Audio courses are a great way to learn a language as they make language study portable, allowing you to improve your fluency while commuting to work, doing chores, riding the bus, or doing anything else at all. Learning a language while on the go with an audio language course may also help you transform downtime into time spent doing something fun, useful, and ultimately life-changing. Audio language classes are a fantastic method to pick up a new language. They work, not simply because they’re convenient when you’re on the run.
Listening is how your brain is designed to learn languages. Language is initially and primarily a spoken word, something we consider in auditory terms. That’s why listening to a new language rather than reading it helps you assimilate it. Because you recall language based on how it sounds, learning using audio language courses helps your brain focus on the parts of the language that it cares about the most. As a result, audio language classes are a particularly effective approach to learn the foundations of a language. After all, you learnt the first time around by listening, so audio language courses are the most convenient and efficient way to pick up a language on the go.
With these advantages in mind, the best approach to get the most out of audio language classes is to prioritize auditory learning while branching out and supplementing it with visual materials along the way. This method allows you to maintain the advantages of aural learning, such as deeper internalization of the language and more efficient retention, while simultaneously reducing the learning curve by checking up how words are written, performing more reading/writing, and utilizing visual media. When audio language courses are at the heart of a thorough, diverse language study plan, the outcome is a powerful, simplified, and, of course, mobile language learning process.
Here is a list of the top ten most reliable audio language learning courses you can take online.
1. Audio Courses by FluentU
FluentU is a language immersion platform that allows you to learn languages in context via captivating audio and video snippets. FluentU transforms real-world videos into tailored language learning courses, such as music videos, movie trailers, news, and motivational speeches. FluentU allows you to hear languages in real-world situations, as they are spoken by native speakers. FluentUeliminates the tedious aspects of language study, leaving you with just interesting, effective, and efficient learning. It has already hand-selected the best videos and arranged them by level and topic for you. To get started, all you have to do is pick a video that appeals to you. The application also keeps track of what you’re learning and notifies you when it’s time to review, ensuring that you get a completely customized experience. Start by visiting the FluentU website on your computer or tablet, or even better, you can easily download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play stores.
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2. Language Courses by FSI
The United States Foreign Service Institute developed the FSI language courses, which are now accessible in a variety of languages. The courses, which were initially created for diplomats to be trained in a concentrated, immersive setting, are now available to the general public. This means that anybody may freely download the audio courses and associated materials. Each session is built around a conversation, new terminology, and a variety of exercises. Because the technique is built on repetition, some students may find the courses to be boring. The FSI courses, on the other hand, are rather extensive, and there’s a reason they’re still in use decades later: they function. They’ve even spawned a slew of commercial spin-offs. They’re also completely free.
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3. Audio Courses by Linguaphone
Linguaphone classes are all-encompassing programs that teach all part of the language, from understanding to speaking, reading, and writing. The approach underlying the course design, on the other hand, places listening and speaking at the core of the learning process. Linguaphone provides classes in 15 languages at the moment. Because repetition isn’t as important in Linguaphone as it is in many other language classes, some students complain that the lectures are too quick. As a result, many people pair Linguaphone with something that allows for more systematic, repetitive practice. Linguaphone should be at the top of your list if you’re searching for a course that covers reading and writing while keeping listening and speaking at the center of the learning process. Of course, the structure of Linguaphone makes it less portable than audio-only courses, but the major focus on auditory learning means you can still accomplish a lot of studying on the move.
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4. Audio Courses by Assimil
Although the majority of Assimil’s courses are geared at French speakers, they do offer a few English-language options. Assimil takes a conversation-based approach to language learning. Each lesson contains a collection of recorded dialogues as well as a book with transcriptions and translations of the dialogues. Because the same content is utilized for both the listening and reading sections of Assimil, you have a lot of freedom in how you divide your time between audio and text-based study. So, you can concentrate on the audio while you’re on the go, then return to the text once you’ve had the book in your hands. If you want the freedom to switch between listening and reading as you want, or if you want to study vocab and grammar in the context of full phrases and dialogues rather than isolated snippets, you should give Assimil a try.
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5. Audio Courses by Pimsleur
The course is based on Paul Pimsleur’s study, which attempted to find the quickest way to learn a language. Depending on the language, each course might last anywhere from 15 to 45 hours. The classes are divided into half-hour halves. Almost everything is audio-based, and even the reading material supplied is intended to be read in conjunction with the audio courses. There are more than 50 languages available. The Pimsleur technique puts a lot of pressure on you to answer with accurate translations. This includes an internal incentive mechanism that encourages you to improve with each try. There is a lot of reinforcement because the content from prior courses is repeated in future levels. Typically, there are three or four levels, each with 30 lessons. The cost of the course varies depending on the language and format. For example, a four-level German course on MP3 costs $450 ($970 on CD). The Pimsleur website has all of the pricing mentioned.
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6. Audio Courses by Radio Lingua
Radio Lingua’s “Coffee Break” audio series for learning French, German, Italian, and Spanish is their most popular course. Lessons in the “Coffee Break” series build on one other and are organized as brief, casual talks between an instructor and a student. In addition to longer audio courses, Radio Lingua provides a variety of shorter audio courses in a variety of languages. Their “One Minute” courses are accessible in over 20 languages and provide brief overviews of some language fundamentals. If you’re looking for something light and simply digested that will get you started with the foundations of a new language, Radio Lingua is an excellent option. FluentU eliminates the tedious aspects of language study, leaving you with just interesting, effective, and efficient learning. It has already hand-selected the best videos and arranged them by level and topic for you. To get started, all you have to do is pick a video that appeals to you.
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7. Audio Courses by Michel Thomas
This audio-only technique allows you to learn from a “teacher” who reads a lesson to you and then asks you to repeat it. You’re “in class” alongside two other pupils who can also be heard on the tape. The course introduces vocabulary and phrases that are well explained, which you will subsequently use to create simple sentences with the help of the other two students. Each language has a total of 12 hours of instruction. Michel Thomas was a multilingual linguist and language instructor who devised a technique for fast language acquisition. Diplomats and celebrities were among his clientele, and he was quite successful. His methods are used to create these audio CDs. You get the feeling that you’re in class because there are other students recording on the lessons, and the development appears natural. The Michel Thomas technique is a more cost-effective option than Pimsleur. The course’s format equips you with the skills necessary to engage in meaningful conversation in a short period of time. Although there are no separate levels, the software does develop to an intermediate degree of complexity. Each language’s full series will cost you around $75-100.
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8. Audio Courses by LanguagePod101
LanguagePod101 has language learning podcasts in dozens of languages, from AfrikaansPod101 to VietnamesePod101, all the way through the alphabet. Depending on your ability level, you’ll be able to pick from a variety of courses for each particular language. Each course includes dozens of short, fun audio lessons that you can listen to online or download. LanguagePod101 is ideal for on-the-go study. not only because it’s an audio language school, but also because the courses are short and fun, and the materials are available in a number offorms. These courses are perfect if you want to cram your language learning into smaller time slots during the day or if you want to study in bite-sized chunks. This is a wonderful approach for memory retention since it breaks down the material into small chunks and allows you plenty of time to absorb and process it all. This program also goes out of its way to make the podcasts enjoyable and interesting, making them a welcome change from more typical language courses. As a whole, LanguagePod101 is an excellent choice if you want a thorough introduction to a language but want it broken down into short pieces that you can listen to on the go and that don’t need much sustained attention.
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