How to Learn a New Language at Home on a Budget (2024)

You probably love watching famous foreign Netflix shows such as the Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ or the Spanish flix ‘Money Heist‘, and now… you have the insatiable urge to learn (or maybe relearn) their local language for fun. (How to learn a new language).

No matter what your reason may be — for the simple purpose of filling up your time with something fun, gearing yourself up for future travel trips, or for something more serious such as communicating better in a new country abroad — learning a new language is something that will be well worth your time.

I know 4 languages to date (English, Tagalog, Ivatan, and Dutch) and I’m on my way to learning my 5th one, which is Spanish. Apart from the languages that I grew up with, the latter two are those that I learned through formal classes — but mostly through informal ones… and by informal, I’m referring to FREE language apps, conversing with bilingual friends, and binging on foreign TV shows.

This leadsme to say with confidence thatYOU can definitelydo the same— there’s really no need for you to take formal classes because you can just do it right inside the comfort of your home and without paying a lot of money. In fact, you can do it for FREE.

Besides, what you have to understand as early as now is that it’s NOT HARD to learna new language(but okay… it can be tough especially if it’s a language that involves foreign characters) but in my opinion, the most vexing feature about this kind of process is that it just takes LONG and it needs constantPRACTICEand APPLICATION.

It helps to note that there’s also another misconception that people often say when trying to learn a foreign language:

“I’m too old to learn… could have beenbetter if I didit when I was young.”

This may be true too; but for the most part, it isn’t.

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You have to know the fact that everyone is naturally goodwithlanguages. Truth be told, studies have even shown that adults are better language learners than kids! Which makes sense, of course, because we know more about grammar and a whole lot of other things compared to ‘youngsters’. Plus, if you ask me, we just tend tosay this because the concept of time and interaction needed from us tendsto elude us from taking concrete action.

That’s whyas long as youhave a bit of spare time — such as dedicating at least an hour every day to learning the new language that you want — I can assure you that your goalwill bewell within your reach! Add the fact that there existTONS of useful resources online, so this becomeseven more attainable.

Speaking of ‘resources’, I want tohelp you out in this ordeal; therefore through this article, I will be sharing with you the helpful sites and tips that I have come to know which would really help youfigure outhow to learn a new language at home and on a budget!

How to Learn a New Language

1. Make Use of Learning Applications &Resources

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There are TONSof themout there thatYOU should take advantageof,and I’m savingyou from the trouble of researching by listing all of my favorites below.

Let’s start with the FREE stuff.

Free Applications

• Anki (App & Desktop Software) – STYLE: Lessons
  This is a program that makes use of a psychological concept,spaced-repetition, wherein practices are spread out over time to ensure efficient memorization. It alsomakes use of flash cards to help you remember the words that best associate the images. In a way, it’s like a learning process that is similar to how you learned new words when you were a kid.
  • Its Android and desktop applications are free except for its iOS app version that’s priced at $25.
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• Busuu(App & Desktop Software) –STYLE: Interaction & Lessons
  Functions the same way as Anki wherein it shows you flashcards to better train your mind in connecting actions or objects towords correctly. It also has a chat (audio and written) function that enables you to connect to native speakers —which is of course, very helpful.
  • If you ever want to access premium features of Busuu, you can always pay the monthly fee of $3.50.
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• Drops(App) –STYLE: Game-Like Lessons
  A strong contender for both Duolingo and Babbel, you will likely love Drops for its fun and minimal design! With over 35 languages in store that is more “gamified” and non-traditional, you can enjoy lessons for FREE for 5 minutes daily.
  • Upon registration, you can enjoy Drops’ premium features for FREE for 7 days; after that, it offers 3 packages — $10/month for a monthly package, $3/month for a yearly package, or a one-time payment of $160 for lifetime access.
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• Duolingo (App & Website) –STYLE: Traditional and Game-Like Lessons
  Still in the spirit of ‘gaming’, you will earn points here for everycorrect answerthat you makein each lesson. You can even play against friends to see each others’ progress or to challenge one another day by day! Mind you, theirapproach is very effective because some universities in the U.S. have even startedusing their platform. To date, they have 36 available language courses for everyone and theyaim to add more! They even have ‘Stories‘, which are basically mini stories or dialogue that will challenge your reading and listening comprehension.
  • For added benefits such as no ads and others, you can pay for Duolingo Plus at about $7 per month.
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• Hello Lingo(Website) –STYLE: Interaction & Lessons
  A free online language learning platform that has over 35 languages in store. It has helpful audio instructional materials and it even allows you to connect with native speakers for practice and interaction. It’s definitely worth checking out!
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• Memrise(App & Website) –STYLE: Game-Like Lessons
  It works almost the same as Duolingo but what I like more about Memrise is thatthey have avariety of lessons for each language course. For example, if I feel like learning Dutch words about food and drinks, I can choose to studyit for a particular day, with theother daysdedicated for animals, verbs, etc. Rest assured, you can always take a lesson that progresses naturally.
  • For $9 monthly, you can access more of their ‘pro’ features.
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• MindSnacks(App – iOS only) –STYLE:Games & Lessons
  Designed more as a true (addicting) game experience, MindSnacks is great if you want to ‘quiz’ yourself. It has quests, various game modes, and even lessons.
  • The games are actually what’s free but it’s the lessons that are paid; though with the price at $4.99 (Php 220+) I think it’s a really good deal. Otherwise, if you really don’t want to shell out any money, playing the games to test your brainshouldalready be enough in my opinion.
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Cheap Paid Applications

