The best iPhone apps for learning a foreign language

You can learn one of 13 languages with Babbel, the good language learning app for iPhone. The Babbel iPhone app for learning a foreign language is the language app built by language experts. Why the Babbel app?  Because with this iPhone app for learning languages you are provided with short, interactive lessons rethink old-school language education to get you speaking a foreign language with confidence!  Babel language experts build every language course tailored to your native language. This way you can learn any of 13 languages quickly and effectively.

• Short, effective lessons
• Lessons for every situation
• Listen, speak, write
• Perfect your pronunciation
• Learn grammar in context
• Offline mode

Lingopie brings a unique approach to learning a new language to the AppStore. Using TV and Movies as a medium for learning French and Spanish, Lingopie makes learning easy and without any stress. Using subtitles in a creative way, this app improves both your vocabulary and grammar to suit your goals. There are a lot of useful features within the app, from changing the playback speed to quizzes at the end of the movie or episode.

• Flashcards that you can customize to match the scenes
• Accents, mannerisms and more are included
• Playback speed is adjustable
• Quizzes to monitor your progress

Speaky, the good iPhone app for learning a foreign language is the perfect tool to instantly practice languages with people around the world and for free. On Speaky you can practice more than 110 languages, like English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Hindi… Just to name a few! The Speaky language app features:  

• Find the perfect language partners by browsing a worldwide community of language learners 
• Practice with your language partners and learn from each other simply by exchanging your language skills
• You help someone that wants to learn your native language by practicing with him/her and correcting often times eventual mistakes
• Stay connected with your language partners and make sure to practice everyday

This learning language app makes learning Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Hebrew, Cantonese, Thai, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, Greek, Hindi, Polish, Swedish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Filipino, Turkish, Persian, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Swahili, Czech, Danish, Afrikaans, Romanian, and Urdu easy and fun. Start now and access hundreds of audio and video lessons by real teachers, lesson notes, study tools and more. With 500+ million downloads and 10 years of experience, you’re learning with a time-tested, proven system. Choose a language and learn anywhere, anytime. With this learning app you can:

Innovative Language 101 app review

• Access a 7-Day Free Premium Trial of Any of Our Language Courses (Free)
• Get New Audio & Video Lessons EVERY Week for LIFE (Free)
• Learn Offline by Downloading Lessons to My Library (Free)
• Get Daily Vocab Lessons Delivered to Your Email (Free)
• Switch Between All of Your Devices & Computer Without Losing Progress (Free)
• Use Multiple Playback Options: Stream from the App or the Lock-Screen, Skip Ahead & Control the Speed of Your Lessons (Free)
• Access the Largest Library of Audio & Video Lessons (Basic Users & Above)
• Access In-Depth Lesson Notes & Read with Every Lesson (Basic Users & Above)
• Track Your Learning Progress with Progress Bars (Basic Users & Above)
• Fully Master Conversations with Line-by-Line Audio (Premium Users & Above)
• Create Personal Word Lists with the Word Bank (Premium Users & Above)
• Enjoy 1-on-1 Learning with Your Own Teacher (Premium PLUS only)
• Get a Personalized Learning Program & Guidance (Premium PLUS Only)

With over 33 free languages to choose from, Drops’ short, beautiful word games make learning a new language fun. Drops limits your learning time to 5 minutes. This might sound crazy but it works like charm. The time limit encourages intense focus which further enhances the effectiveness of memorization.

• App Of The Day in 150+ countries!
• Swipe-based: Fast-paced, intuitive learning, and typing on your phone’s keyboard is anything but fast.
• Strategic vocabulary selection: The “what” is perhaps more important than “how”.

Sometimes the best way to learn a foreign language is by finding someone who speaks that language as their native tongue. The Tandem app makes this possible and fun. All users have to do is browse through the "community" of users to find those who speak the language they are wishing to learn. It gives users a way to have real conversations in those languages, so you’ll be using everyday terms and situations. Of course this all works on your schedule so whenever you feel like you've got extra time and want to learn, simply launch the app. You won't have to worry about hidden costs, as this one is free.

• Learn how to speak a variety of languages
• Chat with native speakers whenever you like
• The app is free to use
• There is no set-up required 

ListeningDrill is designed to help users learn one of several different foreign languages. Adjust the play speed of videos or audio to better understand the pronunciation of the words. Merge subtitles, AB repeat, check whole scripts, bookmarks, listen and repeat, adjust size and color of fonts, play app in the background and much more. The idea behind this app is to make the process of learning a new language simple, smooth and efficient. ListeningDrill has ads in this version. An in-app upgrade is required to remove ads.

• Learn one of several different foreign languages
• Watch videos with subtitles to hear and read the language
• Bookmark favorites, Playback slower, Repeat video
• Adjust subtitle settings, Listen to audio only
• In-app purchase to remove ads

HiNative is a platform where users can connect with native speakers from other countries. Learn other languages and have people check your pronunciation, ask questions, have your questions translated into other languages, take pictures of an item and learn that item’s native word, get suggestions on what to see when traveling internationally, powerful search tool, get notifications and more. There’s an in-app purchase for the premium version of this app, which will add even more features in the near future.

HiNative app review

• Connect with users from other countries
• Ask questions, Have your pronunciations checked
• Take pictures of items for translation purposes
• Get travel suggestions, Search tool, Notifications
• In-app purchase for the premium version

This app offers users a variety of 19 different languages to learn from. Whether you have advanced knowledge, basic, or no knowledge of the language you are interested in this app can help. The whole goal is to help you improve on your skills, no matter what level your skills are. Some of the languages available include Italian, Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and German. The app takes you through the vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills that you'll need to speak it. It focuses on teaching the foundation of each language so users can then get a firm grasp on it.

Rosetta Course app review

• The app offers a large variety of languages
• Any skill level can use the app
• Users will be studying vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills
• Users will get a good grasp of the foundation of each language

This app literally hooks users up with hundreds of languages and thousands of courses and the best part is that all of it is free. It uses a "scientific learning system" that is meant to allow you to learn 44 words per hour. Sounds intimidating right? Well the app takes a very user-friendly approach and uses a variety of games to help you learn. As well it will track your progress so you can see how well you're doing. The app offers example audio, sentences, and videos to help in the learning process. Some of the languages offered include Italian, Swedish, Polish, French, and German.

Memrise app review

• The app connects users with hundreds of different languages
• There are thousands of courses to take
• The app is user-friendly
• There are various games meant to help in the learning process
• The app uses its own “scientific learning system”

Here's your opportunity to choose from more than 100 different popular languages to learn on your own time. You can choose to specialize in just one or try to learn a number of them. It features native speakers as the teacher of each of the languages. What makes this app unique is its' text and talk exchange mode that is helpful and easy to use. Some of the languages offered include Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, German, and French. While the app is free to download there are a number of different options, including memberships, which require in-app purchases.

HelloTalk Language Exchange app review

• The app supports more than 100 different languages
• The app is free to download
• The app is user-friendly and helpful
• It features a text and talk exchange mode that aids the learning process

There's no need to wonder what that sign says, how to chat with an overseas friend, or how to read the menu at the foreign restaurant thanks to the iTranslate app. This one has actually won a number of awards so you know you're get an app with proven results and a great track record. It supports more than 90 languages, can be used on the Apple Watch, and has a number of dictionaries built in. In premium mode you'll be able to take advantage of the voice input feature to get your translations. Don't forget to make use of the history, share, and favorites tools.

iTranslate ~ free translator app review

• The app supports more than 90 languages
• The app has won a number of awards
• It supports the Apple Watch
• It has built-in dictionaries
• It features a history, share, and favorites tool

If you're currently trying to learn another language the Quizlet app can help in the process. This app acts as a study tool where you can make your own customized quiz or access the millions available in the database. There are a variety of games, flashcards, and other tools to help you learn. Go ahead and use audio and images and you can access pronunciation tools as well. This one is ideal not just for students but teachers too who want to give students access to tools that can aid in the learning process. The app is easy to navigate and set up so you can focus on the task at hand – learning.

Quizlet app review

• This app acts as a study tool
• It can be used by students and teachers
• There are a variety of games and flashcards
• Create your own customized quiz
• Access the quizzes others have made