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So, you’ve decided to pick up Serbian? Good for you!
If you’re planning to visit the Balkans, knowing Serbian will serve you well. That’s because aside from being spoken in Serbia, it’s also one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo. It’s also spoken in some parts of Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic!
How and where do you start learning though? Many language learners opt to study using a tried and tested platform such as Rosetta Stone. Unfortunately, that’s not on the table if you’re studying Serbian.
The good news is, while there’s no Rosetta Stone Serbian course, there are lots of Rosetta Stone alternatives that can help you achieve fluency all the same.
What is Rosetta Stone?
But first, what is Rosetta Stone and why do so many language learners rely on it?
Part of what makes Rosetta Stone popular is its longevity. Released in 1992 as CD-ROM versions for Windows and Macintosh, the program has been teaching languages long before mobile phones became commonplace. It’s also known for its foundational Dynamic Immersion method that’s both exciting and challenging.
Basically, Rosetta Stone doesn’t use translations or phonetic spellings. While you will see images for context clues and instructions in English, you’ll mostly take lessons in the target language. Rosetta Stone also has an excellent voice recognition engine called TruAccent, which helps you fine-tune your pronunciation and accent.
If that isn’t real immersion, I don’t know what is.
For others, this can be intimidating. But for some, this mimics the experience of being in a foreign country where English (or whatever your native language is) isn’t as widely spoken and Google Translate doesn’t work. Scary, but definitely a learning experience.
Rosetta Stone is available in 25 languages and as I said, Serbian isn’t one of these offerings.
The best Rosetta Stone alternatives
Even without Rosetta Stone, you can still master Serbian. There are, in fact, several Serbian learning apps that can help you get started. Here are my favorites:
1. Ling App
Another gamified app that allows you to play your way through Serbian is Ling App.
Engaging and comprehensive, Ling uses a variety of exercises from flashcards to puzzles to picture quizzes. These fun exercises and games teach Serbian vocabulary and grammar while helping you develop comprehension, reading, listening, and speaking skills.
Ling Serbian is probably the closest thing to a Duolingo Serbian course, except Ling has a feature that you won’t find on Duolingo: writing drills. And no, I don’t mean typing but actual handwriting, or finger-tracing the Serbian alphabet, to be exact.
Like Drops, Ling has a free version. Its premium version, which is available for free for 7 days, is worth purchasing if you want to unlock more content.
Key features:
- Entertaining exercises for learners of all levels
- Learn to speak from native Serbian speakers
- Targets all core language skills
2. Glossika
Even if you learn a fair amount of Serbian words, you can still sound unnatural to native speakers or struggle to react to everyday situations. That’s what happens when you learn words in isolation.
With Glossika, you read and hear tons of full sentences, which means you learn within context. This helps you not only to build vocabulary but also to get a better grasp of grammar and learn to speak naturally.
Learning Serbian on Glossika requires taking intensive or listening-only sessions. Each session has 25 total reps (one sentence = one rep) and introduces five new sentences. With the platform’s spaced repetition technique and high-quality audio clips, you learn better and forget less.
Key features:
- Sentence mining focuses on full Serbian sentences
- High-quality audio recordings of native speakers
- Effective SRS method and comprehensible input difficulty
3. Drops
Want to learn essential Serbian vocabulary? With Drops, you can learn over 2,500 Serbian words and phrases. The best part? It will not feel like studying.
Drops lets you tap, swipe, and play your way through customized and relevant word lists. It features beautiful illustrations that help strengthen word recall. And you’ll be updated on your progress through the stats, which should also keep you motivated.
With this app, learning Serbian takes only five minutes a day (no excuse to skip daily lessons) for free! But if you want more playtime, it’s worth upgrading to Drops Premium. Check out the latest promo here.
Key features:
- Bite-size Serbian lessons that fit your schedule
- A fun introduction to the Serbian alphabet and essential expressions
- Game-like and visually appealing interface
Other great resources to learn Serbian
While Drops, Ling, and Simply Learn Serbian are excellent ways to learn Serbian, it’s always better to mix up resources for holistic learning. Here are additional tools to help you achieve fluency faster.
Preply: Self-learning is cool and all, but you have to admit, it’s easier to assess your progress when you have a teacher. On Preply, you can find native-speaking Serbian tutors who can provide private lessons at affordable costs and flexible schedules.
If for some reason you’re not entirely happy with your tutor, Preply offers free tutor replacement until you’re 100% satisfied. Book your trial lesson here!
Complete Serbian Beginner to Intermediate Book and Audio Course: This comprehensive book by Teach Yourself features 20 units that boost a learner’s reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. It also comes with verbs reference, a word glossary, review sections, culture notes, and audio CDs for listening practice!
Italki: Want more tutor options? Italki connects you with professional teachers and community tutors who offer customized lessons and feedback at budget-friendly rates. You can book trial lessons for as low as $5!
Cudoo: Designed for beginners and advanced learners alike, Cudoo’s Serbian courses feature easy-to-follow video lessons. These lessons are short, engaging, and feature not just the ins and outs of the language but also offer glimpses of the Serbian culture.
Simply Learn Serbian: Offering over 1,000 words and phrases in more than 30 categories, this app is perfect for growing your Serbian vocab. It also has lots of audio recordings by native speakers, which aid in learning proper pronunciation and understanding Serbian accents.
Learn Serbian: Quick / Easy / Efficient: 2000 Key Vocabularies: This vocabulary book is for beginners and intermediate learners who want to speed up their learning. Free from fluff, this book focuses on the most important Serbian words and phrases ordered by their frequency of use. Spend 15 to 20 minutes a day on it and you’ll be amazed at your progress.
FSI Serbo-Croatian Course on Live Lingua: No, Live Lingua doesn’t offer live online classes for Serbian. But the Live Lingua Project offers free public domain language learning materials for several languages. Lucky for you, that includes official FSI coursebooks on Serbo-Croatian and 68 audio files for you to listen to!
Liz Learns Serbian: As an Australian-Vietnamese girl who is learning Serbian, Liz knows the joys and struggles of language learning. This makes her content relatable and helpful. You’ll find several playlists on her channel, from actual Serbian lessons and tips on how to learn to travel adventures and life in Serbia.
Moze Kafa Podcast: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms, Moze Kafa discusses interesting details about the Serbian language and culture from the perspective of a teacher and a learner. The hosts sound casual and engaging, helping to make the lessons feel less intimidating.
Conclusion
No Serbian on Rosetta Stone? No problem!
The above list is proof that there are tons of Serbian learning resources out there. Of course, even with excellent apps and books, fluency in Serbian won’t be possible without a generous dose of determination and discipline.
So, pick out your resources and make sure to take those lessons daily. Show up consistently and you’ll soon master this awesome language!