Choosing the best language app for learning Japanese can be a bit overwhelming due to the many options available. Duolingo always go-to app for many language learners, but is it good for Japanese learning? Are there other apps better for learning Japanese as a beginner? Our Japanese class students have tried and tested quite a few apps, these are the ones they find most helpful for Japanese learning. Be mindful apps are just one of the supplements to learn a language, it’s best to join an in person Japanese course to get off on the right foot.
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Doulingo
Like many others, Sarah uses Duolingo as a door to learn other languages. Today she still uses it to compliment her studies with us. Duolingo approaches language learning in bite-sized sections that are organized by theme (think standard greetings, restaurant and airport). Duolingo visualizes your progress as a ‘path’ that you progress along. The app is perfect for pocket-sized studying – when you’re commuting to and from work, for example. It is great to fit in the modern busy life.
Duolingo tries to give a comprehensive language learning experience that covers vocabulary, speaking, listening, and reading practice.
Duolingo harnesses AI algorithms to offer users a personalized learning experience. Through machine learning, the app is able to curate the pace and learning material it offers you in line with your individual level.
LingoDeer
Our student Victor uses LingoDeer for self learning Japanese before joining our Japanese Beginner Classes. He still thinks that’s it a good stepping stone and uses it as a supplement to his Japanese classes. Duolingo approaches language learning in bite-sized sections that are organized by theme (think standard greetings, restaurant and airport). Duolingo visualizes your progress as a ‘path’ that you progress along. The app is perfect for pocket-sized studying – when you’re commuting to and from work, for example. It is great to fit in the modern busy life.
Duolingo tries to give a comprehensive language learning experience that covers vocabulary, speaking, listening, and reading practice.
Duolingo harnesses AI algorithms to offer users a personalized learning experience. Through machine learning, the app is able to curate the pace and learning material it offers you in line with your individual level.
Memrise
Our advance beginner class student Jacob finds Memrise really helps him with Japanese vocabularies and daily practice. Memrise is a vocabulary app that teaches you important Japanese phrases, as said authentically by locals. It takes a more visual approach to learning the language. Full of fun animations and set up very much like a video game, Memrise makes learning Japanese fun.
It’s also mainly a vocabulary-learning app, with many different lists available to study from. The app uses repetition to perfect your memory of a word or phrase, which is then reinforced with frequent reminders of already-learned words. User-submitted visual and text mnemonic devices make it easier to remember certain words, and you can customize just how much you want to learn per day.
There are several excellent apps for supporting Japanese learning. Many apps has been emerged for language learning. Here are the most popular ones our students use to supplement their learning outside of the classes. Our students has found these apps helpful for them.
HelloTalk
Many people find it hard to practice speaking on a daily basis. It is extra hard to find a native people to practise with you. Our students Lisa has been using HelloTalk to practise her Japanese speaking besides classes. HelloTalk is a language exchange app that connects learners with native Japanese speakers who want to learn their language in exchange. Users can chat with language partners via text, voice calls, or video chats. This app is fantastic for practicing speaking and listening skills with native speakers. Additionally, it allows learners to immerse themselves in Japanese culture and get real-life language usage examples.
Text chat offers a low pressure way to get this practice while still connecting to other users in real time, either one-on-one or in groups. The in-app text conversations were perfect for infrequent, on-the-go messaging. The chat interface offers some handy features to help like translation tools and ways for users to correct each other’s mistakes.
While text chat is convenient and quick, our students found that an audio conversation was really where the learning soared.It was fantastic to practice speaking the language spontaneously, but still having the option to erase your audio recording and try again if you made a mistake. The video conservation was moderately fruitful. There were a couple of awkward pauses, so we recommend having a text or audio conversation first. It is crucial to practice speaking Japanese regularly, the best way is to join a Japanese language class so you can practice it at least once a week.
JapanesePod101
Podcast has been a big hit over last decade. Our Japanese beginner class student Andrew has a busy work schedule and find it the best way to supplement his learning by listening to podcast on the go. JapanesePod101 offers audio and video lessons for learners of all levels. The app covers a wide range of topics, including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural insights. Lessons are engaging and entertaining, making language learning enjoyable. You can follow structured lesson pathways or explore specific topics based on your interests and needs.
Their unique approach through the podcast-style lessons helps to overcome the difficulties for English speakers when learning a language that uses a different writing system. The content of the lessons focus on topics that you would encounter in everyday life when interacting with a Japanese speaker.
Apart from audio, it also combines video to teach you everything you need to improve your Japanese. The course provides supplementary written materials & listening comprehension exercises that go into more detail for each lesson. This audio, video, written immersive technique has a proven track record of success for students of many languages, and that’s why it’s used by JapanesePod.
Anki
Students find flashcards is a great and easy way to learn new vocabularies. Flashcards take advantage of a learning theory called the testing effect (also known as active recall). By prompting you to remember elements of your Japanese language, flashcards stimulate your memory and help cement what you’re learning from the class.
That’s why our students love the Japanese flashcard learning app Anki. It is an intuitive flashcard app that is designed to promote quick and easy language acquisition. It has a huge range of flashcard activities based on a range of topics, including geography, history and maths, but you also have the ability to make your own flashcards too.
The beauty of Anki is that it places a strong emphasis on spaced repetition – it shows you flashcards at timed intervals, giving you time to digest what you’ve learned. This means you retain more information and reinforce your topical knowledge.