What do you want to learn today? The Web offers a huge amount of resources, and all you need is a lot of willpower, along with a little time. Learning more about a language is an excellent challenge, and considering the enormous usefulness of English today, it is undoubtedly an extraordinary first option. Today we bring you a list of portals that will help you take the first steps into the world of the English language, for free.
Memrise
The Memrise platform started doing its thing in 2009, and since then it has become one of the most important for learning languages. Unlike other competing sites, Memrise applies special memorization techniques in its courses, with more than 300,000 learners started to date. You can create an account to register, or use Google/Facebook accounts if you prefer.
Duolingo
Duolingo began thanks to a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in November 2011, and in these almost four years it has accumulated more than 100 million registered users, offering support for more than twenty languages across the major platforms on the market. Duolingo stands out as a solid option for beginners, who will be guided by Duo, the site's digital mascot.
Mango
It has been eight years since we first talked about Mango, and our opinion hasn't changed: it's one of the best resources for those who want to get started in English. In fact, the specific English courses are available in more than a dozen different languages. The strong points of Mango are conversations, pronunciation, and the most relevant grammatical details.
Lyrics Training
Learning English doesn't have to be a strictly formal process, or at least not at first. Many people enter the ring of this language with the help of movies or music, and that's what Lyrics Training aims for. The whole process is a game: The video starts playing, and according to the selected level, you must type in the missing words in the lyrics. Ideal for processing the toughest accents.
Busuu
Busuu is a service that presents itself as a "social learning network", in which English is just one of twelve available languages. The idea of a garden that grows as we progress makes it very interesting, as does the option to set our own study times, which can be continued from anywhere with its mobile apps.
Fleex
Just as Lyrics Training lets us learn English with music, Fleex does the same using TV series, movies, and YouTube videos. The difference with Fleex is that it's not an online service, but an application that we must download after registering. The combination of dual subtitles (when available) and the use of familiar material makes the process much easier.
As always happens in these cases, we are only scratching the surface of what the web has for us. The two most "informal" options, so to speak, are Fleex and Lyrics Training, and it's likely Duolingo will be the first stop for those who don't understand a word of English, but if you feel you're ready for something more serious, any of the mentioned sites will serve you well. English is not an alien language: Once you master its basic elements, it will turn out to be easier than Spanish in many aspects. And if you need to be on the move, below you can access additional material to learn with your smartphone. Good luck!
Learn English with your smartphone:
