What comes to mind when you think of Italy? Have you seen their elegant arts and heard of their beautiful history? Perhaps you have eaten Italian food and wish to visit the country someday. Are you fascinated by their language and wonder what the best apps for learning Italian are?
Well, this article is here to help. Find out the five (5) best apps for learning Italian, with their features and pros explained.
ItalianPod101 (most comprehensive)
ItalianPod101 is ranked the best Italian app, unapologetically. It has been tested and has proven to be flexible, engaging, effective, and most comprehensive. It is unique in its teaching method and has loads of customized content to allow you to learn gradually, taking one step at a time.
Its contents are graded from beginners to the advanced level. Each lesson is delivered through a podcast or short video and is particular to a topic. Other features include lesson notes and quizzes, flashcards, dialogue boxes, vocabulary lists, grammar banks, and more.
Pros
- Amazing features and easy-to-use interface.
- Abundant lessons for every competence level, skill type, and language point/context
Cons
- Due to its full content and shuffle approach, the syllabus may look bulky and overwhelming
Rocket Italian (second most comprehensive and interactive)
Rocket Italian is next to the ItalianPod101 because of its comprehensiveness which it delivers on another level and in grand style. Rocket Italian has its lessons broken down into audio lessons that explain the language and her culture through dialogues. The dialogues include you-the learner and have software that will record your voice to compare against a native speaker’s.
Pros
- This app is well designed and has its lessons available offline.
- Several contents and learning materials
Cons
- It is available at no cost only for the first lesson. The rest has to be paid for.
FluentU (building vocabulary and listening practice)
FluentU is an amazing pick if you seek to improve your listening skills and vocabulary in Italian. This app is loaded with several short YouTube videos that are sorted by themes, level of complexity, topics, and context. These videos can be vlogs, conversations, music, interviews, and so on. You can also guess that you will be exposed to different applications and real-life use of the language in different contexts.
Furthermore, after every video, you will be presented with a game-like quiz to acquaint yourself with words that you do not know.
Pros
- You can click on a word to get its meaning while on a video (subtitling)
- Your progress is kept, and already learned vocabularies are not repeated except by your request.
Cons
- It does not teach to speak or write nor even grammar; just vocabulary learning.
HelloTalk (best for conversation practice with a native speaker)
To learn Italian and even any other language of the world, it is very important to converse with native speakers of Italian or that language. Thanks to HelloTalk, you do not have to be in Italy to meet natives. Hellotalk pairs you up with Italians virtually, and then your conversation can begin.
The exciting part is that it is free. You do not pay anything else other than your attention and time with your language partner, who is a native. If meeting new people scares or intimidates you, do not worry. HelloTalk will pair you with a native based on your interest and hobbies. This is immense because you learn both the language, experiences, and culture of the people directly and from a known source.
Pros
- It has inbuilt translation and auto-correction features
- The number of native speakers to interact with is limited
Cons
- The natives are not all qualified or certified people; hence it can take a while to find a reliable one who teaches well.
Babbel (most convenient and fun)
Babble is an app that has become useful when learning Italian. It is tagged as the most convenient and fun on this list and is a very attractive option because its lessons are in bite-size and are conversational with a dialogue-style teaching method.
Its other features include images, context-based dialogue, short video clips, hints on grammar, and sentence structure.
Pros
- Its contents are original and unique
- It is easy to use even within short breaks since its lessons are in bite sizes
Cons
- Only the first lesson is free but you must pay after that
Lingopie (most obvious & fun, watch TV shows to
boost your understanding)
Have you spent plenty of time in front of the television laughing, perhaps crying while watching your favorite show? Now you have a chance to make this plus learn a new language. Learning Italian on Lingopie is unique because you will be immersed in the local culture on some island in Sicilia or walking around in Firenze.
The platform is admirable and appropriate — also user-friendly to navigate among all the content. No need to push you hard every day, staying committed in small pieces to the culture is enough. Their vast catalog would make you switch to Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Russian, German, and French to take a look.
Moreover, in each episode or movie, you can use their multiple features to improve your diction, vocabulary, and understanding of your target language. Be onboard with this brand-new platform and way of learning.
Pros:Vast catalog
- Great features like double-subtitle in any video
Cons:
- Not-so-easy for very beginners
Conclusion
With this carefully crafted list, you cannot go wrong while learning Italian. You have great choices picked out that cover all aspects of language learning from speaking to listening, vocabulary development, conversation with natives, and writing. Explore!