*This article may contain affiliate links. For full information, please see the disclaimer here.
Anyone who’s learning a language in isolation from native speakers knows the frustration of understanding the language but struggling to speak it. This phenomenon is called receptive bilingualism and it’s more common than we realize.
The brainpower required to use productive skills (writing and speaking) is higher than what’s needed for receptive skills (reading and listening). This is especially true when you’re studying a language in a city or country where there are no or very few native speakers of that language.
However, that doesn’t mean we have to settle for semi-fluency. Lucky for us, there are lots of language learning apps that focus on improving speaking skills!
Best language learning apps for speaking
1. Pimsleur
When it comes to language learning apps that help improve your conversational skills, Pimsleur is tough to beat. This audio-based program has been teaching languages for over 50 years!
Pimsleur gets you speaking from day 1 through its 30-minute core audio lessons. And you don’t just speak — you learn to speak like a native. Except for the narration/directions, you won’t hear any English. All foreign words and phrases are spoken by a native.
This helps you develop familiarity with the right pronunciation, accents, and other nuances of the spoken language. And by habitually following the instructions to respond or repeat after the native speaker, you build confidence in speaking too.
Learn more from this Pimsleur review.
Key features:
- Science-backed technique of learning and retaining learned languages
- Trains you to speak right away
- Helps build practical vocabulary
Pricing: Subscription starts from $14.95/month (Audio-Only) up to $20.95/month for full access to all content. Try it now for free.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
2. Babbel
There are few language learning apps with speech recognition engines that are as accurate, merciless even, as Babbel’s. While it offers well-rounded courses with engaging exercises and quizzes, the speaking drills are what make this app so effective.
Babbel asks you to get your pronunciation right. Sometimes, that means repeating the same phrase over and over again before moving on. Even better, Babbel tells you which part(s) of the phrase you’re getting wrong, so you know what to work on.
In addition, Babbel uses recordings of native speakers, not machine-learning bots. This brings authenticity and depth to the lessons. Check out this Babbel review to learn more.
Key features:
- Bite-sized lessons that train all core language skills
- Emphasis on getting pronunciation as close to the native version as possible
- Effective review system
Pricing: Starts from $13.95/month or $83.40/year. You may also check out the latest Babbel promo.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
3. Mondly
Learning how to speak like a native need not be stressful. In fact, playing is one of the most effective ways to learn new languages. The creators of Mondly agree.
Mondly’s gamified lessons, short as they are, pack a punch. Topics and vocabulary featured can be used in real life. There are grammar features and conjugation charts. But that’s not all.
For authentic learning, you can listen to real-life dialogues between native speakers and follow their lead. You can also practice your pronunciation with a chatbot! For extra bragging rights, you can beat other learners on the Mondly leaderboard. What’s not to like?
Read this Mondly review to know more!
Key features:
- Quick and interactive lessons featuring relevant themes
- Native voiceover for authentic pronunciations and accents
- Chatbot for speaking practice
Pricing: Free daily lessons, with limited content. Unlock premium access for $12.99/month (or even lower with its frequent sales!)Â
Devices:Â iOS and Android
4. Rocket Languages
Learn a language on Rocket Languages
One of the most comprehensive language learning apps on the market, Rocket Languages features mostly audio-based lessons.
However, the app makes lessons more interactive by asking you to speak. It doesn’t hurt that the voice recognition system is pretty accurate, too.
Apart from its audio lessons though, Rocket has top-notch video content and text materials that help with reading and writing practice, as well as grammar. There are also lots of cultural notes so you can develop a deeper understanding of the language — almost like a local!
Key features:
- Interactive audio lessons
- State-of-the-art voice recognition system
- Extensive grammar explanations and cultural insights
Pricing: Prices start from $149.95, depending on the course and level. Get discounts with the latest promo.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
5. italki
Hire language tutors on italki
What better way to start speaking like a native than by getting coaching from one?
Italki — the name says it all — helps you build conversational skills through talking. You get to do this with any of the 20,000+ tutors on board. While you can get customized lessons that target specific needs, you can expect that you’ll be speaking a lot.
The added value of having a private tutor is that you can ask questions regarding pronunciation, accents, and even cultural context. You can even arrange “free talk” sessions with your tutor just to build confidence! Find out more about italki with this detailed review.
Key features:
- One-on-one coaching from a native speaker
- Customized lessons
- Competitive tutor rates and flexible schedules
Pricing: Expect prices to start from $5. Try it now.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
6. Preply
Find language tutors on Preply
You can find tutors for various topics and subjects — not just languages — on Preply but the language tutors here are indeed some of the highest-rated.
What’s great with this platform is that you can easily find a tutor who can meet your requirements, budget, and availability. Want to learn how to write in Mandarin? Need Spanish conversation practice? Or do you need to get IELTS coaching? You can find a dedicated tutor for any of these goals.
You can also filter the results to include only native speakers or tutors that speak other languages, or set a price range. Scheduling is also a breeze as you can easily check the availability of the tutor. The rates are quite affordable, with ongoing promos.
Key features:
- Experienced and highly-rated tutors from all over the world
- Affordable rates
- You can find tutors for various specialties and needs
Pricing: While the exact price varies by tutor, it’s possible to find a tutor for as low as $5/hour.Â
Devices:Â iOS and Android
7. Lingoda
Join private or group classes on Lingoda
Unlike the previous tutor platforms, Berlin-based Lingoda offers lessons for select languages — German, French, Spanish, English, and Business English. But it’s among the best platforms if you’d like the option of both private coaching and group classes.
With Lingoda, you can join live classes online 24/7 and learn in small groups or one-on-one. Group classes allow you to socialize and practice with more people, while one-on-one classes allow personalized coaching. The classes cover A1 to C1 and you can choose the level that works best for you.
Lingoda also prides itself in hiring native-level teachers located worldwide (which adds more cultural context) whose focus is to get you speaking in class. By the end of a session, you’ll have grown more at ease with conversing and motivated to learn more.
Key features:
- Over 560k classes per year, happening 24/7
- Choose from private or small group classes
- After-class materials e.g., annotated PDFs from teachers, homework, blog, etc.
Pricing: Monthly subscription starts at €10 per class for group sessions and €22.50 for private lessons. Sign up for a 7-day trial or find discounts here!
Devices:Â iOS and Android
8. Innovative Language (Pod101/Class101)
Learn a language on Innovative Languages
Another audio-based program, Innovative Language’s collection of Pod101 and Class101 courses is great if you want to improve your speaking skills.
Available in 34 languages, Innovative Language’s podcast-style lessons teach vocabulary, grammar, writing, pronunciation, and culture. In each lesson, the hosts break down a real-world conversation. This way, you hear it in native speech first to familiarize yourself before going into the nitty-gritty.
Although the paid classes give you access to more learning materials, many of the courses are available as podcast episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast. Some are also on YouTube. That means you can learn for free!
Key features:
- Straightforward and fun lessons featuring native speakers
- Caters to beginners and intermediate learners
- Offers audio transcripts for paid subscriptions
Pricing: Limited content for free. Subscription rates vary per course.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
9. Rosetta Stone
Learn a language on Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone’s established approach called Dynamic Immersion is aptly named. Save for the part that you can take your lessons anywhere, the app makes you feel like you’re in a foreign land. Why? Because everything’s in a foreign language!
Say you’re learning German. Everything in the app, except for the instructions, will be in German. You’ll read the words in German and hear audio spoken by native German speakers. No translations, no Romanization. How’s that for immersion?!
If learning to speak like a local is your top priority, you’ll gain a lot from this method because it forces you to learn from context. Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent, its voice recognition engine, is also one of the more ruthless on this list as it will not let you move on until you perfect your pronunciation.
Key features:
- Lessons cover essential themes and vocab
- Focus on fine-tuning native accents
- Short but immersive lessons
Pricing: Monthly subscription starts at $7.99/month. Check out promo rates here!
Devices:Â iOS and Android
10. Lingopie
If you’re learning Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and/or English, and you’re tired of boring, textbook-style lessons, try Lingopie.
You can choose from thousands of hours of TV shows and movies that come with dual subtitles, transcripts, and innovative learning tools. Simply click on the subtitles and get instant translations, hear the correct pronunciation, and save the words into flashcards. No more passive watching!
Lingopie provides active immersion and a natural way to hear not just correct pronunciation but also relevant, day-to-day vocabulary. And since the shows and movies show native speakers, you’ll learn authentic accents too!
Key features:
- TV shows and movies for engaging lessons
- Get instant translations and pronunciation guides
- Learn authentic vocabulary, pronunciation, and accents
Pricing: Starts at $5.99/month. Start your free trial here.
11. Memrise
Memrise literally has a feature called “Learn with Locals”. That should give you a clue about one of the ways this immersive app teaches new languages.
“Learn with Locals” is a collection of over 50,000 videos featuring native speakers in their local settings. Available on Memrise’s official courses, these videos let you hear the native tone and accent plus its local context.
To test you on what you learned, there are quizzes and games. There are also flashcards for additional reading, writing, and listening practice. The best part? You can access most content for free!
Key features:
- Emphasis on teaching native tones and accents
- Cultural insights
- Effective review methodologies
Pricing: Some features available for free. Get Memrise Pro for $12/month.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
12. Busuu
For learners who like well-structured programs with a lot of fun features, Busuu will not disappoint. This app manages to combine the convenience of self-paced study with smart tech and an interactive community.
Like many apps on this list, Busuu features short lessons that you can take at a time that suits you. But you won’t be learning in isolation because you have a strong and supportive community of learners and native speakers with whom you can exchange tips and get corrections.
Furthermore, there’s Busuu Live, a feature that lets you take one-on-one lessons or group classes with professional tutors. A great option if you want more speaking practice.
Key features:
- Systematic study plans for self-learners
- Emphasis on community and connection with native speakers
- Option to take live classes for more speaking practice and coaching
Pricing: Starts from $12.99/month. Find Busuu discounts here.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
13. FluentU
Many language learners develop an interest in certain languages after consuming foreign content. I, for one, decided to learn Korean when I started watching more K-dramas and Korean content. Motivation is what keeps us moving forward.
Doesn’t it then make sense to also learn through content that interests us? This is the premise behind FluentU, an app that contains a vast collection of real-world videos.
Movie trailers, music videos, news clips, inspiring talks, TV commercials — whatever you watch, it’ll come with interactive subtitles. Click on the subtitles to see definitions, notes on pronunciation, sample sentences, and context.
Key features:
- Authentic videos for interesting and entertaining lessons
- Teaches native pronunciation, tones, and accent
- Contextualized and self-paced learning
Pricing: Free for 14 days. Starts from $29.99/month after the 14-day trial.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
14. uTalk
uTalk is fantastic for focused vocabulary building and pronunciation practice, especially if you want to sound more like a native. It skips complicated grammar rules and gets you speaking right away using fun, game-based lessons that cover over 2,500 everyday words and phrases across more than 60 topics.
The key feature is the voice recording function, which lets you record yourself and directly compare your speech and intonation with authentic native speakers, allowing you to quickly spot and correct where you need to adjust your accent.
Highly recommended for beginners and travelers who want fast, practical speaking confidence!
Key features:
- Native speaker audio
- The voice recording tool allows for direct comparison with native audio
- Focuses on over 2,500 useful words and phrases for daily situations
Pricing: Monthly subscription starts at $8.99/month. Check out the latest uTalk sale here.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
15. Glossika
Glossika helps you get that natural conversational flow by teaching you language the way a child learns—by total immersion in sound.
This method skips grammar tables and focuses on full-sentence practice, using thousands of audio recordings from native speakers. Instead, you constantly hear and repeat sentences that gradually increase in difficulty, allowing your brain to naturally absorb grammar and vocabulary in context.
This system, driven by spaced repetition, trains your mouth and ears for smooth, real-world speaking, helping you acquire fluency without painful memorization.
Key features:
- Teaches language through thousands of full, real-world sentences
- High-quality recordings from native speakers for perfect accent training
- Offers a “listening-only” mode, great for learning on the go
Pricing: Starts at $16.99/month after a free trial. Check out Glossika discounts here. If you’d like to support Learn Languages From Home, make sure to complete your purchase through the Glossika website (not the mobile app). You can sign up and use whatever platform you want, but if you make the purchase using the website, I make a small commission. Thanks!
Devices:Â iOS and Android
16. LingChat
LingChat is your 24/7 AI-powered solution for achieving native-like fluency, stepping in when a human conversation partner isn’t available.
This app immerses you in the language using an array of AI characters for interactive role-playing games that simulate various real-life situations. The platform focuses on practical speaking and features crucial tools like real-time grammar corrections and instant suggestions to improve your fluency.
This engaging, low-pressure environment, combined with flashcards and spaced repetition for review, helps you confidently master everyday conversational skills.
Key features:
- Judgment-free speaking practice anytime, anywhere
- Simulates real-life contexts like travel or business meetings for practical use
- Provides instant feedback on grammar and pronunciation mistakes
Pricing: Monthly subscription starts at $20/month, but promo rates are available.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
17. Talkpal
Like LingChat, Talkpal is a cutting-edge, GPT-powered language tutor designed to skip the heavy memorization and get you speaking like a native faster.
This app uses advanced AI to create highly realistic and adaptive conversations, allowing you to practice core vocabulary and grammar through engaging, real-time voice and chat interactions.
You can dive into varied scenarios like debates, role-plays, or simple chat sessions, all while receiving instant, personalized feedback on your pronunciation and grammatical accuracy.
Key features:
- Interactive, adaptive, and realistic dialogue practice
- Instant corrections on pronunciation and grammar
- Immersive modes, like role-plays, debates, and audio-only “Call Mode” for varied practice
Pricing: The Premium plan starts from $14.99/month. Try it for free or save more with an annual plan.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
18. Speakly
Available in seven languages, Speakly is a relatively new player compared to other apps on this list. But don’t let that dissuade you from trying it out. As you can tell from its name, this app’s main purpose is to improve your conversational skills.
How, you ask? First, Speakly teaches you the 4,000 most statistically relevant words of your target language. Then, using voice recognition software, you can practice listening and speaking.
Speakly also teaches essential grammar that will help you feel more confident in speaking. To build long-term memory, the app relies on spaced repetition method.
Key features:
- Lots of speaking and listening practice
- Teaches essential vocabulary and grammar
- SRS adjusts to your learning speed
Pricing: €10.99/month. You can lower the cost by signing up for longer periods.
Devices:Â iOS and Android
19. HelloTalk
Up for some socialization while learning a new language? If traveling is not on the table yet, here’s the next best thing: language exchange apps.
HelloTalk is one of the best language exchange apps out there. You can think of it as a social media network for language learners. It’s filled with features that you can expect from a social media site: tools for chatting, public posts called “Moments”, and an interactive community.
But since language learning is the focus of the app, you’ll also find built-in aids for translation, pronunciation, transliteration, and corrections. These tools help make conversations as smooth as possible.
Key features:
- Learning languages with the help of native speakers
- Intuitive language tools
- Engaged community
Pricing: HelloTalk is free to use! However, for an ad-free experience, you can subscribe to a VIP membership at $6.99/month.Â
Devices:Â iOS and Android
Final thoughts
The adage “practice makes perfect” applies to most aspects of language learning. But this is truer with learning to speak like a native. You only really learn to converse like a local when you practice, practice, practice.
The great thing is, with the help of the above language learning apps, speaking like a native becomes easier than ever. So, download any of these apps, set your eyes on the prize, and prepare to be surprised by your progress!