Being multilingual comes with innumerable benefits. Multilingualism helps the development of cognitive skills such as logic and reasoning (for effective problem-solving), creativity, auditory and visual skills, memory, etc.
Moreover, with multilingual skills, the chances of accessing/getting job opportunities, business deals, and international opportunities are very high.
For every language you speak, you feel a sense of connection with their heritage, history and culture. You become a man of multiple personalities when you are multilingual and have a rare advantage of having multidimensional perspectives of the world—you understand the world better!
Interestingly, learning new languages has become a lot easier, thanks to the development of (educational) technology. There are now apps one can use to learn new languages, covering all aspects needed to learn: writing, reading, speaking and listening.
Here are some of the apps recommendable to anyone interested in learning new languages:
Duolingo
This all-inclusive language learning app covers English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Esperanto and Turkey. It teaches speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills in all the listed languages using exciting games.
Memrise
Covering French, Spanish, English, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, etc. Memrise presents a quality platform where you can learn and practice new languages using quest and adventure games. Learning new languages can’t be more exciting!
LearnEnglish Grammar by British Council
LearnEnglish Grammar app focuses more on grammar. From Beginner level to the Advanced, this app interactively presents grammar activities alongside over 1,000 practice questions for users. It has UK and US editions to address the differences between English usages, spelling and pronunciation in British and American English. The app is available in Japanese and Spanish.
Busuu
This is another exciting language learning app. It covers Italian, French, German, English, Polish, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. Busuu features lessons on speaking/listening skills, writing skills, pronunciation skills, grammar tips, dialogues, memory practices, vocabulary development, etc. All the lessons have exercises, quizzes, and games to practise with. Busuu also has an offline mode to use without an internet connection, anytime, anywhere.
Babbel
Babbel covers 14 languages including German, French, Italian, Indonesian, Swedish and Spanish. Among other features, Babbel has speech recognition technology which aids pronunciation.
Yoruba 101
Yoruba 101 is a Yoruba language teaching app designed for kids. However, adult learners can also use it. It features interactive lessons on hundreds of words and expressions in the Yoruba language. Yoruba 101 also has exciting learning games and comparative language feature (Yoruba to English, Spanish, and Portuguese language).
Learn to Speak Hausa Language by Talkasoft
This app, though not a top rated app, is one of the apps currently available to learn The Hausa language. It also uses comparative language feature (Hausa to English phrase translations) to ensure adequate understanding of the Hausa language.
Igbo 101
Igbo 101 is designed for kids and adult beginners who are interested in learning the Igbo language. Like Yoruba 101, it features interactive lessons and exciting games to make the learning fun and interesting.
Note: All the apps examined above are available for download on Google Play Store.
