List of language self-study programs
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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 program | Number of languages taught | Interface languages | Media | Business Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50Languages | 56 | 56 | Web | Free audio, apps, downloads, sell optional books |
| Alison | 6 | 1 (English) | Free | |
| Assimil | 76 | 12 | Books, USB drive | |
| Babbel | 14 | 9 (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian) | Application | Subscription |
| BBC Online | 40 | 1 (English) | Web | Free |
| Behind the Wheel by Macmillan Publishers | 9 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Berlitz Corporation | 23 | 1 (English) | Online classes, offline classes, books, PE (physical media) | Varies |
| Bilingual Books, Inc. | 12 | 2 (English, German) | Physical media | |
| Busuu | 14 | 15 | Application | Freemium |
| Central Institute of Indian Languages | 47 | 1 (English) | Physical media | sell books |
| Colloquial by Routledge | 56 | 1 (English) | Physical media | Sell books, CDs |
| Cortina Method by Rafael Díez de la Cortina y Olaeta | 10 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Drive Time by Random House | 5 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Drops | 51 | 24 | Application | Freemium |
| Duolingo | 43 | 25 | Application, Web | Freemium with all learning features free |
| Durium by Durium Records | 4 | 1 (Italian) | Physical media | |
| Eurotalk | 132 | 119 | Application | |
| FirstVoices | 82 | 1 (English) | Free | |
| For Dummies | 17 | 2 (English, German) | Physical media | |
| Foreign Service Institute | 42 | 1 (English) | Web | Free |
| Gloss by Defense Language Institute | 29 | 1 (English) | Web | Free |
| Hugo by Dorling Kindersley | 5 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Idiot's Guide | 10 | 2 (English, Spanish) | Physical media | |
| L'Harmattan | 167 | 1 (French) | Books | |
| Langenscheidt | 17 | 2 (English, German) | Physical media | |
| Language Reactor | 40 | 28 | Browser extension, website | Freemium |
| LingQ | 50 | 17 | Application, Web | Freemium |
| Linguaphone | 16 | 2 (English, German) | Physical media | |
| Lingvist | 8 | 8 (Arabic, Chinese, English, Estonian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian) | Online, mobile app | Freemium |
| Living Language (publisher) | 18 | 7 (Arabic, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish) | Physical media | |
| Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages | 6 | 1 (English) | Free | |
| Lonely Planet | 6 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Made Simple by Broadway Books | 7 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Mango Languages | 71 | 17 | Application | Free to library patrons if library pays, or monthly subscription |
| Memrise | 35 (official courses) Hundreds (user-created courses) | 15 | Application | Freemium |
| Michel Thomas Method | 12 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Mondly | 41 | 30 | Application | Freemium |
| Paul Noble Method by Collins | 5 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Peace Corps | 101 | 1 (English) | Web | Free |
| Pimsleur Language Programs (company) | 51 | 51 | Application, Web | One-time/subscription |
| Pronunciator | 87 | 50 | Free to library patrons if library pays | |
| Quizlet | 18 | 8 (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish) | Online | Freemium |
| Reise Know-How | 200 | 7 | Books | |
| Rosetta Stone | 25 | 1 (English) | Software | One-time/subscription |
| Schaum's Outlines | 6 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Smigin | 4 | 3 (English, Portuguese, Turkish) | Subscription | |
| Tandem | 300+ | 1 (English) | App | Freemium |
| Teach Yourself | 58 | 1 (English) | Books, CDs | |
| Teach Yourself Business by McGraw-Hill Education | 4 | 1 (English) | Physical media | |
| Transparent Language Online | 130 | 6 | Online, mobile app | Monthly or yearly subscription, or free to library patrons if library pays |
See also
- Computer-assisted language learning
- Language learning video games
- Language MOOC
- List of flashcard software
- Virtual world language learning