ChatGPT is an advanced chatbot from OpenAI that can be an invaluable tool for language learning.

Features: For one, ChatGPT can generate texts on various topics for students to practice and improve their reading comprehension skills. Furthermore, ChatGPT can generate dialogues or role-plays which students can use to practice speaking. Using ChatGPT’s voice feature, students can practice pronouncing words or sentences, role-play with chatbot, or just have a dialogue in a language they are learning. In addition, ChatGPT can offer tailored feedback on students' writing, pinpointing areas for improvement. It can also generate examples of good writing, helping students understand how to structure their work. Finally, ChatGPT can provide comprehensive explanations for idioms, phrases, and intricate concepts.

Teachers can also utilize ChatGPT to provide clear and concise explanations for intricate texts, aiding students' comprehension of challenging materials.

Tom’s Take: I use ChatGPT regularly to improve my Spanish and to tutor in English as a second language. I love ChatGPT’s versatility. I can practice speaking, writing, reading, and even listening — now that ChatGPT has voice capability. ChatGPT teaches me the specific Spanish grammar and syntax I want and we also hold conversations together and occasionally role-play (as tour guide, for example). But ChatGPT prompts need be constructed carefully. I once asked ChatGPT to ask me questions that require the subjunctive to answer, but it kept including the subjunctive in its questions — thus giving me the answers!

The interactive nature of ChatGPT makes language learning more engaging and less intimidating for beginners. Its 24/7 availability ensures that students can practice at any time, providing flexibility that traditional classroom settings might not offer.

Price: ChatGPT version 3.5 is free; Version 4.0 costs $20/month.

Duolingo is the world’s most popular learning and educational app with ten of millions of subscribers who do a combined 1 billion(!) exercises a day.

Features: Duolingo offers roughly 100 language-learning courses and users complete lessons on reading, writing, listening, speaking, and more. Duolingo exemplifies AI-driven gamified learning. Users earn points, win prizes, and compete for higher levels. Its AI system, Birdbrain, gauges exercise difficulty and user proficiency. Using learner feedback, Birdbrain selects exercises for subsequent lessons, striking a balance between challenging and motivating users.

In August 2023, Duolingo launched "Duolingo Max," integrating special AI features into select courses and devices. Leveraging OpenAI's GPT-4, it offers a tailored and effective language-learning experience. Two standout features are "Explain My Answer" and "Roleplay." The former provides AI-generated clarifications, aiding users who make recurring mistakes. Meanwhile, "Roleplay" lets users practice conversations with AI-driven in-app characters, enhancing real-world conversational skills.

Tom’s Take: I’ve been using Duolingo daily for since 2015 and I’m a big fan. It’s a great way for beginner and intermediate learners to build their vocabulary and develop the habit of practicing regularly. I was initially drawn to Duolingo by its simple, intuitive design and colorful interface, but soon came to appreciate how Duolingo could move my learning along. I’ve always found the exercises neither too difficult, nor too easy.

I instantly liked the combination of listening, reading, writing, and speaking exercises and that I could complete a lesson in under 10 minutes. I often laugh out loud as I read the hilarious short stories (my favorite Duolingo activity).

Duolingo has kept me engaged and motivated to improve my Spanish and Italian with constant upgrades and new features. My Colombian wife and I use Duolingo religiously; she practices her English every night while I practice my Spanish. We both understand that language learning should take many different forms, but Duolingo has proven to be an engaging and motivating way to ensure to practice regularly.

Price: Free with ads, but paid options add extra features.

TalkPal is an AI language tutor powered by GPT technology, allowing users to engage in conversations on a variety of topics in both written and spoken forms.

Features: TalkPal provides unlimited access to a broad spectrum of intriguing subjects, enabling users to learn through writing or speaking, complemented by messages in a lifelike voice. With TalkPal, users can select specific areas of interest for discussion.

Catering to learners of English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian, TalkPal aids in enhancing listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. It employs authentic-sounding voices to make conversations feel genuine and incorporates role-playing to assist in grammar acquisition.

The platform's features are crafted to not only make language learning enjoyable but also to immerse learners in realistic scenarios. Key features of TalkPal AI include real-time feedback, pronunciation adjustments, grammar corrections, vocabulary enhancement, and conversational practice.

Tom’s Take: TalkPal is easy to use and I’ve found it very helpful pul for improving speaking and listening capabilities. I appreciate how it can provide feedback and offer suggestions for improvement. I also like how users can use it free for 15 minutes a day, a decent amount of time for daily conversational practice.

IN all, TalkPal is intuitive, engaging and a great method for conversational practice. I like the vast amount of topics available to chat about and the immediate, personalized feedback TalkPal provides.

Price: Price: Free up to 15 minutes a day; $4.99/month for unlimited usage

Drops is an engaging language learning app that is part of the Kahoot! family. It is designed for beginner users, especially young students.

Features: Drop is a colorful and lively app that focuses mainly on teaching vocabulary. Like its inspiration, Kahoot!, Drops is game-based and has a minimalistic design.

Each card contains one icon-based design, an audio file, the vocabulary word, and the English translation. Words are organized under practical categories like Travel Talk, Fun and Recreation, Nature and Animals, and more. The Review Dojo is a special section in Drops to test what you’ve learned using spaced-repetition algorithm.

Drops has received a lot of favorable ratings and reviews from users and has been featured by CNET and Forbes.

Tom’s Take: I came across Drops recently and was immediately intrigued because it’s part of the company that produced the immensely popular Kahoot! game. Drops is more narrowly focused than Kahoot!, but beginner language learners will certainly be drawn in by its lively and colofrul ambience.

