Next Adventure Languages

Tag: ai

  • Apps I Actually Use for Language Learning (And Why)

    Apps I Actually Use for Language Learning (And Why)

    Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of language-learning tools. Some stuck, some didn’t. Below are the apps I actually use, what role they play in my routine, and who I think they’re best for.

    This isn’t a “top 10” list. These are tools I return to because they serve different purposes at different stages of learning.

    Duolingo

    Duolingo is marketed as a gamified, beginner-friendly language-learning app, and that’s exactly where it works best. It currently offers 40+ languages, ranging from major world languages to smaller or constructed ones, and it’s especially well known for being accessible and easy to start.

    I think Duolingo is a great way to start learning a language.

    Right now, I’m casually learning Hungarian, and I’ve found Duolingo to be a very low-impact way to gain exposure—recognizing words, patterns, and how the language sounds. It’s not intense, and that’s actually its strength. I can open it for a few minutes and still feel like I’m making contact with the language.

    Where I think Duolingo really shines is early exposure and alphabet learning. I’d like to start using it specifically to learn a new writing system—possibly Ukrainian, Korean, or even Hindi. For that initial “what am I even looking at?” phase, Duolingo does a good job of lowering the barrier.

    It’s entertaining, light, and easy to return to—which matters more than people like to admit.

    Rosetta Stone

    Rosetta Stone markets itself around immersive learning through images, audio, and repetition, avoiding translation as much as possible. It currently offers 20+ languages, with a strong focus on major global languages.

    Rosetta Stone is a great bang-for-your-buck option.

    I was gifted a lifetime membership about five years ago, and at the time, I remember it being relatively affordable compared to long-term subscriptions. Even today, it’s often priced competitively for what you get, especially if you catch a sale—especially compared to paying monthly for multiple years elsewhere.

    I used Rosetta Stone when I was a very new German learner—around A1/A2—and it helped me get comfortable with basic phrases and sentence structures. The platform relies heavily on imagery and spoken phrases, which helps concepts sink in naturally without overthinking grammar.

    Where Duolingo feels entertaining, Rosetta Stone feels calm and relaxing. It’s slower, more deliberate, and good for building familiarity rather than speed.

    I don’t use it as much now, but early on, it played a real role in making German feel less foreign. I definitely plan on returning to this app.

    LingQ

    LingQ is marketed as an input-first language learning platform, designed around reading and listening to real content rather than completing structured lessons. It supports 40+ languages, and its strength lies in flexibility rather than guided curricula.

    LingQ is my main app—and the one I use most consistently.

    You can upload almost anything: TV show transcripts, YouTube videos, articles, even text generated by ChatGPT. You can also read content uploaded by other users. It’s very much a community of language learners and teachers, but everyone is both a contributor and a learner.

    What makes LingQ powerful is how it tracks vocabulary. Every word you encounter is marked on a scale from 1 to 4, depending on how well you know it. Over time, you can literally see your understanding grow—and as your vocabulary improves, your reading speed improves with it.

    With a tap, you can see a word’s definition, pronunciation, or the full sentence it appears in. That immediacy keeps you in the flow of reading instead of breaking immersion.

    If I had to describe LingQ in one word, it would be efficient. It’s been one of the biggest contributors to my vocabulary across foreign languages.

    Explore LingQ here

    italki

    italki positions itself as a language tutoring marketplace, connecting learners with professional teachers and community tutors across 150+ languages. Unlike apps, it focuses entirely on live, one-on-one human interaction.

    This is where everything comes together.

    italki is where I take what I know and practice speaking with a real person, live and in real time. There’s pressure—and that’s the point. To keep the conversation going, I have to speak. I have to say something, even if it’s imperfect.

    Every teacher I’ve worked with has been kind, patient, and genuinely helpful. That environment has helped me get over most of my remaining fear around speaking.

    Exposure therapy works here. The more you do it, the less intimidating it becomes.

    No app replaces this. It’s where passive knowledge turns into usable language.

  • The Role of AI as a Positive Way to Improve Writing and Language Learning

    The Role of AI as a Positive Way to Improve Writing and Language Learning

    For part of my weekly language practice, I free-write for about a page, usually discussing videos in German that I’ve watched recently. This helps me produce the vocabulary and information I’ve recently consumed. How well have I processed what I’ve seen and heard in my target language, and how well can I now produce it on paper?

