LingQ - Unlock Language Learning Potential for Free on Your Mobile App

When I was younger, my mom once said, 'If you don't want to dwell on whatever is bothering you, try learning some new words.' Her words acted as an instant catalyst for me, infusing me with a sense of empowerment and enlightenment. For me, fretting and hesitating are often a waste of time, but expanding my vocabulary is always enriching. Moreover, delving into a new language for leisure can divert my mind and hold my attention, much like the concentration I find in running.

This is what I found recently as I start to learn French using LingQ, a mobile language learning app resembling the process of incidental language learning while making it more encouraging and addictive.

High Accessibility

As a user who gets annoyed when being restricted to only one lesson until it's completed, and feels frustrated by inaccessible content due to a free account, discovering that LingQ allows access to nearly all its lessons at once for free (with a few exceptions) was a real surprise. Although it does offer pricing plans, which I'll touch upon shortly.

The lessons and courses are neatly categorised into different collections based on topics (e.g., entertainment, culture, travel), media types (e.g., book, Youtube video, podcast), and language knowledge (e.g., pronunciation, grammar, conversation), encompassing proficiency levels from A1 to C2. The idea is to let users freely explore topics that caught their interests, similar to browsing YouTube videos or Instagram reels, rather than beginning with alphabets or grammar learning. As stated in its tutorial, "You will not learn grammar rules. You will  learn to appreciate the language". Also, one can see how LingQ turns every reading into a learning opportunity by making the tutorial series learning materials in the target language.  

LingQ - Getting started

The specific organisation of LingQ's mini stories is also very helpful as they are designed to tell the same story in different perspectives, affording chances to familiarise oneself with the French conjugations. For instance, having already learned the other words told in the third-person narration on previous pages, the first-person verb conjugations are foregrounded when the same story is recounted , effectively direct my attention to notice the differences.

LingQ - A mini story example

Learning Words through Reading and Listening

The app's mechanism is simple: when reading or listening to scripted material, all words are color-coded as blue (new words), yellow (words you're learning) or white (known words). When you encounter an unfamiliar word/phrase/sentence, you can tap it to reveal its meaning, automatically transforming it into a "LingQ." Lexis marked as a "LingQ" can be revisited through common ways like flip cards, spelling tests and multiple-choice questions on a rotating basis. As for the rest of the words, the system will confirm your familiarity before moving to the next page. These known words will automatically turn white in all content, which is a time-saver!

LingQ - Marking mechanism

LingQ manages to make language learning encouraging, thanks to its marking system. Yes, opening a YouTube video only to be overwhelmed by unfamiliar words can be disheartening. However, LingQ displays the percentage of new words (those you haven't marked as "known" or checked before). As a result, studying a lesson with a low percentage of new words with the support of the embedded dictionary can be motivating, as suggested by Vygotsky's ZPD concept.

LingQ - Homepage

Regarding the content sources, while a considerable proportion is consisted of selected news articles, YouTube videos, or published books covering various language aspects, LingQ also offers systematic lessons. These can be found in the Mini Stories and Guided Courses sections. Ideally, users can expect a blend of incidental and structured learning from the app. However, I wouldn't recommend it for complete beginners, as lacking a foundation in grammar can lead to confusion even with the simpler lessons.

As for the material quality, I'm particularly impressed with the audios and translations. The audio recordings sound authentic, capturing emotions, stresses, and intonations of real people. Users have the flexibility to adjust the pace and rewind or fast-forward the audio as needed. This compensates, to some extent, for the absence of a speaking practice feature, as I find the audio quite user-friendly to read along. Talking about the translations, they are synchronised with the target language, and they are not awkward stitching of individual words' definitions. For example, the French word "impatient" isn't directly translated into "impatient" in English, otherwise it will result in a complete opposite understanding of the sentence.

LingQ - A translation example

Solutions to Limited LingQs

As the key feature of the app, the number of available LingQs determines whether users can save a lexical item for further study through quizzes or accurately evaluate a material's readability. Being unable to save a LingQ can greatly prohibit the smooth operation of this app. Unfortunately, a free account only provides 20 LingQs and it will not be refilled. This means that once you've saved 20 words, you're unable to do anything with unfamiliar words on the platform except to categorise them as either known or new words.

One solution is to use LingQ with other apps featuring words repetition. You can mark all the words you encounter as known on LingQ, which will unlock its dictionary function for you. Then, you can take down those words requiring further memorisation on other quiz apps like Quizlet, which allows free quizzes like flashcards and matching. In addition, Quizlet can automatically generate the words' meanings for learners, saving time on searching for definitions. I'm not suggesting that this method is a perfect substitute for LingQ's paid version, and it is undeniably more time-consuming. However, for those who have just embarked on self-taught language learning journeys, you can use this laborious plan to test whether you can maintain your learning habit before committing to a paid version. After all, staying consistent is the key to successful language learning.

How I used LingQ and Quizlet in combination