On the other hand, if you have some cashto spare, below are the resources that you should check out.

Though the free materials above are already immensely useful, it’s the paid stuff that often gives you that ‘extra mile’if you want to learnmore extensively!Rest assured, these ones arestill affordable.

• Babbel(App & Website) –STYLE: Game-Like Lessons
  Starting cost of at least $4.95 per month, this works almost the same as the free app, Duolingo, so you will see a lot of debate online as to which of the two is best. Personally, I don’t see much of a difference between the two (except for how Babbel provides more information at the beginning courses) so I somehow optedfor Duolingo which is free. Nevertheless, Babbel is still a good place to check since the initial learning style here could be more applicable to you than that ofDuolingo, especiallyas atotal beginner.
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• Influent(Computer Software) –STYLE: Game
  If you are more into games whenlearning a new language, Influentcan be a productiveplatform for you! Atonly $10, you will be able to experiencevocabulary acquisition through a 3D world experience in whichactions and objects will be labeled accordingly. It will really help for association and recognition!
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• Living Language(Website) –STYLE: Games and Lessons
  You have to pay to obtainthe lessons and it has various pricing schemes, one of which is a 1-month access worth $39.It first teaches you the essential words and phrases, and then advances to full sentences and conversations with extra functionalities like games and quizzes to practice your recall.
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• Michel Thomas(App & Website) –STYLE:Audio Learning
  Since I want to focus more on my speaking abilities, thisMichel Thomas methodhas beenreally good forme, therebymaking it my favorite right now!Basically, it offers lessons in audio as if you have a real teacher with you in your room. The momentum of the lessons is also absolutely helpful since Michel ensures that the build-up of your knowledge is done in a step-by-step manner. Prices for the courses depend on the package that you avail: Introductorycourse isat $14.95 whereastheFoundation andAdvanced courses arepriced each at $120 to $135.
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NOTE: I initially wanted to includeRosetta Stonein this liston how to learn a new language since it is one of the most popular programs worldwide, however… it’s just too expensive! (It’s around $500).

It has decent features of course like speech recognition, teacher immersions, etc. but the way I see it, the summation of most of the programs I featured above can already surpass what Rosetta Stone can provide you. But of course, if you can get a copy of Rosetta Stone’s software for free, then please make full use of it since it can be a very helpful supplement to your education!

TIP:I’ve been told that Fluencia is a great platform for learning Spanish, and it is! Check it out!

Now, of course, it comes as a no-brainer that you can opt to take formal language classes. So go search through your local schools to check if they offer online classes or private one-on-one sessions with language tutors (or if you’re from the Philippines like me, check out PolyglotPH.com / otherwise, you can inquire with Alliance.PH that specializes in French or Instituto Cervantes for Spanish).

Other international websites that offer great language tutor listings are Preply, Rype, and Tutoroo.

2. Find a Language Partner & Talk to Native Speakers

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One of the thingsthat I discovered about learning a new languageis that you really NEED to apply and practice the words, phrases, and sentences that you’ve learned by engaging in actual conversationswith another person— may it be a native speaker, a fellow learner, or an individual who is already fluent in it.

Memorization and notes help a lot;that’s for sure! But withoutspeakingthe new language regularly,your learning can be inadequate.