    Or, I might write about things I’ve done in my life recently. Can I express what I will do in the immediate future? How is my grammar and word order? How is my spelling? These are all things I can practice, check, and improve with simple output on pen and paper.

    One of the biggest advantages of writing is that you can reread what you thought. The words on the page show exactly what information you can convey, making writing a great medium for evaluating where you are. You can see what has improved and begin to visualize how it all works. I find this especially helpful with pronunciation when studying a language like German. It’s a language where spelling consistently affects pronunciation, so knowing how something is spelled helps reinforce how to say it. It also naturally reinforces correct word order.

    Example: Modal verbs in German
    Ich muss heute zum Supermarkt gehen.

    I think in the target language, physically write it down, and visually interact with the spelling, grammar, and alphabet. I can even speak it for additional practice. This exercise uses many senses at once, which I feel helps me retain information. Studies also show that handwriting is an effective way to learn and remember material. For example, I recently read an article written last year by Charlotte Wu about how taking written notes is better for retaining information than typing.

    So, now that I have written information I’m trying to convey in the target language, I always wonder: Did I do that correctly? Where can I improve, and what did I do right? This simple exercise in writing is a great way for ChatGPT and AI tools to be realistically used in language learning. As a learner, you essentially have a grader on hand. You simply take a picture of what you wrote, tell the grader what you want, and hit send.

    Example prompt:
    “Please correct the grammar, spelling, and word order in this text. Highlight all mistakes, explain each correction briefly, and also highlight any sentences I wrote especially well so I can reinforce correct patterns. Keep my style and level.”

    Rewrite the corrections for retention, speak the words out loud, and log your progress if you’re tracking it. It’s a great and simple exercise—and a very practical way to use AI. You give yourself access to correct information and feedback that you can take into your human-to-human practice. If I know grammar and vocabulary better than I did the day before, then I have more information to draw upon and can communicate more clearly when practicing with a language tutor.

    My next step is to watch short documentaries in my target language and take notes in that language. Then I use tools like LingQ to discuss the information. According to the aforementioned article, taking physical notes forces you to extract only the most relevant information and write it down. You don’t have time to record every single word, so you focus on the important points. It is a way to pay attention and a way to improve your memory of the information, and then the notes serve as a repository to revisit what you learned and how much of it you retained. An app like LingQ helps you go back through the documentary, learn the vocabulary, and use its AI bot to ask questions about what was in the film.

  • How I Use ChatGPT to Learn Languages: My Favorite Prompts and Strategies

    How I Use ChatGPT to Learn Languages: My Favorite Prompts and Strategies

    Introduction

    As language learners, we’re always talking about immersion — textbooks, regular books, audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube channels, courses, what have you. And now AI is quickly becoming a part of that process and conversation. It’s already showing up in our daily routines, sometimes behind the scenes and sometimes directly when we open ChatGPT to ask a question or get feedback.

    For me, ChatGPT has become part of my daily study routine. It’s like having a patient tutor who never gets tired of my grammar mistakes. I’m currently learning German, Spanish, and Hungarian — all while working full-time — so I’ve had to find ways to make my study time more efficient.

    AI gets talked about in nearly every area of life right now, and while I don’t use it for everything, it does help me streamline a lot of the smaller, repetitive tasks — like lesson planning, outline creation, and quick grammar checks.

    Here are the exact ChatGPT prompts I use every week for vocabulary, grammar, writing, and conversation practice — and how they help me study smarter, not harder.

    Why ChatGPT Works for Language Learning

    Like a lot of AI tools, ChatGPT makes language learning both more accessible and more efficient. It gives instant feedback and corrections, adapts to your level (whether you’re A1 or C2), and can mimic simple real-life conversations.

    For example, if I just finished an iTalki lesson and there was something I didn’t quite understand — maybe my tutor said a phrase I couldn’t keep up with — I’ll go to ChatGPT and recreate that conversation. I might say:

    “Pretend you’re my tutor. I’m a B1 German learner. We just talked about daily routines, but I didn’t understand part of what you said. Can you write out that dialogue again slowly and explain it in English?”

