10 Best Free Language Learning Apps in India 2021 (Duolingo, Mondly, and more)

Mondly starts with asking you to select the language you speak. You may choose Hindi or English as they are the only Indian languages available. Then, choose from a list of 40 languages, including Hindi, English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arabic, and French. Then you can choose between beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and your classes will be designed according to that.

But if you select English as the language you speak, you won't be able to select the same to learn. This applies to all languages on Mondly. It lets you select topics that you are interested in, for example, travel, school, romance, etc., to make learning fun. Keep in mind that you will need to have basic knowledge of the letters and sounds in a language as the app doesn't teach you the same.

The app also offers a chatbot that converses with you using simple day-to-day phrases and sentences. If you are happy with the features of the app, you can choose one of their monthly or yearly plans to improve your knowledge of the language's core vocabulary.

Duolingo is a completely free language learning app that can teach 38 languages. But the only language you can learn through Hindi is English. When the app starts, you will be presented with two paths: a beginner path and a language test. You can choose the language test if you are somewhat knowledgeable, and the app will design your course depending on the test results.

You can choose a daily goal between 5 - 20 minutes, and the app will present you with courses that last according to your choice. But you can always spend more time if you wish. The lessons are short and fun, and you can compete with your Facebook friends and other learners on the leaderboard.

You can choose to learn more than one language at a time. Duolingo is completely free to use, but you can purchase a Plus membership to remove ads, download lessons on your mobile device, and support the company to continue offering free services.

A wonderful feature of Memrise is the short videos that introduce you to the commonly used words and phrases in a language. For example, video of native speakers using common words and phrases like hello, cheers, how are you. etc., can help you grasp the language and pronunciation easily. The courses are designed to improve your vocabulary and tutor proper grammar.

Memrise provides comprehensive SATcoaching, too, regardless of the language you choose to learn. Those who are planning to pursue their undergraduate degree abroad will find this facility beneficial. Memrise offers monthly, annual, and lifetime plans as well that give you access to all language courses, offline learning, and 30,000 video clips of native speakers.

Busuu is loaded with exercises to help you learn a language from scratch and reach an advanced level. The app has very few free lessons, but the good news is Busuu is the most affordable app that we have tested. One of their paid plans will even offer you an education certificate that you can for admissions or job applications to prove your language proficiency.

The app's community feature lets you socialize with native speakers and fellow language learners around the world. You can add them as friends and help each other learn. There are several options to choose from, with each offering an entirely different way of learning a language.

For example, Complete English with beginner, intermediate, and advanced lessons, a pronunciation section to help you speak with confidence, and even a TV drama to watch and learn the language. The sections differ across each language.

FunEasyLearn has a section to teach you the alphabets and sounds of a language. If you are entirely new to a language, this feature will help you lay a solid foundation by helping you pronounce syllables accurately. Also, unlike other apps, you can choose to learn English (both British and American) in English! 

The interface is divided into three sections: alphabets, words, and sentences. Categories under each section, for example, words related to health, sports, leisure time, sentences commonly used while conversing about weather, food, shopping, etc., will train you to become a fluent speaker.

The free plan only gives you access to Beginner Level 1. Buying a subscription will give you access to more than 6000 words and 5000 sentences, with new content being added regularly.

You can learn a new language on LingoDeer through bite-sized lessons that include pictures, iteration of words and phrases, jumbled letters and words, etc. This enables you to understand, read, and write an entirely new language as you progress. The app also uses speech recognition to evaluate proper words and grammar usage and pronunciation.

Some language courses on LingoDeer offer more lessons than the others. For example, the Japanese course has a section called Fluent Japanese that will train you to crack a JLPT N5 - N3 exam and a character drill section that will teach you to write 100 frequently used Kanji characters.

LingoDeer can teach you 12 languages, which is less compared to other apps on Google Play and Apple App Store. We also compared the subscription plans of this app to its competitors and found that LingoDeer charges you more, which may turn away some users.

British Council is an organization that works to promote knowledge of the English language all over the world. Their LearnEnglish Grammar app will help you get a deep understanding of the language, so you can speak and write confidently no matter the place and occasion.

The app is completely free and offers four levels: Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced, with over 1000 practice questions available over 600 grammar activities. While there are pictures to keep the app fun to learn, there are features to motivate you to push harder, like daily goals, unlocking achievements, etc.

Choose this app if you are practicing to crack IELTS or any certification examination that will add value to your resume. A small one-time purchase will remove all third-party ads from the app if you find it annoying.

Most language learning apps on Google Play and Apple App Store come with several sections that may overwhelm you. Speekoo has a simple user interface. Choose from six languages in this free app and select a level to begin. Some languages offer Beginner and Intermediate levels, while others also offer to improve your conversation skills in that language.

You won't be able to skip to the next lesson unless you finish the current one. There are options to listen to podcasts of lessons that you have already completed and review them through a test with a time limit. The app doesn't aim to make you an expert in the language but teach you just enough to speak fluently and maybe write a little too.

Rosetta Stone: Learn, Practice & Speak Languages is an Editor's Choice app on Google Play. It uses the TruAccent® technology to evaluate your pronunciation, so your English accent will get better, along with your grammar and sentence forming skills. When you get started, you can choose your knowledge level as well as the reason for learning the language.

Your core lessons will be decided by the app according to your responses. You can use the phrasebook inside the app to learn commonly used phrases by native speakers based on a situation or occasion, for example, dining out, staying in a hotel, meeting people, etc.

We found two drawbacks while testing the app: slow loading time while starting the app and also whole loading lessons and expensive subscription packs. There are more than 250 hours of content available in the app, so we recommend buying a subscription pack only if you plan on spending some serious time.

Babbel's systematic arrangement of courses will help you learn the basics of a language with ease. For example, you get to learn how to introduce yourself, greet people, order at restaurants, buy train tickets, talk about the weather, etc., through a series of situation-based lessons. 

We could find two features that make Babbel stand out: podcasts and online classes. The podcasts are not audio versions of lessons in the app but real native speakers talking about their life experiences. We recommend completing the beginner levels if you are learning a brand new language before you start listening to podcasts. Otherwise, you will have trouble understanding.

Babbel Live is a paid feature of the Babbel app that offers live online classes with language experts. It is not part of the unlimited access subscription plan and needs to be purchased separately. If you are planning to settle in a foreign country and need to learn a language in-depth, consider investing in this feature.