Learning a new foreign language seems like a daunting task for many. But nowadays there are a lot of applications for gadgets that simplify this activity. Some applications help expand lexicon, others - to learn grammar, others - to improve pronunciation. In any case, they are indispensable for independent study.

All Bai Courses offer you to get acquainted with the top mobile applications that, in two clicks, will turn any gadget into a fun tutorial on foreign languages.

Duolingo

For Russian-speaking users, Duolingo provides access to learning English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. The study program is built in the form of an achievement tree, i.e. in order to go to new level, you need to score a certain number of points. You can earn them for correct answers in tasks: matching a word with a picture, translating a phrase from your native language to the language you are learning and vice versa. You can compare your achievements with the successes of other users and even share them on social networks.

Download the application for, for

Busuu

More than 70 million users have installed the app to learn Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, Chinese and Japanese languages. They all teach and learn at the same time. The program contains lessons of varying complexity. There are words with cards, reading, written assignments, and quizzes. For each completed exercise, the student is awarded points, so learning is even more interesting.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is a language application with which you can easily learn more than a dozen foreign languages, starting from English and ending with Japanese. At the very beginning, the application offers simple tasks to improve your vocabulary, and a little later displays idioms and phrases on the screen. In addition, the program will help you practice pronunciation and grammar. The application has its own methodology, which is mainly based on an associative series.

Babbel

Babbel is the perfect app for learning the basics of a foreign language. Currently, 14 languages ​​are available to users: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Indonesian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. By downloading the program to your smartphone, you get access to a huge number of lessons, where they first teach the simplest words and rules, help you perceive foreign speech aurally. On average, one lesson lasts 15 minutes, which allows you to study at any time convenient for you. The only drawback of the application is that there is no interface in Russian, i.e. Studying is possible only with English or another foreign language. However, this is a plus, since you learn one language and at the same time consolidate your knowledge of the second.

Memrise

Memrise is a multifunctional application for memorizing new words. The entire structure of the lessons is built on vocabulary and expanding your vocabulary. The database has a huge number of lessons and topics that you can choose at your discretion. The method of work is simple and clear: words are given, then their meanings, translation, and you are asked to remember them, make words from letters, and play with them. At the end of each lesson the percentage of correct answers is given. The application will help you learn vocabulary, but it is better to learn pronunciation and listening comprehension with other programs.

Available languages: English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese, Welsh, Zulu.

Nemo

Nemo will help you expand your vocabulary and improve your pronunciation to perfection. For the second, the program has an accent correction function. To do this, you need to record yourself on a voice recorder and compare what is said with the speaker’s pronunciation. Convenient and practical. As for the dictionary, the application introduces new words every day, and so that you don’t forget them, it monitors your progress in the evening, offering to test your knowledge. The application does not require a constant Internet connection, which means it can be used anytime and anywhere.

The program gives access to more than 30 European and Asian languages.

Italki

Access to more than a hundred foreign languages, including the main European and Asian ones, is provided by the Italki application. This is live communication with native speakers from other countries who test your knowledge in real time. In this case, the verification can be either audio or written. You can independently assign lesson times and topics to your teacher, create a schedule and contact people. By the way, the application allows you not only to study, but also to teach. So anyone has the opportunity to try themselves as a teacher of their native language.

HelloTalk

More than 100 languages, or rather the ability to communicate with native speakers of more than 100 languages. There is no theory here, only practice and live communication. Your interlocutor-teacher instantly corrects your speech, grammar, pronunciation, syntax in real time. What’s nice is that the number of languages ​​you can learn is not limited – choose your interlocutor and practice. This is a great option that will help you learn the language and find new friends around the world.

Easy Ten

The name of the application speaks for itself: every day the student will learn 10 new words. And that’s 70 per week! So in a month you can thoroughly improve one topic. And if you choose not 10, but 20 words, the process will speed up. To test knowledge and consolidate words, easy ten offers 4 types of tests involving different types of information perception. The application will be useful both for those who are just learning the basics, and for those who have already advanced enough, but want to enrich their vocabulary. The following languages ​​are currently available to the user: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

HiNative

Another service that allows you to learn a language through communication with native speakers. Choose an interlocutor, ask him questions and get a living language. Questions can be asked using pictures or words. This is a good auxiliary tool where you can get a quick answer to questions about the meaning of words and idioms.

By the way, the application will also be relevant for those who are going on a trip. You can contact people living in the country you need, ask questions about your upcoming trip, possible options relaxation, entertainment or surprises that may await you.