    Within seconds, I have a version I can study, highlight, or reuse.

    It’s also great for decision-making paralysis. Let’s say I want to study reflexive verbs in German but don’t know where to start. I can simply ask:

    “Give me 20 example sentences in German practicing reflexive verbs. I’m at a B1 level.”

    Or even:

    “What are the 20 most common reflexive verbs in German? Give me both the English translation and a short example sentence.”

    Done. No flipping through pages, no Googling for exercises. It’s quick, clear, and customizable.

    My Prompts for Vocabulary Building

    Decision fatigue is a real problem when learning a language. Some days, you just don’t know how to study. ChatGPT takes that off your plate by instantly generating structure.

    Here are a few of my go-to prompts:

    1. “Give me 20 words about daily routines in German with example sentences.”
    2. “Create a mini-quiz to test me on these words: [insert list].”
    3. “Write a short story using these 10 Spanish words about travel.”

    Within seconds, I have an exercise, explanation, or even a mini-lesson plan. It turns passive vocabulary lists into something active and usable.

    I’ll usually transfer new words into LingQ, a spreadsheet, or a notebook. The point isn’t just memorizing — it’s using those words in real context, and ChatGPT helps create that context instantly.

    My Prompts for Grammar Practice

    This is where I focus on precision and structure. Grammar can feel intimidating, but with AI, I can break it down into smaller steps.

    Here are two ways I use it:

    1. Quick explanations:
      “Explain the difference between war and wäre in German with examples.”
    2. Corrections and rewrites:
      “Take a look at this paragraph I wrote in Spanish and tell me what mistakes I made. Then rewrite it correctly and explain why.”

    I’ll often ask ChatGPT to first explain in English, then again in the target language so I can see both sides. That repetition helps me retain the concept better.

    These short grammar sessions make it easier to understand why something is correct, not just memorize the rule.

    My Prompts for Speaking and Writing

    Sometimes you don’t have a conversation partner available — and that’s where AI comes in handy. I use ChatGPT to simulate conversations or writing exchanges that feel surprisingly real.

    Here are a few examples:

    • “Pretend we’re friends who haven’t seen each other in a while — write me a letter and let’s be pen pals.”
    • “Act as my coworker. Let’s practice a workplace email exchange.”
    • “Ask me five follow-up questions like a native speaker would.”

    You can easily turn these into low-stakes speaking or writing exercises. I’ll sometimes read my answers aloud, record them, and then paste them back into ChatGPT for correction. It’s practice on demand — flexible, consistent, and gamified.

    It gives you control over your practice environment, allowing repetition until you feel comfortable using the language in real life.

    How to Create Your Own Prompts

    The key to using ChatGPT effectively is specificity. Be clear about your level, your goal, and what role you want it to play. When you use AI, start by answering three questions: Who am I? Who are you? What are we trying to do?”

    Example:

    “Act as my A2-level Spanish tutor and quiz me on food vocabulary. I am a A2 level learner who is a native English speaker.”

    Or:

    “Pretend you’re a native Hungarian teacher helping me prepare for small talk at a café. Ask me questions and correct my mistakes. I am new to the Hungarian Language.”

    Think about your weak spots: a confusing textbook section, an iTalki conversation that tripped you up, or a phrase you’ve always avoided saying. Then build your prompts around those challenges.

    I also recommend asking ChatGPT to summarize what it thinks you’re asking before you start. I’ll say:

    “Can you explain what you think my goal is and how you’re going to help me achieve it?”

    That ensures you’re on the same page.

    Lastly, keep a running list of your favorite prompts in a Notes app or Google Doc. Over time, you’ll build your own AI-powered toolkit.

    Final Thoughts

    I think AI does a great job of making language learning more accessible, flexible, and efficient. It’s not perfect, and it definitely doesn’t replace human teachers — after all, learning a language is about connecting with other people, not just an algorithm.

    AI helps us practice, prepare, and improve — but human connection is still the heart of it.

    Maybe that’s a topic for another post.

    For now, I encourage you to try one of these prompts today — or tell us what prompts you’ve been using. How do you use AI for language learning? What are its downsides, or how could it be improved?

    Thanks for reading.