Congratulations on making the wise decision to learn another language! This decision will help you throughout the rest of your life. As you begin this exciting journey, you may be tempted to just take classes online, play language games, or use language learning apps.
However, you should know upfront that the best way to learn another language is to study at a language school. Full immersion is recommended and will help you learn the language more efficiently than an online program. For example, if you want to learn English, the best choice you can make is to study English in Washington DC.
While you are taking English courses in Washington DC or any other language courses, at a Washington language school such as inlingua, you can supplement your language learning by playing games and using apps. The following games and apps are learning tools that are helpful for practicing and reinforcing what you are learning in language schools in DC.
1. Scrabble
Scrabble is a classic board game that is generally played using English. In this game, players must form words out of randomly selected letters and then placing the words on the game board strategically to earn points. This game allows players to practice their English vocabulary and spelling. In addition, this game may be converted to be used when learning and speaking other foreign languages.
2. KLOO
KLOO is an award-winning card game designed as a language learning tool. In this competitive card game, players work to form sentences in foreign languages. In this game, players build their vocabulary, as well as learn correct pronunciation. Currently, KLOO card games come in English, French, Spanish, and Italian. The card game is competitive making it fun to play with others. Additionally, the KLOO game website offers expansion packs and more.
3. Charades
Charades is a multi-player acting and speaking game that can be played in multiple ways. In this game, you must act out a word or a phrase without speaking and the other players must guess what it is. While this game is guaranteed to make you laugh, it is also a fun way to practice a foreign language. You must be familiar with the vocabulary to act out the words or phrases or make guesses. And even better, you can play this game with as little as pen and paper.
4. Lingio
Lingio is a mobile app that helps users learn a foreign language in a quick, innovative way. This app combines several different learning tools such as games, flashcards, quizzes, and lessons. The app also utilizes chatbots, so you can practice chatting in the foreign language you are studying. Another special feature of this app is that users can choose topics to be quizzed on. Currently, Lingio offers English, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, Farsi, French, German, and Arabic.
5. Duolingo
Duolingo is a highly-rated educational language learning app covering over 20 different languages that is free. This app uses gamification to make learning a new language exciting and addictive. In the app, students can take lessons that help with speaking, listening, and translation. The app also includes competitive gaming options allowing users to play against friends. In the gaming mode, you work to earn points and level up.
6. Memrise
Memrise is an award-winning free app that helps students learn a foreign language. In this app, users have a variety of language options, such as Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and Korean. Users can work on lessons that help them read, write, and speak a foreign language. There are also several vocabulary and memory games. But, one of the standout features of this app is the collection of 30,000 native speaker videos. These videos help language learners hear how words are pronounced and used in everyday speech. Plus, the app also utilizes chatbots allowing users to practice communicating.
7. Babbel
Babbel is an app that focuses on helping those learning a foreign language learn how to speak conversationally. Currently, the app includes English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Turkish, Swedish, Indonesian, and more. All the lessons use native speakers and are focused on real-life situations. In addition to short lessons, this app is also interactive and uses speech recognition technology to help you learn how to pronounce words correctly. A nice feature of Babbel is that the app is designed to give you content based on your interests.
8. Tandem
A unique way to supplement your language learning is to join the Tandem language exchange community. Tandem is an app that gives students speaking experience by matching them with language partners. This enables users to learn how to speak conversationally and even use slang. With this tool, you can choose to practice speaking by text, audio, or video. Currently, Tandem covers over 150 languages and has over 1 million users.
9. Mondly
Mondly is a popular app that allows users to choose from 33 different languages. This app combines daily lessons, games, and practiced conversational tools to help you learn a foreign language. The lessons focus on vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Additionally, this app includes a dictionary, verb conjugator, and speech recognition technology.
10. Lyrics Training
A fun way to practice a foreign language is by immersing yourself in the culture’s music. This is where Lyrics Training comes in. This unique app is designed as a language learning tool covering over ten languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Users watch popular music videos while reading the lyrics. Once they feel they have learned the song lyrics vocabulary, users can play a karaoke or fill-in-the-blank game version.
11. FluentU
Fluent U is a video-based language learning program that you can access on your computer or mobile device. In this program, users watch entertaining video content (such as movie trailers and music videos) with subtitles and translations. Users can also select words in the subtitles for definitions and example sentences. In addition to enjoying the videos, the program also quizzes users while using videos. For visual learners, this is a great option.
12. Digital Dialects
Digital Dialects in an online computer language learning platform. It currently covers over eighty languages. This website is great for beginners as it focuses on teaching the basics with games.
We cannot stress the importance of studying a foreign language through an immersive experience. These games and apps will not replace the hands-on learning experience you will receive at language schools in Washington DC but can be a great addition to keep the learning going outside of your English class.
