience that some may find more engaging compared to Duolingo.
- Memrise comes with a goals to-do list board that keeps users engaged, similar to Duolingo’s streaks and rewards system.
- Users are given a wide range of options for languages they want to opt for, providing a diverse selection comparable to Duolingo’s extensive language offerings.
- For paid users, Memrise has a lot to offer even when you are offline. It has a feature that lets users download the lessons to watch them later offline, providing offline access similar to Duolingo Plus but with additional content.
Babbel
You can also consider Babbel as an alternative to Duolingo. Babbel is a great app for anyone just starting a new language, with content that can provide a solid foundation for later learning. Each course has about 10 or more lessons that focus on a few vocabulary or grammar concepts, typically revolving around a certain scenario. The lessons are interlaced with short explanations of Grammer. These brief but helpful interjections give you pointers on how to use certain vocabulary or manipulate sentence order.
The lessons provide in-depth language understanding, including grammar, pronunciation, and cultural insights, and the interactive dialogues and speech recognition technology help improve speaking skills effectively. Some of the features of Babbel as an alternative to Duolingo are as follows:
- The courses and lessons taught in Babbel are more organized than in Duolingo which helps the users to learn in a systematic manner.
- Lessons in Babbel are more comprehensive and practical than those of Duolingo. Babbel provides in-depth explanations for grammar with context, whereas Duolingo lacks this feature.
- The quality of translation is seen better in Babbel than that of Duolingo.
Hello Talk
The best way to learn a language is to practice. Unlike traditional teaching methods, Hello Talk offers a unique approach to language learning. This app connects you with native speakers from around the world who can help you learn their language while you help them learn yours. It’s an incredible way to build language comprehension through real conversations.
It can be uses as the best alternative to Duolingo as it mainly focuses on practical knowledge rather than theoretical knowledge. By talking to native speakers the users gain much more confidence than that from video lectures. Apart from confidence, it also helps to improve the accent of the users. The main features of Hello talk why it as better alternative to Duolingo are as follows:
- Duolingo is based on translation between two languages, while Hello Talk is based on communicative language teaching.
- Provides a comfortable speaking environment.
- There is no such distracting ads in Hello Talk than that of Duolingo.
Drops
Drops is a unique platform that uses a 5-minute learning sprint where you can take a short session of not more than 5 min. This strategy is excellent for retaining focus among the users for a short time which will eventually improve memorization.
- Drops focusses more on visual-based learning, unlike Duolingo which has mostly text-based sessions to which user may find it boring.
- Drops focus on vocabulary through quick, fun learning exercises in five-minute sessions.
- Ideal for users who want to quickly pick up vocabulary through focused, brief sessions.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you might have realized that Duolingo is not the only way to learn a new language. There are many other apps and resources available that can make your language-learning journey unique and effective with minimal effort. As you continue to expand your language skills, consider exploring the alternatives to Duolingo that best suit your learning style and goals. Happy learning!