List of language self-study programs
Self-study programs allow learning without having a teacher present,[1][2] and the courses can supplement or replace classroom instruction.[3] Universities use self-study programs for less-commonly taught languages, where having professors is not feasible.[4][5] Self-study programs are available on paper, audio files, video files, smartphone apps, computers, or any combination.[6]
This list is limited to programs that teach four or more languages. There are many others that teach one language.
Alphabetical Lists of Languages show the courses available to learn each language, at Lang1234, Martindale, Omniglot, Rüdiger Köppe, and UCLA. For the thousands of languages not listed on those sites, for which no course exists, Global Recordings Network has recorded a standard set of Bible stories in 6,000 languages. With effort, learners can study any language by comparing their recordings to the same story in a language they know.[7]
The list below shows the number of languages taught by each program, the name of the program, and the number of different languages used for instruction. Multiple languages of instruction may be available for some but not all courses. For example, Reise Know-How uses 6 languages to teach German, but only German to teach the other languages. On the other hand Eurotalk, Pronunciator and 50Languages use all languages to teach all the other languages.
| Software | Number of languages taught | Interface languages | Media | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transparent Language Online | 110 | 6 | online and mobile app | monthly or yearly subscription, or free via a participating library |
| CL-150 Platform | 130 | 6 | online platform available for US Government and US Military personnel | |
| Reise Know-How | 200 | 7 | books | |
| L'Harmattan | 167 | 1 (French) | books | |
| Cudoo | 164 | 3 | subscription | |
| Eurotalk | 132 | 119 | application | |
| Peace Corps | 101 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Pronunciator | 78 | 50 | free to library patrons if library pays | |
| Assimil | 76 | 12 | books, usb | |
| Glossika | 64 | 6 | freemium | |
| Mango Languages | 71 | 17 | free to library patrons if library pays, or monthly subscription | |
| Clozemaster | 60 | 33 | freemium | |
| Teach Yourself | 58 | 1 (English) | books, CDs | |
| 50Languages | 56 | 56 | free audio, apps and downloads, sell optional books | |
| Colloquial by Routledge | 56 | 1 (English) | sell books and CDs | |
| Central Institute of Indian Languages | 47 | 1 (English) | sell books | |
| Foreign Service Institute | 42 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Pimsleur Language Programs (company) | 40 | 50 | audio | |
| BBC Online | 40 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Duolingo | 39 | 23 | application or web | freemium with all learning features free |
| FirstVoices | 35 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Rosetta Stone | 34 | 1 (English) | software | one-time/subscription [8] |
| Mondly | 33 | 33 | freemium | |
| VocApp | 31 | 59 | application | freemium |
| Drops | 31 | 31 | freemium | |
| Memrise | 25 | 15 | application | freemium |
| Gloss by Defense Language Institute | 29 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Berlitz Corporation | 23 | 1 (English) | online classes, offline classes, books and PE (physical media) | varies |
| Ba Ba Dum | 22 | 22 | online | free |
| Quizlet | 18 | 8 (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish) | online | free |
| Living Language (publisher) | 18 | 7 (Arabic, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish) | physical media | |
| Langenscheidt | 17 | 2 (English, German) | physical media | |
| For Dummies | 17 | 2 (English, German) | physical media | |
| Linguaphone | 15 | 2 (English, German) | physical media | |
| Babbel | 13 | 7 (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish) | application | subscription |
| Busuu | 12 | 12 | application | freemium |
| Bilingual Books, Inc. | 12 | 2 (English, German) | physical media | |
| Michel Thomas Method | 12 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Lingua.ly | 10 | 18 | freemium | |
| Idiot's Guide | 10 | 2 (English, Spanish) | physical media | |
| Behind the Wheel by Macmillan Publishers | 9 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| LingoDeer | 9 | 9 (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese) | online | subscription |
| Lingvist | 8 | 8 (Arabic, Chinese, English, Estonian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian) | freemium | |
| Dexway | 8 | 12 | subscription | |
| Schaum's Outlines | 6 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Lonely Planet | 6 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages | 6 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Alison | 6 | 1 (English) | free | |
| Paul Noble Method by Collins | 5 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Made Simple by Broadway Books | 5 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Hugo by Dorling Kindersley | 5 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Drive Time by Random House | 5 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Nextlingua | 4 | 4 (English, Spanish, French, Russian) | free | |
| Teach Yourself Business by McGraw-Hill Education | 4 | 1 (English) | physical media | |
| Smigin | 4 | 3 (English, Portuguese, Turkish) | subscription | |
| Japanese Complete | 1 | 1 (Japanese) | subscription, monthly or yearly |
References
- "Studying a Language on Your Own". University of Florida. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "Self-Study: Tell Me More". University of Groningen. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "The Self-Study Centers at the TUM". Technical University of Munich. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "Self-Directed Language Acquisition Program". University of Richmond. Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "Directed Independent Language Study". University of Denver. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "Self-study ideas for students learning German for the first time". University of Michigan. Retrieved 13 Sep 2013.
- "Geographic Language Museum". Alexander Argüelles. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- Brown, Shelby. "Duolingo vs. Rosetta Stone: How to choose the best language-learning app". CNET. Retrieved 2020-01-13.