Is It Better To Learn A Language Online Or In Person?

Learning a language online is becoming more and more popular, but is it actually better than learning in real life?

Honestly I think learning online is going to be better for the vast majority of us. Really if you can, you want to go to the country that speaks the language, this is always going to be the best approach …but most of us can’t do this and online is going to get us closer to this than learning in a classroom that is near to where we live.

There Are More Resources Online

It doesn’t matter where you live, there will always be more resources online. You basically have the whole world at your fingertips when you go online.

If we take learning Spanish for example, If I wish to do this in person I will probably only have a few resources. Hopefully my local bookstore or library has some books I can buy and hopefully there is somewhere I can go nearby to take a class, but really my options are thin.

The second I go online I will find an endless supply of resources from all around the world, including Spain and every Spanish speaking country.  

This becomes even more important when you start trying to learn more obscure languages. Spain isn’t too far away from where I live. It is a popular holiday destination and some schools teach Spanish …I can probably find some resources nearby. If I decided to learn something like Armenian, I think I would really struggle to do so here …but online there will be everything I need.   

You Can Go At Your Own Pace Online

The beautiful thing about learning online is that you can go at your own pace, which isn’t really the case if you are learning a language in person.

If you are taking a course then you will need to turn up to the classroom when you are told to be and you will be taught the information at whatever pace the teacher sets. You could of course buy a textbook and use that at your own pace, but for most people, they will have joined a classroom course.  

When you take a course online you can do it at any time of day and you can even do it as often as you want. A course in a classroom may be scheduled for once a week where as online you could study every day.

You are just a whole lot more flexible online and that really does make a difference. 

(You can read more about – Can You Learn A Language Fluently Through Self Study?)

You Can Make Your Own Study Plan Online

You are also more flexible in what you do when you study online. You can create your own study plan and go in whatever direction you feel like.

This is not going to happen with a classroom course and also not from a textbook. You are very much going to have to follow the order that is set.

This isn’t always a bad thing, sometimes having everything laid out for you is very helpful. It gives you a logical structure and allows you to just focus on learning what is in front of you.

However, you will quickly realise that this is not always the best. Sometimes you will be made to study things that are irrelevant to you and you will skim over things that you wish to spend more time on.     

When you are studying online you have the freedom to focus on what actually interest you, and you are likely to put more energy into this, since you are actually interested in it, so you should make more progress doing things this way. 

(You can read more about – How To Make Your Own Study Plan For Learning A Language)

Anything You Can Do In Real Life, You Can Do Online

We really are the point where anything you can do in real life, you can do online …and this is equally true for language learning.

If you start to include things like talking to tutors over video calls, then really there is no reason to leave your house. You really can have all the resources you would ever need to learn a language online.

The biggest issue we usually face is immersion and the general advice is that if you want to get a full immersion then you need to move to a country that speaks the language you are learning. This will certainly work, but I think we are at the point where this isn’t needed, and you could argue it may be better to just do it online.

When you move to the country you will be surrounded by the language. Everywhere you turn you will hear and see it and it can be intense, but you can replicate this at home. You can have access to all the same TV shows and media that a native speaker would get and you can also even interact with natives on language exchanges or social media.

Of course the second you move away from your computer your language world quickly falls apart and returns to your own language, but for a lot of us, this is fine. We can’t all just get up and move to a different country, so doing everything online allows us to have the best of both worlds.    

Immersion Is Easier Online

I would argue that general immersion is just as easy online as it would be if you moved to a different country.

Moving country may make things slightly more convenient, but it can actually be easier online. If I moved to France I could just switch on the TV and watch French shows. I could also walk down to the shop and buy a newspaper or a book. I could easily find media to immerse in when in France.

However, I could also just do this from the comfort of my home. I can watch French TV shows and I can read French newspapers online. I can even order physical books and have them delivered to my house.  

Maybe I have to wait a few days for delivery, or use a VPN to get the TV shows, but it is still easier than having to move to France and then start going around shops looking for books or whatever. I can do all these things today, online …it’s just easier.  

(You can read more about – Should You Use A VPN To Learn A Language?)

Learning Online Is Cheaper

Learning online is also a lot cheaper than learning in real life. If you learn in real life there will always be a cost, textbooks and courses cost money, where as you can find plenty of free resources online.

Of course some apps will charge you, as will using a tutor, but in general, things are cheaper online.

The same goes for trying to get full immersion. I can sit here all day and pretend I am in France on my computer …if I actually wanted to go to France and surround myself with the French culture, that isn’t going to be cheap. 

(You can read more about – How To Learn A Language For Free)

You Will Get More Support In a Real Life Classroom

While online can offer you a lot, I do still feel you will get more support in a real classroom. You are going to have other classmates and a teacher you can interact with and generally this dynamic is going to be totally different than online.

Learning online can be lonely; often you are just studying alone and just trying to figure out things by yourself. You can of course join social media groups and get some support, but it’s really not the same as having a real human interaction with someone in front of you.  

Real Life Classrooms Will Not Have Technical Difficulties

You could also argue that studying in real life is not going to have any technical issues.

I have never had any problems with studying online, if something isn’t working, there are plenty of other resources that I can use.

Really the biggest issue would be if my internet connection or my computer broke, then I may need to wait a few days to get is resolved. However, I could still use my phone and its internet during this time, so I don’t think I would really ever be without, but I guess the potential is there.

However, you could argue that you or your teacher could get sick and the lesson would be cancelled, so I would say the risk is about equal. Sometimes life gets in the way and stops you learning, it’s not a big deal and things will get back to normal pretty quickly.

Conclusion

Hopefully now you can see that learning online is always going to be better than learning in real life. You have so much freedom and access to information online that the real world really cannot compete.

The only thing that can come close to learning online is actually going to the country that speaks the language, but even this is not always ideal and even there a lot of your studying may actually take place online, which really shows it is the better option. 

(You can read more about – How To Immerse Yourself In A New Language – A Practical Guide)