Knowledge of foreign languages ​​is an undeniable advantage for career advancement. But not everyone can devote several days a week to serious language learning. Mobile applications come to the aid of those who are very busy, allowing them to study at any convenient time and anywhere.

1. LinguaLeo - from scratch to pro

Price: free; In-app purchases are possible.

Despite its image as a service for those who are just starting to learn English, LinguaLeo offers ample opportunities for those who have already sufficiently mastered the language of Shakespeare, Hemingway and Steve Jobs. And entrepreneurs will certainly be interested in the built-in “Business English”, which contains an intensive grammar course, a course business correspondence, materials on business, accounting and finance.

LinguaLeo

Among the 20 courses, designed for students of different levels, there are simulators for CAE, FCE, IELTS General, IELTS Academic and GIA tests. To make the learning process more interesting and exciting, LinguaLeo offers different types exercises: six types of interactive training, personal dictionary with transcriptions and voiceovers, thematic dictionaries, large offline dictionary with 60,000 words, collections English texts for every taste (including TED and a collection from the British Council), as well as the ability to study without an Internet connection.

2. Duolingo - improving skills

Price: free.

Last year, Duolingo was named "Best Education App" twice. At first, the service received high praise from Apple, and a little later it confirmed its status in Google Play, when the number of downloads exceeded a million in the first three weeks after release. The Russified version offers only two languages ​​for learning - English and German. But if as base language select English, the number of available languages ​​will increase to six.

Duolingo

Each section consists of several lessons, including learning new words, listening, grammar, reading, spelling, pronunciation and two-way translation exercises. If you practice regularly, the results will not be long in coming. The training scheme looks like a kind of achievement tree, so you won’t be able to skip one topic and immediately take on another.

Duolingo helps you expand your vocabulary, master grammatical structures, and improve your pronunciation. The application uses its own currency - lingots, which cannot be bought, but can only be earned through hard work.

3. British Council - cultural values

Price: free.

Platform: browser, iOS, Android, Windows Phone.

In addition to the exchange of cultural values, one of the main tasks of the British Council is to assist in the study in English. For those who do not have time to take courses and study with a teacher, there is an impressive selection of 13 mobile applications. The British Council recommends learning a language through games, podcasts, films and quizzes.

British Council - IELTS Wordpower

The interactive grammar textbook Learn English Grammar is designed for different levels English proficiency: from beginner to advanced. IELTS Wordpower contains over 100 questions in 11 categories to help you prepare for the exam.

My Word Book helps you expand your vocabulary with flashcards that you can fill with your own words, notes, and pictures to make learning easier.

Learn English Audio & Video lessons include an audio script and comprehension exercises to train your listening skills.

For football fans, there is a special Premier Skills application: now everyone will know exactly what to answer the British hooligans to their next prank.

4. Babbel - mobile polyglot

Price: $7 - 13 per month.

Platform: browser, iOS, Android.

Babbel has an audience of more than 15 million users, including such significant figures as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. With this service you can learn 14 languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Indonesian, Norwegian, Danish and Russian.

Some materials are available without payment, but for full access you have to pay monthly depending on the package you choose.

Each lesson pays attention to both vocabulary and grammar. Exercises include constructing dialogues with interlinear translation into English (Babbel is not yet Russified), which allows you to study words and language structures at the same time.

The language course contains several levels for beginners and advanced students, thematic collections of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, a section on the cultural traditions of the country and additional materials that allow you to learn more about idioms and false friends of the translator.

5. Busuu - from native speakers

Price: 170 - 500 rub. per month for a premium subscription.

Platform: browser, iOS, Android.

Busuu is not just a service for learning languages, but a whole community of people helping each other acquire new knowledge and master English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese.

Free membership includes vocabulary, reading and writing exercises, and interactive exams. A premium subscription offers access to grammar lessons, audio recordings, video lessons, special training for travel, discounts on a business course and unlimited access to all materials for learning various foreign languages.

Courses for each language are divided into levels: beginner, elementary, intermediate and upper-intermediate. Each of them includes several lessons, during which the user is asked to study words, read and listen to the text, answer questions, and then complete a short written task.

An undoubted advantage of Busuu is the opportunity to communicate with native speakers who will help you correct your acquired knowledge and raise it to a new level.

6. Memrise - not in one language

Price: free.

Platform: browser, iOS, Android.

Memrise is not just a language learning service. In addition, the site has courses on various topics: art and literature, mathematics and science, memory training, profession and career, and many others. Memrise can hardly be called a classic educational application; rather, it is a collection of courses for all occasions. For example, in the “English” category you can find grammar tests, collections irregular verbs, phrasal verbs and original books by Charles Dickens.

