Best Language Learning Resources

I’ve been studying Spanish for around 6 years now (maybe even 10 if you count the useless lessons we had at primary school) and I studied German for 4 years so I’ve tried quite a few online resources for trying to get my head around the grammar and vocabulary necessary to actually be good at a language. Here’s a list of the best ones I’ve found and why I think they’re great to use if you’re trying to learn a language:

1. Quizlet:
   This is my go-to app for pretty much every subject at school, not only languages. It’s a flashcard app that allows you to make quizzes and games from your flashcards as well as having a ‘learn’ function where you go through them one by one. I’ve used to for everything from vocab for Spanish, to quick checks of key facts for my history exam, to learning phrases for speaking assessments. They have a mobile app so you can use it on the go, which is really what I love so much about it because it means I can revise during ‘dead moments’ like waiting for the bus.
2. Conjuguemos:
   My year ten Spanish teacher introduced this to our class and I love it so much. It’s a site that focuses on the learning of verbs in a bunch of languages, including French, German and Spanish. I use the verb lessons to write out verb tables for my tenses, including irregular verbs and then you can use the games to practice. I also love their timed feature where they just throw verbs at you and you have to conjugate as many of them correctly in the time you have. It’s a quick and easy way to get to grips with tenses and conjugations of them.
3. Memrise:
   Like Quizlet, I use to it to practice my vocabulary but unlike Quizlet you don’t input the words yourself. Memrise has a whole bunch of courses for each language, including ones specific to each exam board and one of the key features of it is that it randomly teaches you words so you end up with a larger vocabulary than just the words you encounter in textbooks or in lessons. I also like that it sends you emails to pester you into reviewing words, so you don’t end up just forgetting them after the five minutes you spend learning them
4. Lang-8:
   I’ve only just discovered this site, but the concept is amazing. Basically, you interact with native speakers by posting in the language you’d like to learn and then they check it for you and you can do the same for them. It’s a great way to get your mistakes checked whilst also getting to check other people’s and build friendships. I can see it being really handy when it comes to checking essays checked over before handing them in to your teacher.
5. HelloTalk (IOS/Android):
   This is similar to the last site I recommended but rather than get people to check your work, you have conversations with natives either via chat or voice. This is great for improving your improvisational conversation skills as opposed to just making sure your grammar is correct. It’s also a great way to learn colloquial phrases so that you can get those spontaneity marks in your speaking exam
6. Readlang:
   This site allows you to translate articles and pages from all over the web from the language you’re learning to your native language. The helpful thing about this site is that it allows you to create flashcards from the words or phrases you didn’t understand so you can review them later. It’s perfect for when you want to expand your vocabulary to include more specialist language such as on the topic of immigration, or other things like that.
7. Word Reference:
   The holy grail of online dictionaries. Honestly, it has everything from conjugations to idioms as well as forums if there isn’t a specific translation that you want. 100% more accurate than Google translate and recommended to me by every language teacher I’ve ever had. If you’re ever in doubt about a word then this is definitely the best translation website to use. It comes in several languages so if you’re studying a ‘common’ language like French or Spanish then it’ll definitely be useful for you.

I hope you found at least some of these resources helpful. Please leave any other suggestions down in the comments if you’ve found another site that has been super helpful when it comes to language learning!