6 Useful Tools for Learning English
Hi there! Today I’d like to share with you a few helpful services and tools for learning English, which I tried myself (and still use some of them) — so I can safely recommend them. These tools will help you better speak, write and read in English, as well as find some pals for conversational practice or go study abroad. Let’s go!
Linguix — a profound writing assistant
Studying is studying, but sometimes you urgently need to write and send an email in English — and preferably, avoid multiple grammatical and lexical mistakes. Fortunately, AI writing assistants are here to help — they analyze your text and suggest corrections or improvements.
For example, I’m very keen on Linguix. It warns you about mistakes, suggests corrections, synonyms, as well as definitions of words and usage examples. In addition, if the assistant sees that you often make certain mistakes (for example, you confuse articles), it will offer you a workout to practice the corresponding rule — like in LinguaLeo or Duolingo. There is a desktop version, a browser plugin and a mobile application (iOS, Android) available. Basically, it’s a very convenient service for automatic checks and improving your texts.
iTalki — study with native speakers
With this service, you can find the English teacher that is perfect for you. There are filters by country, cost, your learning objectives (speaking practice, business English, passing exams), and you can also search by your interests — each tutor has detailed information in the profile. For example, I found a tutor who is also a fan of Doctor Who, and so we discussed new seasons with him.
Also on iTalki, they have a community of English learners where you can ask questions and share your opinions on suggested topics to practice your English. By the way, besides English, you can also learn any other languages — even such rare ones as Balinese or Zulu. The service is available in the browser or in the mobile app.
Linguatrip — find language courses abroad
As you know, it is best to learn a language by completely immersing yourself into the language environment. And if you are not yet (or already not) going to receive higher education abroad, then short-term language courses are what you need to speak English fluently. For example, a few years ago, I studied in Dublin for two weeks and it was very budget-friendly.
Linguatrip helps you choose a course that suits any taste and budget — within an impressive selection of countries. For example, you can study English not only in the UK or the US, but also in Malta, Canada and even New Zealand. Apart from finding a course, the service also allows you to book it, sometimes at a discount, as well as get assistance in obtaining a visa and return money in case of a visa refusal.
Puzzle English — a self-study platform
If you are determined to learn English on your own, then Puzzle English is a great option. This is a learning platform that has collected a huge amount of materials for different levels of language proficiency. At the same time, all training takes place in a playful way, which contributes to better memorizing and maintains an interest in learning.
For example, to better assimilate the materials you’ve studied, you can solve audio and video puzzles (hence the name of the service), as well as take various tests and grammar exercises. The service also has a cool addition, namely, a video library with films and series with subtitles.
HelloTalk — language exchange
The HelloTalk community has over 30 million members from around the world, so you can easily find people there to practice English. In addition to text chats, audio messages and video calls are also available in the app, so you can communicate in any format that’s convenient for you.
HelloTalk also has useful built-in tools such as machine translation, auto-corrections, transliteration, and text-to-speech. You can use the service either in a browser or in a mobile application (iOS, Android). Besides English, there are about 150 other languages available on HelloTalk.
ELSA — a pronunciation training app
Hone your pronunciation with this app — there are over 1000 lessons to choose from on a variety of topics. You speak out the suggested phrases, then the artificial intelligence evaluates how close your pronunciation is to the ideal –and what is worth working on.
Progress tracking and various challenges help you engage in the practice, and an interactive dictionary will give you the correct pronunciation of any word. The service presents one of the most common variants of the English language, which is American neutral.