To make memorization easier, the service offers various mnemonic rules and unforgettable illustrations. The interface deserves special mention. The developers compare the learning process to growing flowers in a garden: it’s not enough to just throw seeds into the ground (learn a word). From time to time they need to be watered (refreshed) so that they do not “wither” in memory.

7. FunEasyLearn - expanding your vocabulary

Price: free.

Platform: browser, Android.

For those who have already mastered the basics of grammar, but want to expand their vocabulary, we can recommend FunEasyLearn. The application does not have a stylish design and only works with Android, but the learning methodology is definitely worthy of the highest rating. To reliably consolidate 6000 words in memory (that’s how much each course contains), 7 types of different exercises have been developed using various mechanisms training.

FunEasyLearn

Today, 17 languages ​​are available on Google Play and on the website. English, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, French and Chinese have already been adapted for Russian users. Korean, Turkish, Ukrainian, Danish, Greek, Indonesian, Swedish, Thai and Czech can be easily mastered by those who already know English.

Portugal is a beautiful country with a rich historical and cultural past. This undoubtedly affected the manner of speaking. It is based on the familiar Latin alphabet and belongs to the group of Romance languages, which contributes to the ease and relative simplicity of its study.

Portuguese is the official language in 9 countries, which is more than 230 million people. And in sound and grammatical features it is very similar to classical Spanish.

Linguists distinguish 2 types of Portuguese: classical and Brazilian. They are quite different from each other in phonetics, spelling, and grammar. There are many words that when translated result in 2 different options. This is due to the stability of the language on the territory of modern Portugal and to regular changes in pronunciation and spelling in other countries. Next we will talk about the classic book version; in 2008, the last significant changes were made at the state level.

If you study regularly 2-3 times a week and repeat the material regularly, you will be able to explain yourself quite well in English. household topics It will be possible in 2-3 months. And in a year you can reach a quite decent level - speaking with a dictionary. Learning Portuguese on your own is as difficult as any other; it will take a lot of time and strong motivation.

Portuguese on your own

Learning Portuguese is quite easy, especially if you have a base of learning other languages ​​and experience doing the exercises. It is quite simple, there are only feminine and masculine genders, minimal amount incorrectly inflected verbs.

In general, the process of learning any language consists of interconnected stages, which must be completed sequentially, adding complexity gradually. Difficult tasks in the first stages of training can kill any enthusiasm completely. Results of each school day must be tangible - this could be a new word, rule or analysis famous song. It is best to share your achievements with like-minded people.

At the first stage, they traditionally get acquainted with pronunciation and “try” the sound of words by ear. Typically, a minimum of text and a maximum of graphic materials are used here:

• the alphabet and pronunciation of some letters and syllables;
• learning simple monosyllabic words and concepts, most often as examples of the sound of individual letters;
• audio materials - music, simple nursery rhymes and poems in Portuguese.

All exercises are aimed at gradually getting used to the sounds of speech, improving pronunciation and broadening your horizons. Next, text materials and more complex tasks are added, aimed not only at sound, but at reading and understanding the written text. The following exercises are added:

• written tasks related to the sound of individual words;
• sight reading simple phrases and short simple sentences;
• analysis of syllables and diphthongs obtained by combining two vowels or a vowel and a consonant.

At this stage, you can diversify the training with video materials for children with Portuguese subtitles to reinforce the perception of sound, pronunciation and context. It is still difficult to pronounce meaningful phrases and expressions here. But a personal dictionary appears with the first words in Portuguese and a translation, which will help you periodically refresh your memory of already learned information. By the time you read the first simple sentences, several months may have passed. A little later you need to add to the training:

• writing letters and simple monosyllabic words to reinforce material using rote memory;
• reading short texts basic level Difficulties with gradually increasing the level;
• video materials with subtitles in Portuguese to help you get used to colloquial speech.

Reading texts should cause a certain complexity and the need to use a dictionary; ideally, to learn something new, you need to understand about 70% of the text. At 90% or more, the complexity of the texts needs to be increased. You will already need methodological materials and a variety of written exercises to develop motor skills and consolidate the studied material.

Only after passing the basic stages with good results can you move on to reading books, studying grammatical and spelling rules, and watching films in Portuguese. The final stage can last indefinitely; you can improve the language all your life, because even the Portuguese themselves do not know it 100%. At this stage, you can use a complex of text, audio and video materials; you will find the following useful:

• audiobooks and music in Portuguese;
• adapted books from basic to high level;
• a variety of video materials (it’s better to watch videos on interesting topics);
• communication with native speakers in language centers, on special forums or other network resources.

