Technology evolves.

It cuts jobs and changes patterns.

Including language learning patters.

So here are the hard facts:

33% of world’s population is going to have a smartphone in 2017 according to Statista.

World’s best dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, “will never be printed again” as stated by The Telegraph.

As printed materials give way to online materials, what are the online tools available on smartphones in order to learn languages?

I looked up for some of them and tried demo lessons.

Now I am able to share the best 2 learning experiences from my perspective as Hungarian language student.

1. Duolingo is a free language learning tool available on Android and iOS.

I emphasize “free” as one of the key mantras against learning languages is ”I don’t have the money”.

It gets users to read and speak their new language by seeing, hearing and internalizing it.

Moreover, users gain points as they complete lessons, keeping them motivated.

There is a fun, game-like feeling while learning with Duolingo.

2. Memrise is again a free tool and it was initially set up by specialists in neurology therefore focuses on mnemonic techniques.

It uses what’s called “elaborate encoding” to help you remember different concepts. Instead of having you just read through words and their translations and trying to memorize them, it creates an association between the translation and words you are already familiar with.

It also provides a great app which offers an offline mode to continue learning without internet connection.

And despite the multimedia resources, there is a need for “reality check” with a speaker of your target language. Preferably a native speaker who is to be found online or by simply asking here.

But this is the topic of the next article.

Author: Ionut Vasiloiu, director Link – Limbi straine