When you’re trying to learn a new language, one of the best ways to comprehend how it all goes together is to apply all that vocabulary you’ve learned in a practical way.
For me, after eight years of French, it took going to France for the summer for me to really be able to string together words into sentences that were moderately comprehensible.
If you don’t have the opportunity to travel to a different country or try your skills out with a native speaker you know, then reading books can be a great way to help you take your skills to the next level. Beelinguapp is an app that can help.
With. it, you can listen to audiobooks in a language of your choice, and see the text for that book in English and the language you’re trying to learn side by side. The idea here is that you can listen to the audiobook and experience an immersive experience in the language you’re trying to learn, while still giving yourself the safety net of the English translation if you need it.
Currently, the app is available in 13 languages: Spanish, English, German, Portuguese, Korean, French, Hindi, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, and Japanese.
The available text ranges from fairy tales to novels and news with new content being added each week. You can sort your options by reading level as well as category to find the perfect fit.
The app includes quite a few texts you can listen to and read for free but also offers a premium membership for a modest $15/year ($8 if you sign up within the first 30 minutes you use the app) that unlocks more stories, has flashcards, and allows you to download texts for offline use, amongst other features.