We’ve all had our fair shares of ‘I want to learn Italian’, ‘This year, I’m going to speak Japanese’ and ‘French seems really cool’. But we’ve also had our fair shares of, ‘I gave up on learning it’, ‘Japanese is too hard’ and ‘I can’t be bothered’. Why is it that only a few of us keep up with our language learning resolutions? It’s not because you’re lazy, or have no time, or aren’t intelligent – it's because you haven’t yet found the right apps to keep you motivated. Here are 3 apps which are going to liven up your language learning in 2022!  

1. Duolingo 

Duolingo is the no. 1 education app on the iOS app store, and for good reason: with its 37 available courses, there is definitely a language Duolingo has that will be perfectly suited to you! Learning is made interactive with charming stories, compelling audio lessons and timed challenges, ensuring you great fun and great learning.  

One of Duolingo’s most gripping features is the streak system: with every day you complete a Duolingo lesson, you earn ‘gems’ and a day is added to your streak. With gems, you can ‘buy’ costumes for Duo (the app’s adorable bird icon), bonus skills like idioms, proverbs and flirting, and ‘timer boosts’ for timed challenges. The idea of a daily streak is what motivates thousands of users to remain consistent with their Duolingo learning and is a great way to ignite friendly competition with your friends.  

2. HelloTalk 

Learning a language is a fun and thrilling experience, so why keep it to yourself? HelloTalk connects native speakers who want to learn each other’s languages, so you can give and receive accurate critiques on each other’s work. You can publish both text and audio posts, meaning all aspects of your knowledge can be polished to perfection. 

Something that sets HelloTalk apart from other pen pal apps is that although the focus lies in language learning, it also allows friendships to flourish. On your profile, you can write a unique bio and set your interests, making it easy to find others who also like sport, anime, k pop or whatever else your unique hobbies may be.  

3. Memrise 

Like Duolingo, Memrise offers a variety of language courses with lessons including vocabulary which will help you in everyday life. The difference is that Memrise places more focus on using audio and videos, which is especially useful for those who want to take their learning to the next step by visiting the country of their chosen language(s).  

Another part of what makes Memrise so practical is the scanning translator: simply hold your camera towards any text in any language, or upload a photo of text from your camera roll, and Memrise will translate it almost immediately.  

With its friendly format and range of exercises, your enthusiasm and knowledge is sure to expand after using Memrise.