So since you’re trying to pursue how to learn a new language athome, if you don’t have nearby family members or friends that are masters of the language that you want to learn, don’t fret! There are a lot ofplatforms on the web that can connect you to the people that you need:

• FREE
  • CouchsurfingSince the topic of this post is about how to learn a new languageat home, the concept of couchsurfing totallyapplies! Just sign up to any couchsurfing-related website, build a profile, and (if you’re willing) accept several foreigners into your home for free— in exchange for your hospitality, you can require them to provide you FREE language lessons. It’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!
  • Lang-8(Website)
    This isn’t necessarily about speakingbut it’s moreabout another kind of interaction: writing! Through this platform, you can have native speakers correct your work, and in return, you can help others by doing the same using your own language.
  • Rhino Spike(Website)
    A language community that lets its users connect and exchange foreign language audio files. Rhino Spikewould absolutely help you a lot if you want, for instance, to hear anative speaker’s intonationwhen words are put into a sentence or a whole paragraph.
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• PAID
  • italki(Website)
    This website gives you the option to add friends and chat with them in the language that you want to learn— it also offers FREE trials for most of their tutors. This actually used to be a platform where you can have the choice to get free or paid tutors (who are either native speakers or professionals), but it seems that now, they havefocused on the ones who want to get paid. No worries though since it’s affordable to get ITC points (the currency that they use for tutor payments). To date, it’s $10 for every 100 ITC points which typically gives you an hour or so with a teacher that will converse and teach you.
    • NOTE:Verblingis much like italki but I found out that their community isn’t so big and often times the tutors are a bit too high-priced; therefore, I find italki as the best choice at the moment.
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3. Watch Foreign Movies & TV Programs

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LISTENINGis anotherimportant factor when learning a foreign language because you have to get used to how native speakers utter or pronounce the words and sentencesthat you’re learning. You also have to acquaint yourself with the intonation and speed of their conversations so that you can gauge how much you have to learn in order to really master it all.

That’s why starting now, if, for example, you are learning Dutch like me, try to watch every movie or TVprogram on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon in Dutch with English subtitles — OR in English with Dutch subtitles. Trust me in this: it helps!

4. Listen to Songs in the Language You’re Learning

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In line with point #3, listening to songs isvery effective too as itsimilarlystimulates your pronunciation and memory. In fact, I think it might just be the best memory trigger there is!

For one thing, I bet you’ve heard of LSS or the ‘Last Song Syndrome’— therefore if there’s anything that you would ever want to get stuck in your head, it should be the most important information that you need which is in this case: the language you are trying to learn.

To start, if you drive your car every day, download all the songs in the language you are learning so that you can play them whenever or wherever you are on the road. If you have access to the internet though, do take advantage of the music platform Spotify and the online radio TuneIn.

It also helps to sing foreign music, so don’t be shy and belt out a song or two through some good ol’ karaoke session!

5. Read as Many Books as You Can

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First and foremost, grab all thechildren’s books you can find (you can either buy them in stores or borrow them in your local library).

It might seem silly at first,but it’s one of the BESTways for acquainting yourself with all the new words. Besides, learning a new language is so similar to the process that you had to undergowhen you were still learning as a child.

Once you get a feel of all the simple words, you can advance to simple novel books and then eventually, to the more complex ones.

If I may also add a tip, buy a dictionary, or download an app of it on your phoneso thatother than using it for the purpose of checking or reviewing words, you can also use it asa learning material wherein you make it a point to learn a few words every day!

Remember: you have to constantly feed your mind and this is another powerful way to keep you on track with your goal.

» BONUS Tips on How to Learn a New Language

• I can’t stress this enough… but again: you really, really NEEDto be consistent whenever you are learning a new language. So every day,make sure to set aside at least an hour of your time to your studies.
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• Keep a journal to take note of all the words that you need to take note of;BUT don’t just write, write, write… USE IT. Speak it. Talk to yourself if you have to!
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• Once youhave learned the basic words, try changing your computer, phone, and software language settings into the one that you have to study for.
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• Make use of post-it notes to label any objects in your home in the foreign language that you desire. It’s very effective when you have a hard time remembering a certain thing.
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• Constantly quiz yourself. Repeat lessons if you must. You will know for yourself the topics or areas that you are not so good in; therefore, take the initiativeto improve yourself on that.
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• Lastly, be patient. It will take some time so don’t be too hard on yourself!

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