With rapid modernization and development, the world is gradually turning into a global village. Be it overseas academic opportunities or job placement, going global is not a tough deal anymore. In order to survive the cut-throat competition out there, it is necessary that you set yourself apart from the crowd. Proficiency over a few foreign languages will make your CV all the more robust and give you the much-needed confidence to express yourself with conviction.
If you really want to delve into the benefits of learning foreign languages, then here you go!
- Ability to connect: The most rewarding aspect of learning a foreign language is the ability to connect and bond with others. Mastery over a foreign language will enable you to have heart-to-heart talks, freely without any inhibition or limitation. You will be able to connect to people from different countries and explore different cultural aspects of people around the globe.
- Food for the Brain: Your brain is that powerhouse that has immense potentials. Enrich it by learning languages and enhance your cognitive abilities further.
- Improved career prospects: Learn foreign languages to have the edge over your monolingual peers. The demand for bilingual or multilingual professionals is increasing rapidly across the globe. Learn as many languages as you can and then go grab the opportunity.
It is, therefore, quite essential that a student learns multiple foreign languages and brace himself up to face the world out there. But equally significant is the selection of the right platform for learning foreign languages. Joining a reputed, renowned, well-established, and affiliated institute should be your priority.
Top Players:
Here are a few platforms that you can definitely get a grip over foreign languages. They have been ruling the industry for quite some time now. So if you want to learn from the experts, then you can try enrolling yourself with any of these platforms:
Table of Contents
Coursera:
Coursera is an online platform for learning foreign languages. No matter which language you want to learn, they have it all. The experts at Coursera teach you with utmost patience and proficiency. The faculty at Coursera has years of experience and expertise in teaching you multiple foreign languages in a straightforward and effortless manner. Joining this institute can be one of the best decisions of your life.
Language Scoop:
Language Scoop gives a unique combination of self-paced and instructor-led courses for learning multiple foreign languages like French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and English. With a hardworking, knowledgeable, trained, qualified, and dedicated team of instructors, Language Scoop offers you comprehensive courses in which you are mentored under the direct guidance of certified teachers. They offer app-based lectures as well as live lectures to impart lessons effectively. Also, for kids, Language Scoop offers specially recorded sessions in Chinese, French, and German.
Busuu:
Busuu has a vast community of about 100 million learners. It has worked with multiple reputed brands like Uber, Puma, DHL as well. For students, Busuu offers translated dialogues at the end of each unit. This helps the students to have a grasp of the entire content quite conveniently. Also, Busuu emphasizes on grammatical concepts. Students especially love the easy-going the method, which the app uses to teach languages like Turkish, Portuguese, Arabic, and so on.
Babbel:
Babbel teaches you foreign languages with the only goal in mind, to be able to use the language proficiently in the real world. Babbel lets you use the language to use it freely for communicating. Over 100 professional linguists have designed the comprehensive course structure for Babbel. The design of the course structure teaches you about interactive dialogues using which you can speak confidently. The best thing about Babbel is that it has a review feature that helps you revise from time to time, all that you have learned.
Duolingo:
If you want to learn a new language in a fun and addictive manner, then Duolingo can be the one for you. It is a one-of-its-kind platform that aims at offering personalized coaching to everyone simultaneously through the effective use of technology. Much different than the concept of rote learning, Duolingo helps you learn new languages in an entertaining manner. It uses a proven methodology to help students learn effectively and enhances their retention power. It has quite a queer content that helps students think differently and learn in a unique manner.
Udemy:
Udemy is quite a popular platform where you can learn foreign languages like German, French, English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Russian. This website is quite popular among students. Over two lakh students are learning foreign languages at Udemy. It offers an effective course structure that helps you learn complex foreign languages with the utmost ease and convenience. Udemy offers certification after successful completion of the languages.
Things to keep in mind while selecting an online platform for learning a foreign language:
- Certified teachers: Make sure that the institute you are choosing has certified teachers. The teachers should be able to impart online lessons tactfully. They should be able to bridge the gap between real and virtual.
- Option for self-paced and instructor-led courses: You should choose a platform that facilitates self-paced as well as instructor-led courses. This will help you to learn the language at your own pace. And you will be able to reap the benefit of the knowledgeable instructors as well.
- Flexible timings: Online platforms that allow you the option to learn at flexible timings are the best. You can learn whenever you want to after being free of all the obligations and duties.
- Small batches: The online portal should be teaching students in small batches. This will help you to interact with the linguist expert in case of any doubts or queries.
- Study material/Home assignments: Whichever platform you join, make sure that it offers study materials as well as home assignments to enrich your learning experience.
- Revision programs: Always go for an online platform that helps you revise the units every now and then. These small revisions help you retain what you have learned.
- Practice tests: A platform that conducts practice tests on a regular basis and then emphasizes on individual students as per their performance in the tests are the best of all.
So next time you think of joining a platform for learning a foreign language, keep the above-mentioned points in mind.
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I’ve tried almost every one of these platforms, and I can’t choose one right now. Each has its disadvantages and advantages for me. But for beginners, I would recommend starting with Coursera.