These materials are available online or on bookstore shelves, so you don't have to regularly attend a language school to learn from books. But at the first stage, the help of a teacher will still save you both nerves and time. Setting your own pronunciation is a very difficult undertaking; learning the phonetic features of a language on your own is almost impossible.

How can you learn Portuguese?

These mandatory, or basic, stages will have to be completed, no matter which training option you choose. Without phonetic foundations it is difficult to pronounce words correctly, and without pronunciation of letter combinations it is almost impossible to learn to read books. There are several options for learning Portuguese (as well as any other) with the help of a teacher or native speaker. The most popular of them:

• language schools and language courses with experienced teachers and homework;
• online courses where you can get recommendations, help and support at all stages of training;

• specialized chats and forums, where teachers and native speakers themselves often offer their help;
• personal lessons with a teacher - they are much more expensive than any other options, but are great for emergency study;
• Armed with a phrasebook and a Portuguese dictionary, head to Portugal.

A trip to a country where everyone speaks Portuguese can cost a lot of money, but it can also bring more results than in a couple of years. language school. Here you should choose according to your capabilities and desires, and also based on the timing and purpose of training. A single trip for a work purpose requires one level of language proficiency, while living in the country and working in a technical specialty is completely different.

Resources for learning Portuguese from scratch to conversational level

In addition to traditional books and educational materials modern technologies offer various websites and applications that can greatly facilitate the entire learning process. Somewhere methodological literature is posted for free access, someone suggests online assignments and tests, and on some sites you can watch video and audio materials.

From online services The following 10 options can be distinguished:

Duolingo.com is an excellent resource, very popular among students and young people. Here you can choose a level for yourself and learn the language in the form of a game, including through mobile application for smartphone.

• Popular service for accelerated learning – Language marathon Language Heroes . Both native speakers and those wishing to improve their knowledge and communicate with like-minded people gather here.
• A site where you can improve your knowledge of grammar, or a blog, semantica-portuguese.com. Posted here a large number of articles on different topics about the country, cultural characteristics, national holidays, various rules of spoken and written Portuguese.
• You can sing karaoke songs and just listen to your favorite performers on the website www.ouvirmusica.com.br . Easy navigation, a large number of famous compositions, divided by genre and artist, lyrics.
• Online radio for PC or smartphone Tunein , here you can select a radio station of interest from any region of the country and listen to programs in real time.
• Everyday phrases and spoken Portuguese can be improved using an online resource SempreFamilia . Here you can read articles, do exercises and enrich your speech with simplified everyday vocabulary.
• Podcasts from native speakers will help you understand spoken language. On the site Audio-lingua materials are presented in 13 popular European languages.
• Excellent exercises on Portuguese phonetics, recorded by native speakers from Brazil and elsewhere, and an interesting pronunciation guide Forvo.

• Service for taking online courses – Memrise , including lessons in phonetics, vocabulary and spelling. Here you can select tasks according to your level.
• For those who want to master the language from books or read famous works in Portuguese interpretation, the following online resources are suitable: Book library and light reading on various everyday topics - online magazine Veja.
• IN Play Market and the App Store you can find dozens of applications for learning Portuguese at any level. To get started, these links will be enough, and advanced students will already find additional resources to help.

Regular classes. If you want to learn something, you need to take regular and fairly frequent classes. As for language learning, at least 2-3 times a week you need to spend 2-3 hours studying new material. Or every other day, but for 40-50 minutes. If less often, everything learned is forgotten, if more often, learning quickly becomes boring

• Self-motivation and fun. Textbooks and methodological guides will bore even the most motivated student. Diversify the process by watching funny videos, reading materials that are interesting to you, and communicating with like-minded people.
• Tasks for daily repetition. Come up with traditions or games for yourself to memorize material: word of the day, Portugal day, 2 books a month with writing a review, etc.
• Begin your lesson by reviewing the material you have learned. Dictionary and personal workbook will help you not to miss important things and remember all the words. When there is a lot of material, repeat selectively from different parts.
• Take every opportunity to exercise. It could even be a conversation with loved ones, communication on a forum or in a group, calls on Skype - speaking helps you start thinking close to the original and understanding unfamiliar words in the context of the conversation.
• Come up with a rating system for yourself. Treat yourself to your favorite cake after finishing big topic or treat them with a new blouse if they pass the test successfully. This will help connect boring and difficult studies with prizes and pleasant moments. It is psychologically easier to experience difficulties combined with joyful events.
• Don't give up immediately at the first sign of boredom. Learning a language for yourself has an unpleasant side - you can quit at any time. If the motivation is your immediate desire, then the frenzy will quickly pass, and the pleasure of understanding speech in a foreign language will come no earlier than six months to a year. Stick through this period and actively absorb educational material- a difficult but completely doable task.

