Beginner Language Learning Tools That Will Help You Learn By Yourself

When you are starting out learning a language it can be a little confusing where to begin.

Your only experience with learning something was probably at school, which means textbooks. These are of course on the list, but there are so many other tools you can use to help you learn and a lot of them are both free and very easy to find.

All of these tools are things I have used myself and they can help you learn a language by yourself too.

You may find some better than others, but that is the joy of self study; you can lean into the ones you like and avoid the ones that you think are not helpful

Text Books

This is the absolute classic. You will have used these in your school days and I’m sure they will have scarred you for life, but give them a second chance, they can actually be quite good for learning languages.

You can buy all sorts of text books for language learning and they can be really useful for learning topics like grammar.

They are relatively cheap and you could always buy them second hand if you wanted to. 

You will need more than these, but they can certainly give you a solid foundation and make sure you understand how the language works.

Online Language Courses

The internet has changed everything in the world and language learning is no different. There are hundreds of different courses at different levels that you can sign up and learn with.

The fact they are online totally changes how they are presented. You no longer have to turn up somewhere at the same time each week to sit and listen.

Online courses can be taken at any time and you can go at your pace. The courses are also usually quite interactive having a mixture of reading, videos, writing and also the use of voice recognition software so you can practice your
pronunciation.

I would argue that this is probably the most popular way that people learn languages today.

You usually have to pay for them, but there will be free options available.

(If you are learning French then you probably want to look at my French Course, It’s pretty simple, but it will show you the basics of how the language works for free)

Language Tutors

Tutors are 1 on 1 language lessons with a teacher. They can be like actual lessons, or more of a practice session. It’s totally up to you what you do with your tutor.

These types of lessons are usually used as an additional tool along with something else, such as a course. Although I am sure you could use just a tutor and learn quite a lot of the language.

Tutors can be found both on the internet and the real world. They can be one of the more expensive options, but to be able to speak directly with another human who knows how to explain and teach can certainly justify the cost.

(You can read more about – Should You Use A Language Tutor?)

Language Exchanges

Language exchanges are like the free version of a 1 on 1 tutor. If you are a total beginner this may not be ideal, as it is helpful to have some basics in the already.

The idea is really simple; you just join an exchange app and start speaking to native speakers. They will be learning your native language so the idea is that you help each other out.

You basically talk to each other in both languages, so that you can both get a bit of practice and then you can help each other with any issues you might have.

This is all pretty much done online and is quite informal. Obviously the quality of the conversation can vary depending on who you are talking to.

There are some weirdos out there, but you can also find some really good friends this way and you can get some excellent practice talking to a real person.

(You can read more about –  Language Exchanges)

Podcasts

Language learning podcasts are like the modern day equivalent to the old language tapes. They are usually audio lessons and can be quite good.

The fact they are usually free and you can listen to them while doing other things make them a great learning tool.

They might not be the full package, but they can be a good addition to your language tool bag.

You also have podcasts that are just designed for native speakers. These are probably a bit too intense for total beginners, but the option is there and you will need to listen to these when you want to immerse in the language.

YouTube

YouTube is great. As a free language tool it is just excellent. There are literally thousands of hours of great videos on there for you to watch whenever you want and as often as you want.

Like podcasts you will find both lessons for learners and videos for natives.

I would start by looking up lessons in your target language and when you get the basics down try and move more towards just watching videos that are for natives. Again this will be tough for beginners, but as you build up your knowledge this will get easier and is a really important thing to do for your immersion.

(You can read more about how to use YouTube to learn a language)

Websites

Websites are the like modern day text book. You will find thousands of sites with all sorts of great language information. All for free. 

Some of these sites are set out as just informational articles. Such as “here is how you conjugate X verb” or they can be more like individual classes where the page talks you through a concept of the language and teaches you
something. 

The fact that we have all this information at our fingertips is incredible. You don’t have to go to a shop and buy anything, like you would have to with a text book.

Some sites are obviously better than others, but a quick web search should bring you multiple sites covering the same topic that you are looking for and you should be able to get all the information you would ever need.

You really can learn a language online, all the information is out there for you.

Flash Cards

You can make your own old school flash cards on paper or you can now make them on various websites and apps.

I am sometimes not the biggest fan of flashcards, but they do have their place in language learning and I also know a lot of people find them really useful.

If you want to go over some of the vocabulary you already know, they are a great option. 

Language Apps

Language apps are amazing. Basically there is an app version of every tool I have already discussed. You can literally learn a language exclusively from your phone.

You can read websites, Ebooks. Watch videos and listen to podcasts. There are countless online courses you can do through an app or make flash cards with to study.

You can also find language partners and tutors from dedicated apps as well. If you haven’t started to use your phone as one of your major language tools you are really missing out. 

It will totally change everything for you, for the better.

Conclusion

These are only the tip of the iceberg, there are so many other tools you can use to help you learn a language.

No one tool is better than the other and you also probably do not need to use all of them. I would suggest that you try them all out and see what works for you and just keep doing that.

If there is something that you don’t like, that fine, not all these work for everyone, just do what you enjoy and what you think is bringing you the most progress.

(You can read more about – The Only Study Plan You Need To learn A Language (For Complete Beginners))