Top 6 Technology Tools for Language Learning Students
Many years ago, Stanford University offered everyone who wanted to take their courses three of them online for free. Then, about 160 thousand students from 190 countries took part only in one of these courses. This is how the public learned about the latest format of mass open online courses. These are combinations of free video lectures by the best teachers, interactive tasks, and forums for discussing educational materials.
More and more people today are starting to study languages and other disciplines online. What previously seemed impossible is now commonplace. Modern education also takes advantage of various digital solutions, which we will discuss today.
Technology Tools for Language Learning
In conditions of self-isolation of the year 2020, people began to learn more online. And foreign languages have become the most popular in this sense. The advantages of online education and the use of applications include the following:
- Learning at an individual pace – the speed of learning is set at one’s discretion, depending on personal circumstances and needs.
- You can choose any of the many courses, as well as independently plan the time, place, and duration of classes.
- Gamification of the learning process. Games can be useful educational tools, but if they are to be used internationally, they must be translated into various languages. Check out these best game localization services if you need a game translation.
- Independence from geographical location allows you to not limit your educational needs.
- Effective implementation of feedback between teacher and student is one of the main requirements and reasons for the success of the learning process.
- Equal opportunities for education regardless of the place of residence, state of health, software, etc.
Students that learn online often lack one-on-one teacher help and seek outside help with their writing assignments. They get plagiarism free essays online from reportable companies, which is a great solution for busy students. Those who study languages often resort to such services, too.
Let’s discuss a set of modern online tools for potential polyglots. Expand your vocabulary, hone your grammar, read, speak and write like a pro with these learning tools:
- The Memrise platform uses the principles of repetition. Yet, the new word does not need to be repeated at regular intervals (such as daily). There is a perfect time to repeat when you are about to forget the word – and Memrise not only calculates it but also reminds you of it. With each timely reminder, the interval between repetitions becomes longer. Available languages: British and American English, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and others.
- Reading is an integral part of learning and using language. In general, there are two approaches to reading in a foreign language: extensive and intensive. With extensive reading, you just read for fun, when with Intense you really work on the text, looking for new words, expressions, and grammatical structures. Readlang, where you can read texts in more than 40 languages, will help facilitate and automate the intensive approach. You can upload your own text to the platform or read those that are already posted for language proficiency levels (from A1 to C2). You can also click on any unfamiliar word to learn the translation and create a flashcard.
- The Duolingo platform uses interval repetition, micro-learning, and gamification. You process small amounts of information, and for each mistake, you lose a life. You will be rewarded with special points for each completed lesson. Each topic contains a variety of tasks that train speaking skills, as well as the ability to hear and translate what is said.
- On the Lang-8 platform, people from 190 countries help each other learn about 90 languages. Here you can not only get corrections to your own text and comments on each sentence but also help those who learn your native language. So you can change your life for the better by helping others.
- italki is a platform where you can find a professional teacher, tutor, and language partner. It resembles a social network for language learners. You create a profile, indicating which languages you know and which you are learning, indicating the level of language proficiency. There will definitely be someone whose language you are learning and who is learning yours. Then italki will help you arrange a conversation and discuss the details of further language exchange. Classes with professional teachers and tutors are paid, each of them has its own price range. But communication with a language partner is free.
- Reverso Context. A very convenient dictionary for translating words from English into a dozen of various languages and vice versa. Its main advantage, which will be appreciated by every student of English courses, is the translation in context. That is, in addition to common variants of word translation, the program will give many examples of translation of real texts, among which you are sure to find the right option.
Anyone Can Learn A Foreign Language
With any training format, you will need additional tools to test your knowledge, as well as obtain useful information. Because learning resources and native speakers can now be found on the Web, anyone can learn a foreign language. The various platforms themselves will remind you when it’s time to repeat what you learned. All you have to do is believe in yourself and start your learning journey!