Great apps to help you learn French

Language-learning apps are a great way to learn French whenever and wherever you can. These are our favourite ones to use

Learning a language doesn’t have to be all about learning grammar from a book. The use of apps is becoming widespread, with many almost as packed with material as a textbook. Here is our pick of the best apps for learning French:

DUOLINGO

Best for: Beginners & Intermediate

Cost: FREE

Each lesson is packed full of speaking, listening and translation exercises, with multiple-choice challenges added. Don’t worry about getting an answer wrong; the app will always explain your mistakes so you know how to improve. A particular highlight for me is that the app keeps you motivated throughout your language-learning journey by recording the number of days you have been studying and by sending personal reminders of the essential skills to be picked up in the coming days. www.duolingo.com

MEMRISE

Best for: Beginners

Cost: From £7 per month

This is another effective language app. It operates on a plant, water and grow learning analogy, and uses a digital garden as the backdrop, which you build on as your French skills develop. The imaginative app draws on mnemonics (word association), morphing images and quizzes to aid learners’ development. www.memrise.com

BABBEL

Best for: beginners & Intermediate

Cost: From £10 per month

Try this app if you enjoy learning French at your own pace. The app places a particular emphasis on building up a stock of vocabulary and has an integrated speech recognition system to help learners perfect their pronunciation. What I enjoyed about the app is that you can save lessons in an electronic cloud, which means you can take a break and then pick up where you left off. www.uk.babbel.com

FLUENTU

Best for: Intermediate

Cost: From £7 per month

If full-on audio-visual learning is how you best learn French then FluentU is a good choice. This video-based learning platform, which can be downloaded free via iTunes, works by selecting a host of French videos and turning them into language learning clips. These include TV shows, adverts, films and interviews, and offers an insight into the different types of French spoken throughout the world. www.fluentu.com

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