Free Ways to Learn Language
It’s time to get thrifty learning language!
Learning language on a budget means scavenging for resources and putting in the hours practicing with conversation partners, apps and workbooks. Here are my top picks when it comes to free or cheap resources for language learning:
Duolingo
This is my go-to app for language learning. It’s free and comprehensive when it comes to covering basic vocabulary and sentence structures. It’s available for English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, German, Hindi, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, Dutch, Vietnamese, Greek, Latin, Swedish, Polish, Ukrainian, Irish, Norwegian, Hebrew, Indonesian, Danish, Finnish, Hawaiian, Romanian, High Valyrian, Catalan, Czech, Welsh, Cantonese, Scottish Gaelic, Swahili, Hungarian, Haitian, Creole, Klingon, Esperanto, Yiddish, Navajo, Guarani, Zulu, and Xhosa.
Things I love about Duolingo:
It’s easy to practice in only a few minutes from my phone
It can be used for language laddering for languages that have courses from multiple languages. For example, I’ve done the French course in Spanish. This lets me practice my Spanish while I learn French.
There’s a community for support and meeting other language friends❤
I’ve used Duolingo for Spanish, French and Mandarin. It’s been extremely helpful learning the basic of each of these languages in a fun, free way!
Conversation Exchange
Conversation Exchange is a free site designed to help language learners find native speakers for conversation exchanges. It’s 100 percent free and easy to use to find speaking buddy. All you need to do is create a profile, select your languages and interests, and get started speaking your target language.
I’ve used this website for Spanish and French practice. It was fast finding conversation partners, and it allowed me to get to know a variety of native speakers from all over the world!
Facebook Groups
Facebook groups can be an awesome way to practice your language and meet other students and native speakers. You’ll also have the advantage of choosing groups that are focused on your area of interest. For example, if you’re learning Spanish, you can find groups all about Spanish conversation, challenging grammar topics, and anything else you need help with. Or if you’re learning multiple languages, you can find groups dedicated to studying languages simultaneously to improve your study skills and overall ability to learn language.
Discord Servers
Discord servers are a bit like Facebook groups on steroids. You’ll find an entire language learning community organized into sections and channels where you can chat with fellow language learners, find resources, and even join into live events. Like Facebook groups, you can find servers dedicated to your language or language learning in general. You may even find some of your favorite influencers have created servers❤
iTalki
iTalki has a free community section where you can learn more about resources, culture, and tutors of your language. You’ll find helpful tools like podcasts, exercises and even a place to ask questions about your target language. Once you create an account, you’ll have access to all these features and become part of the language learning community. You can even follow and be followed by fellow language learners to make new friends who share your language interests!
I currently use iTalki for conversation practice with tutors in Spanish, French and Mandarin. There’s so many teachers to choose from all over the world that I’m always able to find one who matches my learning style and time preferences. For those language learners on a budget, there’s also community tutors who are also experienced in their language and typically offer sessions at a lower rate❤
Books & Worksheets
Make these your new best friends! Not only are these typically much cheaper than taking a course or hiring a private tutor, but you’ll become a more diligent independent learner in your target language. You can also find some free or discounted resources if you scour the internet and your local libraries and bookstores - you may even find some vintage treasures you didn’t even know existed.
Now put it all into practice
You have the tools and ideas, now it’s up to you to make it happen. Explore all the resources available to you and decide which ones you like and which ones you don’t. Finish what you start and begin your search for more based on what you’ve already learned and what you need next. That is the beginning of your path to becoming an independent language learner❤
