Have you ever googled "the best tools for learning a language?"

Oh, you were doing that just now?

Lucky you found us, because in this blog article I've got the best tools of the season all lined up for you.

What Makes The Top Tools?

Top tools are curated by me (Kerstin Cable) together with my co-host Lindsay Williams, and we have been doing this honorable job for a few years now! Every 6 months, we list the most interesting and useful language learning resources we've seen online and offline.

There's also a podcast episode of the Fluent Show where you can hear a discussion of each of these resources and what makes them great.

The Recommendations for Language Learning in Autumn/Winter 2019

Try them out yourself and make sure you listen to the podcast episode to find out which ones we chose as our top 3.

FlipWord

FlipWord inserts target language vocabulary and quizzes into every page you're reading online, so that you can learn and review vocabulary in your target language while reading the content you would read anyway. As they say, it's passive language learning.

Flipword is a Chrome Extension, soon to be available on mobile devices too. Currently, it works on every page that you read online in English, Chinese, or Korean.

The Indo-European Cognate Dictionary

Do you love languages? THOUGHT SO! Your face may light up just like mine did when you hear about the Indo-European Cognate Dictionary! In this new reference book for language learners, you can look up how one (proto-or-not-) indo-European root has evolved to show up in up to 32 different languages.

No matter if you're learning German or Swedish or Portuguese, this book is guaranteed to help you remember and understand vocab more easily. You'll thank us for this one, polyglot friend.

Mini Vocabulary Notebooks

Lindsay bought her notebook in Korea and here are a few similar ones from YesStyle UK and Amazon.com. Handwrite your vocabulary lists, then memorize them and review your vocabulary by covering up one language with the little flap.

By the way, here's a little more information about the miraculous benefits of keeping a language learning notebook.

Quizklip

Do you read articles in your target language in Chrome browser and want a nice and easy way to look up vocab? Then Quizkip has your back. This handy little extension helps you find a translation for words you don't know, and it builds a list that you can export straight to Quizlet or Anki.

Master Any Language

This website offers a large supply of free language courses, language games and vocabulary list in a wondrous range of languages. If you are curious and want to dabble in a lesser-known language like Breton, Komi, or Uyghur, you'll find lots of materials here.

LingoLog

LingoLog is an online notepad with a calendar, giving you a library of interesting prompts for language learners. Every time you write na entry in your target language, the calendar records it so you can build a habit streak.

This is perfect if you want to write in your target language and you like a very simple interface. You can also share what you've written with friends and teachers to get feedback and corrections.