Free Language Learning Resources

Websites to Make Language Self-Study Easier

Little known fact about me: I LOVE languages, and many (many) years ago, I had a Tumblr dedicated to languages and my overseas travels, and while that blog will go to the grave with me, I thought I’d share the free language learning resources I’ve come accross.

Due to the sheer number of exams I have coming up, I won’t be able to make a list of original language learning resources and do a full review of each, but I wanted to get you guys started with a compilation of all the things I’ve collected throughout the years.

Tumblr, btw, is an amazing resource. For example, if you were learning Greek, you could follow their “learn Greek” tag and see THESE in your dash. I learned so so much from Tumblr. For modern-day “immersion,” I suggest making a new Tumblr dedicated to your target language, and follow the relevant tags, i.e. “deutsch lernen” for German.

So here goes: these generally have TON of languages, so click through them and see if you can find something you like. As you can see, there are innumerable sources to learn languages; my advice would be to pick one or two and stick with it/them. Let me know what you guys think!

• Learn language through music lyrics: has many major languages, including English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Swedish…and more
• Directly translate words in books/PDFs: ReadLang is a favorite of mine, and I read a chunk of “Game of Thrones” in Spanish using this amazing web-app.
  • CLICK HERE for a full tutorial on ReadLange
• FluentU: costs money but they have an excellent blog with tons of resources (here’s an example).
• Learning English? Just-English.me: fun resources here, like list of the 100 most beautiful words in English.
• OpenCulture: a ton of free language resources for many languages
• Duolingo: the app that everyone knows and loves
  • message me to join our language club on Insta!
• BBC Languages: French, English, etc.
• SoundCloud languages: Greek, Swahili, German, French and more.
• Benny the Irish Polyglot’s Resources (Fluent in 3 Months)
• Masterlist of MANY languages: courtesy of Tumblr
• Masterlist of Language Apps (free!): including Dutch and Hawaiian, courtesy of Tumblr

German:

• beginner’s lessons
• German: Media (books, movies, etc.)
• Learn German with DW: radio
• Extra!: a dorky German TV show for learning German; this is the YouTube version but you might be able to find a better quality one. I really liked it!

French:

• ThoughtCo: one of my favorite websites for grammar
• 35 Free Online Resources from Fluent in 3 Months
• Coffee Break French: a podcast
• French: YouTubers
• The French Experiment.com

Other:

• Russian: What to Watch (cartoons, YouTube)
• Latin: some Tumblr resources
• Japanese-Online
• Mandarin Chinese: masterlist, courtesy of Tumblr

Non-free options: there are SO many free options that I don’t think anyone should feel like they have to pay to learn a language, but if you already have these, it could be useful.

• Netflix: has tons of movies with different language subtitles and now more and more original shows in foreign languages, like “The Hookup Plan” in French and “Dark” in German (I liked them both!)
• Pimsleur Languages: excellent audio tracks for learning many different languages; I used them mostly for a bit of Russian and German. Ask around, your friends might have a suggestion

Language Exchange Websites (aka Pen Pals!): I used to have Spanish pen pals, and a few German ones as well. It’s a great way to learn, but beware of the creepy people; make sure to practice Internet safety!

ANKI Flashcards: incredible resource, many people use it for languages! Bit of a learning curve but it’s definitely worth it, especially for languages with unique characters like Japanese.