To many people’s surprise it’s not Duolingo, Memrise or Anki. I think that these tools have their place in the language learning ecosystem but I don’t use any of them anymore.
I think Duolingo is a great tool if you’re just getting started and want to take a language for a bit of a “test drive” before committing to it. But if you’re serious about language learning you’ll find that Duolingo will become boring pretty quickly. (Important to note that my opinion is formed on my experience with Duolingo and Polish. I understand that other more commonly learned languages might have better experiences).
My tool of choice is LingQ.
Why?
It’s simple really, it allows me to upload content I like and then work my way through it. For example, I’m currently working my through the second Harry Potter book (in Polish).
They also have a new feature that pulls in YouTube or Netflix content subtitles directly into their app.
With your uploaded content LingQ highlights words you have never seen in blue. Words you have seen but don’t necessarily know in yellow and then known words are not highlighted. it allows you to consume interesting content and gives you the ability to quickly check translations if needed.
If you’re learning a language and haven’t tried LingQ I encourage you to check it out!
I’m planning on doing a post in the future on my current process and how LingQ is part of my learning routine. In the meantime, feel free to reach out, I’d be happy to help.