Still Learning English from Videos? Top 6 Language Learning Apps: Duolingo, HiNative, & More to Skyrocket Your Speaking Skills
Duolingo, available on web, Android, and iOS, aims to provide free, high-quality language education accessible to everyone. It thoughtfully tailors content to different proficiency levels, ensuring beginners aren't overwhelmed and advanced learners don't start from scratch.
1. Duolingo (Web / Android / iOS)
【Still watching videos to learn English?】Recommended 6 popular language learning apps like Duolingo, the latest HiNative, etc., to dramatically boost your English speaking skills 6
Duolingo's mission is "to make high-quality language education simple, effective, and free for everyone."
It thoughtfully caters to people with different language proficiency levels. As a beginner, you don't have to worry about the difficulty being too high, and if you already have some proficiency, you don't have to start from the very basics.
It combines gamification with English learning, with content covering listening, reading, translation comparisons, and speaking tests. In addition to providing language learning, it also gives a brief introduction to the usage and background of the language. For example, when learning English, you might see an image of Chichen Itza, a Mayan civilization site in Mexico. Clicking the link takes you directly to its Wikipedia page, making you feel like you're traveling the world from home.
2. HiNative (Android / iOS)
【Still watching videos to learn English?】Recommended 6 popular language learning apps like Duolingo, the latest HiNative, etc., to dramatically boost your English speaking skills 7
Simply put, HiNative is a Q&A platform where you can ask questions to native speakers of the language you want to learn, and at the same time, you can answer questions others have about your native language, or even ask cultural questions.
For example, if the editor is learning English, they can ask questions about English on the platform, and also answer questions others have about Chinese.
Common questions built into the app include "How do you say... in English?" and "Does... sound natural?". As soon as you ask a question, someone in the community will answer in a short time. And because it's interaction with real people, there might be more than one answer or opinion, which is what makes language exchange communities interesting.
3. Lingo BlaBla (Android / iOS)
【Still watching videos to learn English?】Recommended 6 popular language learning apps like Duolingo, the latest HiNative, etc., to dramatically boost your English speaking skills 8
Lingo Blabla's main feature is "anonymous live chat online," allowing people to practice speaking English without time or space constraints. As long as you connect to the app and successfully match with someone, you can start practicing. If you've studied English for years but always struggle to find words when speaking, this app can help you get used to English conversations and become more confident.
No need to worry about a lack of topics. Before starting a call, the app provides various topic suggestions, such as sharing interesting experiences from your last trip. It also offers conversation tips to boost your confidence and help you speak freely without shyness.
4. VoiceTube (Web / Android / iOS)
【Still watching videos to learn English?】Recommended 6 popular language learning apps like Duolingo, the latest HiNative, etc., to dramatically boost your English speaking skills 9
VoiceTube, which combines reading, listening, and speaking, not only brings together over 30,000 videos with synchronized subtitles, allowing you to easily learn English by watching videos, but also offers "speaking challenges" and "English communities" as excellent options for practicing English speaking.
For the daily speaking challenge, you can use selected videos as the daily theme. Professional hosts demonstrate standard pronunciation with detailed explanations, allowing you to practice speaking and learn new knowledge! After selecting a topic of interest, first listen to the video to challenge your listening skills, then listen to the host's demonstration and teaching, and then you can record yourself practicing speaking. You can also listen to others' shared speaking content. The app also provides articles on different topics about methods for learning English.
5. Cake (Android / iOS)
If you want to achieve a natural British or American accent, Cake will be your great helper. You can filter English short videos of interest for dialogue practice. Cake will segment the videos into many sentences, allowing you to listen to one sentence and then speak it, performing an exercise similar to shadowing.
Additionally, Cake offers speaking practice courses, from beginner to advanced English conversations, sentence patterns, and phrase practices. During practice, you can first listen to the pronunciation, then read it yourself. Cake will automatically record your voice and provide a score, which you can use to check if your accent is standard, making it easy to learn fluent English.
6. YouGlish (Web / Android / iOS)
【Still watching videos to learn English?】Recommended 6 popular language learning apps like Duolingo, the latest HiNative, etc., to dramatically boost your English speaking skills 10
If you're worried about mispronouncing English words or about pronunciation variations in different real-life spoken contexts, YouGlish can help you overcome these difficulties. It integrates YouTube online videos, allowing users to search how a certain word or phrase is pronounced, and even search for grammar usage.
Thus, all the speakers and video narrators on YouTube become our English speaking teachers. You can quickly and impartially understand how real people speak and pronounce English in real contexts.
Dear students, I hope the notes below can help you improve your DSE results!
Further Reading:
Goodnotes V.S OneNote Comparison: Comprehensive review of popular note-taking apps #2