Learning any language is impossible without immersion in the history and culture of the country and people. Portugal is a country that can present you with many surprises. Lisbon is a great old city with many beautiful buildings and architectural monuments. Impulsive and very active Portuguese will appeal to those who like to chat and express their emotions. Culture, holidays, traditions and customs - they are very different from Russians in all areas. And the beauty of the architecture and a large number of attractions will definitely attract you on a tourist visit. Learn Portuguese on your own and have fun, and this country will definitely reciprocate your feelings.

We've put together 6 apps that will help you avoid screwing up in an English pub. Or in French, or in Brazilian. In general, this is a selection for those who want to learn or improve a foreign language.

MEMRISE

The free app prompts you to register to get started. This can be done by simply syncing with your Facebook account. Next you need to choose the language you want to learn. There is Japanese, Italian, Portuguese and English, and even Russian. So it’s time to remember what you had in Russian at school over the year and, perhaps, choose a more familiar language instead of a foreign one.

We had eight, so we choose English from the list of proposed languages. The application immediately imposes the “400 words of TOEFL” course, but if you click on the button below, you can choose from a bunch of other courses. For example, go through the topic “50 Basic Roots for English”.

The course “400 words of TOEFL” offers to learn words. He offers them in such a way that it is almost impossible not to learn them. First you need to understand the meaning of the word that you are asked to learn, then guess the word by its meaning and the meaning by the word. It’s worth remembering the spelling of the word, because the next exercise is to type this word correctly. Do something wrong, and the application will remind you three more times that irrigation is irrigation.

There are no problems with the interface: it’s intuitive where to click and what to do next. The only drawback is the rather strange keyboard in the exercises, where you are asked to write the word just spoken by the application.

By the way, Memrise invites users to make memes: if you can’t remember a word, select a picture from Google Images and create a meme. Memrise also has a PC version that syncs with the app.

Firstly, Busuu is not one application that contains different languages, but a whole series. To learn English, you need to download “Learn English with Busuu”, so that German - well, you understand.

Secondly, to start using the application, you still need to download some add-ons. Judging by the time spent, they weigh no more than 1 KB. Well, then everything is simple: choose your level and start going through the exercises. All lessons are divided by topic (meeting friends, communication at work, clothes and shopping) and include vocabulary and dialogues.

The downside of the application is that not all lessons are available in the standard version. Sometimes (about 4 times in each lesson) you will come across a warning that this topic Available only to users with a premium account. If you ignore this warning, the application will immediately move on to another exercise for mere mortals.

The cool thing about the service is that you can help people who are learning Russian, and they, in turn, will help you with Portuguese. In other words: an Israeli is trying to compose a sentence in Russian, and you point out to him the incorrect ending of the third noun in the sentence. He may thank you by finding errors in every word you say in Hebrew.

Busuu also allows you to change your profile photo. You can play Lana Del Rey or Jeremy Clarkson.

Unlike previous apps, Duolingo only allows you to learn German and English (if you choose Russian as your base language). First you need to register or, again, synchronize with Facebook. Then set yourself a goal - easy, normal, severe or crazy. What you choose will determine how many and what kind of assignments Duolingo will offer you.

Each lesson in the application is practice of speaking, listening and translation. One of the advantages, perhaps, is that the translation works in both directions. That is, you first need to write a sentence in English, and after a couple of steps translate the English phrase into Russian. In addition, Duolingo suggests how else you can translate this sentence.

True, there were some downsides too. Firstly, the tasks here are not the most difficult. Perhaps this is why Duolingo has a 4.7 rating on the Play Market. Secondly, in tasks where you need to pronounce a phrase, your speech is not always adequately perceived. This is how you can lose self-confidence by pronouncing an apple “wrongly” 30 times. And you won’t learn much in transport, but for this there is a “not now” button. If you press it, you can skip the task and you won’t have to scare others with your “I um eh man.”

Oh yes, after each lesson you complete, Duolingo tells you what percentage of your language proficiency you now have and suggests adding it to your Linkedin profile. And if you doubt that you now know 10% of the language, then you can safely follow the link, download the test application and confirm to yourself and the whole world that yes, indeed 10%.

LINGUALEO

Photo: AppStore, karshhagan.com.