There are a number of websites that can help you learn a new language or brush up one you learned at school. Many of these also have apps that you can use on a tablet or smartphone.
Can I learn a language online?
See this article from The Guardian (February 2014) to see if you think learning a language online is for you.
Some of the best known language learning websites
- BBC languages
- Babbel
- Busuu
- Duolinguo
- Yojik (US Government site)
- Learn a language
- Memrise
- Rosetta Stone
Language tools
Translation tools
Automatic translation has come a long way but it’s by no means perfect, at times you can get some strange results. However if you are learning a language you will probably find these tools useful.
- Google Translate (web version, also available with a Gmail account)
- Bing Translator (owned by Microsoft)
Other resources
There are lots of other sites covering grammar, style, history of the language and so on. Here are a few examples to give you a taster, but go into a search engine like Google and Bing and see what’s available.
French
- Académie française. The official guardian of the French language. This site is in French.
- French Language Guide
German
- Duden Online Dictionary. Duden produces guides to the German language which are considered to be the most authoritative sources about German. This site is in German.
- German.Net
- Goethe Institut: The Goethe Institute is the German government equivalent of The British Council and has a section on their website about the German language
Spanish
- Instituto Cervantes of London. A non-profit organisation founded by the Spanish Government to promote Spanish language teaching
- Spanish Dict