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Seven curious alternatives to learn English without leaving home

According to a study by Vaughan Systems, 57% of Spaniards would be willing to pay 3,000 euros for a pill that would allow them to learn English at once.It is the great subject pending for many, and a necessity in those occasions in which Knowing English becomes a key requirement to access a better job.


In the absence of the magic pill that Nicholas Negroponte predicted, the learning of this language can be carried out through traditional methods, but also with the help of technology, however, and beyond the already known online courses, There are alternatives that will make this training more enjoyable.


We are referring to resources as varied as conversational bots, platforms to do so watching our favorite series, and specific apps designed for home kids, but let's go with some of the most curious , as well as what your users think of them.


Duolingo



We will start with Duolingo, a well-known language learning website that this summer decided to reinvent itself with a new system: the conversational bots .These are artificial intelligences that offer the student the possibility to speak with them as if they were in a totally plausible situation.In fact, they have several profiles or personalities that allow them to face probable talks, especially in the case that we travel abroad.


For example, we found a cook, a driver and a police officer; with each of us we can "train" interactively.Something much more enjoyable than, in addition, has another significant advantage: AI is able to learn from ourselves and adapt to our level ; Not to mention that, as we use it, conversations will become more fluid.


In any case, it is worth mentioning that to start using this bot we must have certain previous knowledge .For those moments in which doubts arise, have a button »help in the answer».Unfortunately, it is a tool that still lacks voice recognition, so its usefulness is focused on written language.


Carlos Sebastian works on a boat and uses it regularly, because, although I learned English at school, I had forgotten a lot over time.”The bot has allowed me to remember in a way totally different from what I am used to.It has nothing to do with it, it is much more enjoyable, besides I cannot attend classes while on board for so long ».


lingokids



Lingokids is a Spanish startup that develops language teaching services for children from 2 to 6 years old with a firm objective: to solve the problems that many families with a tight schedule or scarce resources find so that their children have access to an education of a second quality language.Thus, the founders of this initiative, Cristobal Viedma and his sister Marieta, got down to work and developed Lingokids, an online platform accessible through a subscription and at the moment offers classes for English and Simplified Mandarin , although they hope to be able to offer Spanish classes very soon .


This app aims for the little ones to have fun learning languages ​​through entertaining interactive games and already has with two million registered families.In addition, the Madrid startup has closed a new round of financing 4 million dollars led by the investment funds Holtzbrinck Ventures and JME Venture Capital that, according to its founders, will be used to adapt the platform for Windows and Mac web browsers, in part to make the tool more accessible to teachers in classrooms.


Another of the great news of Lingokids, is that they have reached an agreement with the Oxford University, that will offer specific content for the classes within the application and also publish textbooks to be distributed in schools.

Fleex


Seven curious alternatives to learn English without leaving home

We could not fail to mention Fleex, designed for movie and series lovers, and especially for Netflix regulars.Specifically, it is a utility that will let us learn English by watching our favorite content .Its operation is simple: the platform synchronizes with the video in question and offers a series of smart subtitles with which we can interact .


This means that we have the possibility to go back to check what has been said, click on any word to hear its pronunciation again, know its full meaning and meanings in other contexts , and even save it in what will become a compendium of personalized terms and a vocabulary that will always be at hand.


On the other hand, the platform includes grammar exercises and the like as reinforcement, as well as a statistical system thanks to which the student will have the option of knowing first-hand their progress , weak and strong points , etc.In addition to Netflix, it integrates with YouTube, TED conferences and other files.The best thing is that we don't even have to look for them, but rather they appear listed within the application itself.


For Gisela Bravo, 51, it is an excellent alternative, because, although it has level C1 of the School of Languages ​​and enjoys watching series in English, "there are some expressions, especially the American ones, that still" they resist him."It's going very well to have them saved and check them later; it's something that doesn't cost me time, because the series would look the same," he says.


Lyrics Training


Seven curious alternatives to learn English without leaving home

Music lovers too They are in luck, because Lyrics Training will allow them to learn English by doing what they love most: singing.Something that any of us have carried out in a conventional class but that the web takes beyond.However, we must comment that, again, it is a improvement tool , which will require certain basic notions in the language that you want to deepen (in addition to what we are dealing with, it is available in Italian, French, German and others).


Having said that, offers three levels of difficulty from which we must choose.According to which one is chosen, the songs that will be shown next will be determined.The ranking is starred by the most voted After choosing the one we like, the page will load the corresponding video clip on YouTube and will show us the lyrics .


Now, he will not do it completely, but will use that old system to fill in the spaces with the missing words, a method that combines the traditional and the innovative and that is very effective.The completed, in addition, will be carried out in real time, so that the reproduction will also adapt to our rhythm.At the end, we will be scored taking into account not only the successes and errors , but the number of responses and the speed.In addition, it offers an option to automatically translate the entire song .


Andy


Seven curious alternatives to learn English without leaving home

Another remarkable conversational bot is Andy, who has a very functioning similar to that of Duolingo although somewhat more limited-lacks several personalities, one of the most interesting points of the aforementioned-.With it we can converse fluently , with a completely natural language.One of the tools pioneers in this field that allows us to always have someone available to chat , even if it is an AI .


In addition, we must comment that he has a quite affable personality, somewhat different from what we are used to in this type of systems.The application also allows us to request definitions of words that we have not understood, including notifications if we want to be reminded , and being able to correct us on the fly (and give us an explanation about it so that we learn from our mistakes).


Another of its strengths is that it is updated regularly so we can talk about movies , series and other events related to day to day, news and more.Messages also include audios, so that it is also possible to improve pronunciation and listening.


HiNative



As its name implies, HiNative is focused on the conversation with native speakers of the language we are learning (we found up to 120).Something totally different that, at the same time, allows to meet speakers from all over the world and Socialize by learning .A kind of virtual community that works halfway between a Facebook wall and a forum that also offers other linguistic resources.


To start using it, in addition to the registration, we will be asked for certain information, such as our mother tongue, language of interest, the country or region that we know well, and other countries and regions of interest.It will be from then on when we can start to see the referred content.Its great virtue is that is very strong , although the ideal is complement it with other learning systems.

Learn children's languages ​​


Seven curious alternatives to learn English without leaving home

To end already halfway between the game and the association of drawings and terms, we could not stop talking about Learn Languages ​​Ninos, an app compatible with Android devices and dedicated to the smallest of the house.It is a utility in the that learning occurs through the relationship with different illustrations .That is, the child must link the vocabulary words with each one of them.


The interface is also easy to use; and simple but effective images.The terms are grouped into different sections , typical of the first lessons of a language: body parts, colors, food, animals, numbers and others .Apart from in English, it is available in Portuguese, Italian and other languages.


Six-year-old Sofia is one of her great adepts."She can spend hours playing inside her without resting," her mother tells us.She, for her part, explains that she likes "drawings and faces that appear ", and that you find" very easy, more than in school ".


Images | Unsplash: Marquotidien

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