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Myanmar, formerly known as “Burma”, is a beautiful country located in Southeast Asia. If you’re a fan of sandy, white beaches or if you’re fond of visiting Buddhist temples, then this is the right spot for you to visit!
Of course, learning the Burmese language would make your trip more insightful—but sad to say, Duolingo isn’t offering this on their app right now.
The good news, however, is that you’re not that low on options. In fact, there are many great alternative apps for you to check out!
Why is there no Burmese on Duolingo?
Does Duolingo have Burmese? Currently, Duolingo shows no signs of a course being made.
On top of that, the company has also just closed its user forums recently, so we had to come up with reasons of our own:
There isn’t a high demand for the language
An estimated total of 38 million people speak Burmese, with the 36 million majority being native speakers. The language is most widespread in Myanmar, its country of origin.
That being said, Duolingo probably isn’t developing a Burmese course at the moment because there isn’t a large demand for it internationally.
However, since Duolingo has also provided lessons for “small”, endangered, and even fictional languages in the past, that shouldn’t be an excuse.
Burmese is hard to teach
According to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Burmese is a Category III or “hard language” for English speakers. This is likely because of its different writing system, complex grammar rules, and distinct manner of pronunciation.
Granted, Duolingo Burmese was probably put on hold because it’s difficult to teach—let alone condense using mini-games and leaderboards.
But on the contrary, Duolingo has also made courses for more difficult languages (or at least, according to the FSI’s metric), so honestly, it’d be odd for them to pass up on this.
Duolingo isn’t working with volunteer contributors
Duolingo announced that it has stopped working with volunteer contributors in 2021—meaning that it will handle all course development internally, moving forward.
In effect, Duolingo might’ve refrained from making Burmese lessons since they currently lack a trained professional and/or a native speaker on their team.
Apps to learn Burmese other than Duolingo
Duolingo isn’t the only learning platform where you could take up Burmese. Rather, there are plenty of alternative apps out there that could set you up with much-needed lessons:
1. Ling
Designed for beginners and up, Ling’s Burmese lessons are just the right thing for any learner!
If you’re the type to challenge yourself and learn by playing, then this is the best place for you to practice. Integrating fun mini-games, flashcards, and assessments into its courses, this app will indeed keep you booked and busy.
What’s interesting about Ling is that it comes with a built-in chatbot for practicing dialogue. Simply review its prompt and type out your response, and you’re well on your way to conversing in Burmese!
Key Features:
- Dynamic and gamified lessons
- Has courses for all fluency levels
- Comes with an interactive chatbot for conversation practice
2. Simply Learn Burmese
Simply Learn Burmese truly lives up to its name! This bite-sized phrasebook is filled with 300+ Burmese words and expressions which you could easily use as a reference while you’re on the move.
Further down the line, you’ll also find audio recordings, a quick-search function, and a review quiz inside this handy app—so, on top of being a convenient study supplement, I’d say this also makes a neat travel companion!
All in all, this simple app is equipped with many functions that’ll help you learn wherever and however you wish!
Key features:
- Easy-to-use flashcards for study and travel
- Includes a Burmese language quiz
- High-quality audio (which can be slowed down and played out)
3. uTalk
With uTalk, you can learn Burmese online with practical, real-life situations.
uTalk’s language-learning method is designed to get you talking right from the start. The app teaches over 2,500 words and phrases across 60+ topics that cover daily situations. All of these come with recordings of native speakers.
To hone your pronunciation, you can record yourself on the app. You can also quiz yourself with uTalk’s game-like exercises which allow you to quickly pick up useful phrases and make them stick!
Key features:
- Focuses on teaching practical words and phrases
- Uses voices of native speakers to teach authentic pronunciation and accents
- Game-based learning
Other great resources to learn Burmese
To effectively build your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, it’s important that you maximize different learning resources. Over here, we’ve compiled some of the best ones you could start with—from Burmese games to media, Burmese learning books to websites:
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Colloquial Burmese: This handy textbook will teach you the basics of Burmese vocabulary, grammar, and dialogue through user-friendly tutorials, exercises, and free online audio.
Burmese: A Comprehensive Grammar: If you want to polish your Burmese grammar, then look no further! Made for intermediate and advanced learners, this book is a one-stop-shop for all things grammar-related.
italki: Learn Burmese online and straight from native speakers on italki! Here, you can choose between community and professional tutors, and schedule online classes.
Burmese by Ear: This introductory course is based on colloquial Burmese. Using extensive audio lessons, it’ll teach you the essential words and expressions you’ll need while traveling in Myanmar.
Cudoo: As of writing, Cudoo offers only one course in Burmese but it’s a good start for beginners. You can learn essentials like self-introduction, greetings, talking about professions, food, countries, and more — all at your own pace! You’ll even get a certificate of completion.
Learn Myanmar (Asia Pearl Travels): This website features a variety of Burmese language tutorials, but what’s most recommended is Lesson 33, which tackles the Burmese script.
Forvo: Are you having trouble speaking in Burmese? This online pronunciation dictionary can help you sound out difficult words and phrases.
Conclusion
There’s no guarantee that Duolingo will be providing Burmese lessons, but don’t let that get you down.
Fortunately, you’ve got many different alternatives to choose from, starting with these three! Honing a similarly game-like nature and competitive spirit, these apps will make you feel as if you haven’t missed out at all.