Price: Free for up to 5 minutes a day. Paid individual and school accounts available.

Memrise is a language-learning app that's available on both Android and iPhone and boasts over 45 million active users across the globe to date.

Features: Memrise is designed to make the process of learning a foreign language fun and exciting. The courses and programs on the app are like different stages and levels of a game. You can progress from beginner to intermediate and advanced levels of learning by completing the various steps. There are 7 levels in English, each with dozens of courses (“decks”).

Memrise uses spaced repetition, which presents the same words at the right intervals to ensure they are remembered. As a Memrise user, you get access to professional video and audio lessons from natives during each course, a great addition to their multimedia lessons.

The new Memrise Discord App allows learners to practice the language they're studying with an Users can have one-on-one conversations with the chatbot, or join a groups and converse collectively.

Tom’s Take: I’ve used Memrise on-and-off to learn Spanish and I’ve been impressed with the course content available to language learners. Duolingo remains my go-to app for daily Spanish practice, but the new Memrise has the bonus of one-and-one conversations with a chatbot. That, and its professional video lessons, are a reason why I may be returning to Memrise more often.

Free: Freemium. Much content is available for free.

Quizlet provides users with the ability to generate flashcards containing terms and definitions.

Features: Teachers and students have the option to create their own sets or choose from the millions of sets produced by other users. Flashcards can be utilized in various learning activities and modes to assist students in learning, memorizing, and mastering content. For example, with Quizlet Test, a teacher can input correct and incorrect responses, and the assessment will be automatically graded. "Quizlet Live" allows teachers to use flashcards in a live, cooperative game-based setting.

Recently, Quizlet launched four generative tools powered by AI: Magic Notes, Memory Score, Quick Summary, and Expert Solutions. With Magic Notes, students can upload their notes and convert them into study aids, including outlines, flashcards, and practice tests. The Memory Score feature enables students to gauge their familiarity with the material and plan reviews. The Quick Summary feature assists students in retaining key concepts from dense readings, and Expert Solutions provide students with step-by-step instructions on how to tackle various homework problems.

Tom’s Take: I’ve used Quizlet for about a decade, both a teacher and student. I’m a fan. It’s ideal for students learning language vocabulary, grammar, and idioms. There are so many excellent pre-created practice sets that it’s easy to find flashcards for the specific subject I want to practice. Some do contain errors, but there the vast majority are quality sets available, often created by knowledgeable and caring teachers.

Price: Teachers can sign up for a free account with limited features.

Diffit is an AI-powered tool that can modify a reading, passage, or article to match any reading level

Features: Diffit significantly aids teachers in crafting personalized learning materials, ensuring that every student can access content appropriate for their grade. Teachers can search for a topic, term, or question and then select an estimated reading level for the output.

The strength of Diffit lies in its capacity to produce “just right” resources — readings aligned with the curriculum, vocabulary, comprehension checks, and more. It can create worksheets and activities that align with the curriculum, along with summaries, key vocabulary words, multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, open-ended prompts, and it cites sources. These resources can be edited and copied, saving teachers a considerable amount of time while also ensuring that all students can access and engage with the content at their own level.

Tom’s Take: Teaches and students should take advantage of Diffit’s ability to craft texts that reach a range of abilities. It’s terrific for exposing language learners to a wide range of topics at designated reading levels aimed to improve their reading comprehension.

Price: Teachers who created their free Diffit account before November 1, 2023 will automatically get free trial access to “all the new and upcoming premium features” through January 31, 2024.

MagicSchool.ai is a platform powered by artificial intelligence that provides educators with over 50 tools, ranging from creating lesson plans to generating rubrics, academic content, and quizzes.

Features; Among these, MagicSchool.ai offers more than 25 tools specifically for lesson planning. The most popular is the robust Lesson Plan Generator. This tool not only simplifies the process of lesson planning but also incorporates various features to make the topics more relevant and engaging for students.

Among its offerings, MagicSchool.ai provides a Text Scaffolder Tool that makes reading accessible students at different levels and can break down challenging texts into easily understood chunks. it also enables users to condense long texts into small-sized summaries. In addition, there is a Text Dependent Questions tools that generates comprehension and literary technique questions about a select text, such as an article or book.

Moreover, MagicSchool.ai's tools are customizable to tailor the learning experience to each student's needs. So if you're in search of a tool that can effortlessly generate comprehensive lesson plans, MagicSchool.ai could be just what you're looking for.

Tom’s Take: MagicSchool offers a vast selection of well planned and well organized tools to fit a range of teaching and learning needs. Both teachers and students can make use of it from its wide range of lesson and lesson-activities offerings.

Price:MagicSchool.ai is free for teachers, but a premium service will be released soon.

Praktika uses AI-powered avatars for interactive English conversation practice.

Features: Praktika users can practice speaking English by participating in discussions with AI avatars. Designed for beginners, users can select a goal, such as communicating with friends, traveling, or advancing their career. Areas for improvement include pronunciation, learning new words, making fewer mistakes, and practicing in specific situations — education, nature, relationships, career, and more.

The app also offers immediate and post-session feedback to help you comprehend and address the gaps. It boasts over 1000 lessons and characters to practice a variety of topics. The highlight is that users can monitor their fluency progress on a detailed curve towards excellence. The incredibly user-friendly app is accessible on Android and iOS platforms. 4.8 stars, 7.9K reviews, 500K+, downloads.

Tom’s Take: I have the Praktika app on my phone and find it ideal for learners who want to focus and improve their English speaking skills. It’s easy to use and I love how the AI can speak with various accents. And Praktika sets up a personalized learning plan to help track your progress.

Price: Free for up to 10 minutes a day.