Last updated on 12 May 2026
There are a thousand online apps and services that offer to help you learn a foreign language. I regularly update you with news right here. These are tools that can accompany language learning and help learners either to memorise vocabulary and sentence turns or to improve their pronunciation. In this choice of tools for learning a foreign language, I selected three. Three of the best applications to learn a language. They all offer versions for mobile and tablet.
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Duolingo. The most used application for learning a foreign language
It is probably no coincidence that Duolingo and the other two apps on this list are the most popular tools in this language learning market. More than 300 million users for Duolingo, which combines play and repetition teaching to create a unique experience in learning more than 33 different languages. This is an excellent example of a simple and very user-friendly application. The creators also offer a version of Duolingo dedicated to education with the possibility for teachers to register and follow an entire class.
Link: Duolingo
Babbel. Customizable tools to learn a language
Babbel is another must-have service. The app that also offers versions for mobiles and tablets is a paid service at the base. However, there is a free version that allows you to work on a corpus composed of many sentences for 13 different languages. The method is based on images. Images are displayed that correspond to each word as it appears. From there, the words are put together in sentences to help the student be able to converse in the chosen language. The app adds specific grammatical notes so you can learn grammar and syntax as you learn words. Babbel offers, among other things, a very effective voice recognition option.
Link: Babbel
Memrise. Play to learn a language.
Memrise announces more than 30 million users and offers a particularly successful learning experience. More than 200 courses created by expert linguists delivered in the form of interactive adventures that mix videos, chats and quizzes of all kinds. Users are invited to submit their own tests to help others learn, and they are also rewarded with a prize system. Memrise displays a ranking system to both motivate and stimulate users.
Link: Memrise
English
As a FLE French teacher, I have been using the Duolingo app on my smartphone to work in English for several months, although I am also attending an English course once a week. Nothing like becoming a student again when you are a teacher, THIS IS ALL THE TRAINING COURSES OF THE WORLD!!! I find it absolutely great that Duolingo works without ever explaining a single grammatical rule to you. I find it excellent that mistakes are more useful (at least for me) than the right answers. I like this obligation to take a few minutes every day, to be able to visualise one’s progress and to be ranked according to one’s progress. Interaction with other users is limited but possible and that is fine. The gamification aspect with the ingots that you win every time and that you can use, for example, to take a break at the weekend is interesting and stimulating. I think Duolingo can be a fantastic sidekick for learning a language but can't replace an in-person course. Duolingo’s big flaw is that it offers sequences of sentences that are completely disconnected from each other. The other flaw is that the subdivision of learning units into grammatical or lexical objectives (numbers, adjectives, adverbs, present …) remains very traditional. It is regrettable that they did not opt for communication objectives such as ‘presenting themselves’ / ‘questioning’ with sentences that would be connected to each other. Some of my students who tested it liked it but admit that after two or three months, Duolingo becomes indigestible. I will try to use it with two groups of Italian-speaking students A2 and B1 during the five weeks by creating two classes, I will keep you informed …
*that they did not choose (sorry …)