Are There Any Language Apps That Focus On Immersion?

Language apps are pretty popular these days. They are extremely convenient and allow you to learn a language from your pocket, but a lot of people feel they are not effective, especially when compared to doing immersion learning.

So are there any apps that focus on immersion? The majority don’t, but you can still find some and I will go through those that do and why most do not.

Most Language Apps Do Not Focus On Immersion

The reality is that most language apps focus on more traditional forms of teaching, the apps just allow them to be a little more interactive than a textbook, but they are very similar.

Most apps are going to have some sort of structured lesson focusing on grammar, vocabulary and getting you to do simple exercises. Some of the apps have a built in spaced retention system, which is always good.

These apps can be useful and I think they can have their place in your learning, but the main issue is that they do not focus on immersion.

The amount of reading and listening you will do is quite small in comparison to doing actual immersion.

(You can read more about – What Is Learning A Language By Immersion?)

LingQ Focuses On Reading Immersion

LingQ is an app that does actually focus on immersion. It is basically all about reading and just getting exposure to the language, rather than having set classes.

They actually have it set up so that you can read some simple texts and you can also hear it in audio form. You can click on the words and find out they mean and there are some “lessons” but the core of the app is very much immersion.

It just wants you to read and read and hopefully pick up words and notice patterns in the language through doing this.

You will hear a lot of people say “this app isn’t for beginners” and sometimes I agree. It can be pretty hard going into a totally new language and just trying to read. Even reading very simple things can be overwhelming and there is times when I feel a more traditional lesson might be more helpful right at the start.

However, I guess that is more down to the individual and how comfortable they feel with immersion. The truth is that the sooner you can start immersing, the better, so really the sooner you take the plunge into LingQ, the better, even if you are a total beginner.

They also offer the ability to import material, meaning that when you run out of the simple stories they provide, you can start bringing in your own material and use their app to keep studying native content.

Do I Think LingQ Is Worth It?

Honestly, yes, but no. I personally haven’t paid for it, but I have used the free function and I do like it. I think I will end up paying for it as I do think it will help me read a lot more.

Personally I like to listen a lot more then reading, both in English and languages I am learning, so this is the only reason I have been a bit hesitant to use it more, although I do know I should do more reading.

Reading is my weakness and the only way to get stronger is face it and do more, which I think LingQ will certainly help with. 

Lingopie Focuses on Video Immersion

Lingopie is starting to show up more and more in the language learning world and is often described as the Netflix of language learning.

I will be honest, I have no used this service yet. I just don’t have the time to test it at the moment. The app sounds totally perfect, it just has TV shows and videos you can watch and their whole philosophy is to get you immersing in the language.

I can certainly get on board with this, but of course as I have not tried it, I can not say how well this is executed it. I am not sure how many videos are actually on there and if they are worth watching, but i think the concept sounds amazing.

There is a free 7 day trial, so I need to test this and then decide if it is worth paying for. However, the fact that something like this exists is only a good thing. Even if it is not perfect now, we are making progress in the right direction and language apps can only get better if they continue with this type of approach to languages.

So for now, I can only tell you that this app exists, and when i have actually tried it myself I will let you know how I feel about it.

Youtube Is Great For Immersion

Youtube is the best app you can use for language immersion.  It’s free and there is pretty much an endless amount of content on there.

I will admit that it can be a little hard to find some content at times, but once you get the ball rolling its usually fine.

Youtube is full of videos and all you need to do is just search for things on topics you are interested in, in your new language and you should be able to find something worth watching.

A lot of the material is made by natives, for natives, so it can be a little intense at times, especially if you are new to the language.

However, you can find videos that are aimed at native children, and while these are kind of boring, they can be helpful.

If you want to step away from immersion, youtube also has this covered. You can usually find all sorts of lessons for learners on the language you are learning. You can sit and watch someone explain some sort of grammar concept and then you can go back to watching normal shows and see if you can spot the grammar that you just learned.

I honestly believe that if you said to me “you can only learn X language …and you can only use youtube” I think I would get pretty far. I think you can do enough immersion on youtube to get a really strong understanding of any language. 

(You can read more about – How To Use YouTube To Learn A Language)

Podcast Apps Are Great For Immersion

The Podcasts app is probably something you already have on your phone, but you may not be using for your language immersion, when you really should be.

Podcasts are certainly popular, but not as popular as youtube so there will not be as much material on here, but I guess it depends on your language.

There will certainly be something you can listen to and hopefully do a lot of immersion with.
The only down side is that podcast are only audio, so you lose that visual element that you get some videos, but they can still be fantastic.

The vast majority of podcats are going to be for the native speaker, but I am sure you will be able to find some aimed at learners.  

They can also be really useful for having on in the background while you are doing other things. Of course it depends what you are doing, but hopefully it’s a mindless task like sitting on a bus, then you can sit there and enjoy the podcast.

Kindle Can Be Used For Immersion

Kindle is of course the app you use for reading, which makes it perfect for language learning immersion.

You probably only know this app for reading in your own language but if you look up your target language you will find all sorts of books you can immerse with. These are going to be both for natives and learners.

Why Do Apps Not Focus On Immersion?

Immersion apps are rare as the whole process of immersion is not really that traditional. It is seen as more of alternative way to learn and a lot of people are not really aware of it.

If you ask the vast majority of people how you learn a language, they will say through lessons and learning grammar, as this is what they know from school, but we all know now that this is not the best way.

If you really want to acquire a language you need to immerse in it for a long time, but at the same time it’s not exactly easy to measure how much progress you are making or how effective your acquisition is.

For anyone who has put the effort in and did it, they will tell you its pretty grey. You sort of just feel lost for a long, long time and then one day you kind of realise you can understand a lot of what you are listening to.

No app is going to want to want to try and promote this way of learning as the majority of people want instant results, and the classic lesson system will get this. I can teach you 5 new words right now and you can see your “progress” right there.

Imagine trying to explain to someone “just watch these shows for the next 6 month, even though you don’t really understand anything”  …no one is downloading that app unless they have already heard of the immersion method. Apps are businesses, so you get why they want to go after the biggest audience. 

If you want to immerse then you are better going straight to the source and just watching native content wherever it is available, rather than using some sort of app that has it all collected together. 

(You can read more about – Do Language Apps Actually Work?)

Conclusion

Unfortunately immersion apps are not really a thing, the only exception is LingQ. If you like reading then this app is going to be perfect for you …if you don’t like reading, well you should do it anyway and try LingQ, as reading is extremely beneficial for you. (and maybe Lingopie may be the new top contender)  

This lack of dedicated apps means that you need to find your own material to immerse with, but there are plenty of apps like youtube that you can use for this purpose, so it doesn’t really matter what language you are learning, you should be able to find something to immerse with.