Next Adventure Languages

Tag: KI

  • 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.