*This article may contain affiliate links. For full information, please see the disclaimer here.
A land filled with gorgeous scenery, magnificent castles, and deeply engrossing history, Slovakia is truly worth visiting. That being said, learning their official language—Slovak—will benefit those who wish to study, work, or travel to the country!
However, while getting a language app would do the trick, I have to warn you: Duolingo Slovak isn’t an option. Slovak isn’t on Rosetta Stone either.
But don’t get down about it. If you’re on the lookout for a similarly dynamic platform, we’ve compiled some Duolingo alternatives for you to check out:
Why is there no Slovak on Duolingo?
Is Slovak on Duolingo? As of late, Duolingo shows no signs of a Slovak course being developed—and without much of an explanation. And, ever since the dissolution of the Duolingo Forums, there’s hardly been any discussion on the matter!
Given this lack of information, I’ve made some guesses as to why Slovak isn’t on Duolingo yet:
There isn’t a large demand for the course
Compared to other languages, Slovak isn’t popular internationally. Despite being one of the official languages of the European Union, only 5 million people speak it—the majority coming from Slovakia itself.
As a result, there aren’t many instructional resources available outside the country, let alone those appropriate for foreign students. For these reasons, Duolingo might’ve backed out from producing such a course.
But, on the contrary, if Duolingo can cater to less-known or “endangered” languages, then it’s fully possible for them to teach Slovak.
Slovak shares some features with Czech
This is an issue most “smaller” languages face; When they are similar to other, more popular languages, large-scale companies tend to overlook making separate courses for them. In Slovak’s case, its similarity to Czech could be a reason why Duolingo hasn’t developed a course for it.
Arguably, Slovak is mutually intelligible with Czech, for some linguists believe that they were once dialects of a single language. In turn, Slovak speakers more-or-less understand Czech (and vice-versa), due to similarities in their alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar.
However, know that several differences separate the languages from one another—so this shouldn’t be a reason for Duolingo to delay this any further.
Duolingo ended its volunteer contributor program
Duolingo stopped working with volunteer contributors and effectively shut down the Duolingo Incubator in 2021. Instead, they will be internally monitoring their course creation.
With that in mind, Slovak Duolingo might not be in production yet because they don’t have a professional and/or native speaker on their development team.
In fact, according to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI), Slovak is a Category III or “hard” language for English speakers to learn—so they ought to be well-prepared on their end!
Apps to learn Slovak other than Duolingo
While Duolingo Slovak is still in the works, you’ll be happy to know that there are Slovak learning apps that have already taken up the challenge of teaching the language, starting with these three:
1. Mondly
Meet Mondly, a Slovak learning app designed for all fluency levels! Inside, you’ll find engaging Slovak lessons for all kinds of topics, such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
By using a playful approach, Mondly’s activities perfectly balance out its comprehensive academics—making it a pretty close competitor to Duolingo’s game-like standard.
What’s more, it even comes with a hands-free mode, which allows you to practice speaking and listening while you’re on the move!
Find out more with this comprehensive review of Mondly.
Key Features:
- Contains beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level courses
- Integrates a competitive leaderboard with its extensive lessons
- High-quality audio
2. uTalk
Striking a balance between work and play, uTalk’s Slovak lessons work best for the active student!
Learn new words with flashcards, challenge yourself with games of different difficulty levels, and hear the correct pronunciation from native male and female speakers.
uTalk focuses on Standard Slovak, the dialect most common in media and education. It covers 2,500+ words and phrases in over 60 topics—from food to greetings to romance—so you’ll have no trouble speaking with locals during your travels!
Know more about uTalk with this in-depth review.
Key Features:
- An array of mini-games
- Massive library of words and phrases
- Teaches native speaker pronunciation
3. Glossika
Acquire Slovak skills, sentence by sentence, on Glossika.
This app teaches you vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through full sentences, not individual words. This means you get the full context and learn the language in a natural way.
Glossika uses a spaced repetition system in its lessons, meaning you hear or read sentences in well-timed intervals. This helps you retain as much vocabulary as possible!
Need more convincing? This Glossika review has all the deets!
Key Features:
- Learn thousands of Slovak sentences
- Hear recordings from native speakers
- Practice your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills
Other great resources to learn Slovak
The more, the merrier! If a getting Slovak learning app isn’t enough, have a look at these online resources:
italki: Here on italki, you can find community and/or professional tutors, schedule one-on-one classes, and get a personalized lesson plan.
Preply: This tutoring platform connects you with Slovak tutors who are native speakers. Review profiles to see their specialties (e.g., conversational practice, Slovak for business, etc.), availability, reviews from former students, and rates. Easy peasy!
slovake.eu: Taking you from A1 to B2, this website teaches Slovak in 13 different languages using a variety of free online courses, multimedia, games, and exercises! Along with this, it also has lessons on the history and culture of Slovakia.
Cudoo: Offering three proficiency levels and a course bundle, Cudoo’s online Slovak courses are well-curated and helpful in developing your vocabulary and general knowledge of Slovak. It also helps with increasing confidence when it’s finally time to converse with locals!
Loecsen Slovak: Best suited for beginners, Loecsen’s Slovak course is complete with courses, audio files, and quizzes to guide you through basic vocabulary.
Colloquial Slovak: The Complete Course for Beginners: This comprehensive coursebook teaches Slovak the way it’s written and spoken today. It comes with clear instructions and relevant examples, so you’re learning essential vocabulary and grammatical points without jargon and fluff.
E-Slovak: E-Slovak’s free learning portal is designed for Levels A1 and A2. Tackling beginner vocabulary and grammar, this website will duly prepare you for real-life situations and day-to-day interactions.
Beginning Slovak: Written by Oscar E. Swan, a renowned expert in Slavic languages, this book is a solid, straightforward guide for anyone who wants a structured approach. It blends essential grammar with practical exercises and cultural insights, making it a reliable choice for self-study or as a classroom companion.
- Used Book in Good Condition
HovorĂme po slovensky! (We Speak Slovak!): If you’re a visual learner, this website features a series of fun comics, memory games, and exercises that’ll indeed catch your eye!
Clozemaster: Known for its prized Cloze Test, this app is filled with games, media, and quizzes that routinely assess your language proficiency. Play by yourself or with friends!
Simply Learn Slovak: This handy phrasebook app comes with many practical uses! Be it for study or travel, its extensive word bank and high-quality audio will certainly do the job.
Forvo: If you’re struggling to say certain words in Slovak, Forvo’s online pronunciation dictionary can help with that.
Conclusion
There you have it—three amazing apps to learn Slovak with, plus a couple of online resources you can consult!
With these, you don’t solely have to rely on Duolingo to get your daily lessons. Rather, there are many different alternatives that you can easily access—and at a fair price!
Duolingo alternatives for learning Slovak – Pin it!
