The 10 Best Ways To Learn A Language Online
There are many ways to learn a language online such as using free and paid online programs, listening to podcasts, streaming movies and tv shows, following native speakers on social media, using language websites, listening to music in your target language, chatting with native speakers and learners on online platforms, watching YouTube in your target language and many more.
If you want a more structured method of learning, online language programs are the best way to learn a language online. However if you are more frugal and/or very disciplined, finding free resources from around the web will probably be the best way to learn a language online.
1. Sign Up To An Online Language Program
There are plenty of online language learning programs available online, some are free while others are paid. They also vary in difficulty depending on your language level so it’s a really good idea to do some in-depth research into the ones you are considering to see if it is suitable for you.
Some really well known online language programs include Duolingo, Babbel and FluentU. However the online language learning program that I think is the best is Rocket Languages.
Join more than 1,212,346 people from 192 countries and learn a new language at your own pace at Rocket Languages!
Check Out The Online Courses Below:
You can also find online tutors offering FaceTime, Skype or Zoom language programs for more personal lessons. One such platform that offers personal one-on-one video call lessons is Rype.
Or Join A Live Online Language Learning Class With Real Teachers On Lingoda!
Another great online language learning school is Lingoda. They offer 60-minute small group or private classes run by native-speaking, qualified teachers. The best thing is that you can join a lesson at any time that is suited to you as you can learn online anytime 24/7.
Check Out The Online Courses Below:
2. Use An iPad/Tablet Language Learning Planner
If you don’t decide to use an online language learning program I highly suggest that you get a digital language learning planner to help you organise your notes and give guidance to your learning.
I sell a digital language learning planner which you can find by following this link here. There are lots of very helpful pages for independent language learners such as goal setting pages, vocabulary learning pages, grammar pages, habit trackers and note taking pages.
One of my favourite pages in this planner is the vocabulary revision page. It’s really helpful for applying spaced repetition to your vocabulary learning to help put words in your long term memory. You can see this page in use in the screenshot below.
3. Watch YouTube In Your Target Language
Not many people think of this but watching youtube videos for language learning doesn’t have to be boring language grammar lessons.
If you simply search a question or key phrase into youtube in the language you are learning you will find plenty of videos to watch created by native speakers. Welcome to the beginning of endless entertainment that is free and will be a great language learning tool!
To narrow down your search results even more to great language tools you should change the search filters to videos with subtitles. With subtitles in your target language you will learn the spelling of words and be able to associate sounds and pronunciation with a visual language format.
If you want to learn how to get the most out of watching foreign language youtube videos I highly suggest that you read my full article dedicated to language learning with youtube here.
4. Listen To Podcasts
There are thousands of free podcasts on apple podcasts and spotify that you can use for language learning online. There are podcasts that are dedicated to beginner language learners or ones made by native speakers for more advanced learners.
Podcasts are a great resource to improve your listening skills. You can put them on in the background while travelling to work or actively listen to them at a desk, jotting down new vocabulary and phrases or doing a dictation exercise at home.
5. Stream Movies and Tv Shows
Just like youtube videos you can look for foreign language movies and tv shows on streaming on demand services like Netflix. Simply search up the language you are learning and a lot of videos should come up.
If you are interested in ways to language learn with Netflix, you should read my article dedicated to it here.
6. Websites With Grammar
If you are totally relying on the internet to learn a language, you will need to find some websites explaining grammar points to help you progress in your language level. This won’t be hard as there are millions of websites for thousands of different languages online. Simply search up the grammar point you want to learn on google and you should find heaps of resources for it. You should also look for games/fill in the blank grammar tests to make sure you have a complete understanding of the grammar points that you learn online too.
7. Follow Native Speakers On Social Media
This is another way that you can learn a language online that not many people think about. I bet that you spend heaps of time each day on social media so there is no reason why you shouldn’t start following native speakers.
This is a great way to learn more colloquial language and also exposes you to little snippets of your target language each day without any effort on your behalf.
8. Listen To Music In Target Language
Just like listening to podcasts, listening to music in your target language is super beneficial for your listening skills. I think the best thing about learning with music is that if you find a good song you will listen to it on repeat. This means that new words and phrases will be drilled into mind and you won’t forget them!
If you want a full guide on how to learn a language with music I suggest that you read my article on it here.
9. Online Platforms For Chatting
There are lots of online platforms and apps for chatting with native speakers of the language you are learning. Usually these sites work as a trade where you get partnered up with someone who is learning english or another language you fluently speak. You spend half the time practising the language you are learning and then the second half with english for them. This is great as you both have the same intentions to improve your language skills and can help each other out to reach your language learning goals. If you want higher quality online lessons I highly recommend trying Rype or Lingoda.
10. Play Lyrics Training Karaoke Game
My absolute favourite way to learn a language online is to use the lyricstraining.com website where you can find youtube hosted music videos and play a fill-in the blanks game. There are multiple levels of difficulty for the game. The higher the level, the more missing words there are.
This is not only a really fun way to learn a language online but also drastically improves your listening and spelling skills.
Before You Go!
Do You Want To Stay On Track With Your Language Learning Goals?
Check Out My Digital Language Learning Planner or Printable Language Learning Planner!
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