Self-study language acquisition programs allow learning without having a teacher present, and the courses can supplement or replace classroom instruction. Universities use self-study programs for less-commonly taught languages, where having professors is not feasible. Self-study programs are available on paper, audio files, video files, smartphone apps, computers, or any combination.

This list is limited to programs that teach four or more languages. There are many others that teach one language.

Alphabetical lists of languages show the courses available to learn each language, at All Language Resources, Lang1234, Martindale's Language Center, Omniglot, and Rüdiger Köppe. (UCLA Language Materials Project has ended.) For the thousands of languages not listed on those sites, for which no course exists, Global Recordings Network has recorded a standard set of Bible stories in 6,000 languages. With effort, learners can study any language by comparing their recordings to the same story in a language they know.

The list of self-study programs, below, shows the number of languages taught by each program, the name of the program, and the number of different languages used for instruction. Multiple languages of instruction may be available for some but not all courses. For example, Reise Know-How uses six languages to teach German, but only German to teach the other languages. On the other hand Eurotalk, Pronunciator and 50Languages use all languages to teach all the other languages.

List

Self-study programNumber of languages taughtInterface languagesMediaBusiness Model
50Languages5656WebFree audio, apps, downloads, sell optional books
Alison61 (English)Free
Assimil7612Books, USB drive
Babbel149 (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian)ApplicationSubscription
BBC Online401 (English)WebFree
Behind the Wheel by Macmillan Publishers91 (English)Physical media
Berlitz Corporation231 (English)Online classes, offline classes, books, PE (physical media)Varies
Bilingual Books, Inc.122 (English, German)Physical media
Busuu1415ApplicationFreemium
Central Institute of Indian Languages471 (English)Physical mediasell books
Colloquial by Routledge561 (English)Physical mediaSell books, CDs
Cortina Method by Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta101 (English)Physical media
Drive Time by Random House51 (English)Physical media
Drops5124ApplicationFreemium
Duolingo4325Application, WebFreemium with all learning features free
Durium by Durium Records41 (Italian)Physical media
Eurotalk132119Application
FirstVoices821 (English)Free
For Dummies172 (English, German)Physical media
Foreign Service Institute421 (English)WebFree
Gloss by Defense Language Institute291 (English)WebFree
Hugo by Dorling Kindersley51 (English)Physical media
Idiot's Guide102 (English, Spanish)Physical media
L'Harmattan1671 (French)Books
Langenscheidt172 (English, German)Physical media
Language Reactor4028Browser extension, websiteFreemium
LingQ5017Application, WebFreemium
Linguaphone162 (English, German)Physical media
Lingvist88 (Arabic, Chinese, English, Estonian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian)Online, mobile appFreemium
Living Language (publisher)187 (Arabic, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish)Physical media
Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages61 (English)Free
Lonely Planet61 (English)Physical media
Made Simple by Broadway Books71 (English)Physical media
Mango Languages7117ApplicationFree to library patrons if library pays, or monthly subscription
Memrise35 (official courses) Hundreds (user-created courses)15ApplicationFreemium
Michel Thomas Method121 (English)Physical media
Mondly4130ApplicationFreemium
Paul Noble Method by Collins51 (English)Physical media
Peace Corps1011 (English)WebFree
Pimsleur Language Programs (company)5151Application, WebOne-time/subscription
Pronunciator8750Free to library patrons if library pays
Quizlet188 (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish)OnlineFreemium
Reise Know-How2007Books
Rosetta Stone251 (English)SoftwareOne-time/subscription
Schaum's Outlines61 (English)Physical media
Smigin43 (English, Portuguese, Turkish)Subscription
Tandem300+1 (English)AppFreemium
Teach Yourself581 (English)Books, CDs
Teach Yourself Business by McGraw-Hill Education41 (English)Physical media
Transparent Language Online1306Online, mobile appMonthly or yearly subscription, or free to library patrons if library pays

See also