Like our Post? Share Now!
English language apps have revolutionised language learning and are a fantastic tool to improve your English and complement what you learn in your language classes in London. They’re easy to access, interactive and cheap to download, but with so many on the market, how can you decide which one is best for you?
We’ve put together a list of the top 4 to help you pick the right one to study English.
Chances are you’ve heard of Duolingo before, it’s the most popular learning app on the market and for good reason. It has 40 million monthly active users and is a great way to practice translation and vocabulary. It probably won’t take you to advanced level but it’s a lot of fun and it helps you create a habit of practising daily.
The app is set up to feel like a game. You earn virtual coins which you use to unlock new levels of the game and an animated owl encourages you as you learn.
The games require you to translate a word into or from English, either by typing or speaking the phrase into your microphone. You can also use the inbuilt message boards to get help from other users when needed. The app lets you learn for free but also has a paid version which offers additional features to improve your learning.
This is a great app with bite-sized lessons of around 2-6 minutes each and is divided into categories such as business English, everyday English, grammar, news stories and pronunciation and vocabulary. It’s a fantastic way to keep up to date with news stories and improve your English at the same time.
It starts with a test of your English level which puts you into one of three levels:
This ensures that the English language courses recommended to you is right for your level and allows you to keep making progress. The app also includes transcripts for each lesson so you can refer back and learn at your own pace.
Hello English gives learners a great balance of the main language learning skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking and also provides some grammar explanations as well. It’s available in 25 different languages so is accessible in most countries and is particularly popular with students in Asian countries. Video and audio lessons are provided in several different levels so you can study at a level that is appropriate for you and each day you are assigned homework, which when completed allows you to unlock new lessons.
One of the best features of Hello English is that it allows you to connect and learn directly from native English speakers. It has a 24-hour helpline which lets you ask any questions that you have as they come up and you can also pay between $1 and $140 to have a video chat with an English tutor. There are also forums where you can connect with other users to clarify any issues that you have or just practice your written English. The app also has lots of fun learning games and a great feature that lets you practice your English using daily news stories. Overall, this is a good app that blends all of the main language skills and has a free version available. However, to unlock some of the best features such as live video chat lessons and a dedicated personal coach, it can get a bit expensive.
The FluentU app is a great resource for intermediate to upper intermediate English learners that like learning from videos and want to improve their comprehension and vocabulary. The app has over 3000 hours of movie trailers, music videos, news, real world videos and inspiring talks to choose from and the user can choose the videos according to their preference. Each video allows you to follow along with subtitles (both in English and your own language) and if you don’t understand any word, you can hover over it and a definition will appear. After each video there is a quiz to check your comprehension and you can place any new words in a flashcard collection for you to review later on.
One of the great things about the FluentU app is that it provides real content from native speakers. The videos are not scripted for learners so are much more natural and realistic. The double subtitling feature is also a great way to ensure that you can always follow along and comprehension isn’t an issue, and the videos are generally around 1 to 2 minutes long, so they are easy to fit into a busy schedule. You can even download them onto your phone in advance if you’re going to be somewhere without an internet connection.
Overall, FluentU is a great way to use video content to improve your comprehension, but there are better apps on the market if you want to focus on other skills like speaking and grammar.
So, what are you waiting for, download one of these apps and take your English to the next level.
Like what you read? We love to keep you updated about everything at ES. Check out our different courses, exciting facts about London, news, updates, amazing success stories from us and much more.
Improving your English writing skills is an important part of learning the language. Join us and start honing your writing skills to communicate more clearly.
English speaking classes help students learn the vocabulary and techniques to speak English fluently. Pronunciation is an important part in this, and here’s how we can help you.
A General English course can help start learning the English language from your proficiency level. Here’s a brief about the different levels available in a General English course.
We don't say that,
We make learning English a memorable and fun experience for every student. We pride ourselves in the family-like atmosphere of our school. By learning and discovering London with us in a diverse community, your school will become a second home!
We offer full time and part time English courses to international students.
