More than a decade ago, I got hooked on the movies of South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo—so much so that, after a few months of scanning subtitles, I decided to learn Korean.
But when I first looked for a class to take, I couldn’t find one. Not long after I began studying the language using any dated textbook or patchy website I could find, I discovered a podcast called Talk to Me in Korean, which provided just the lessons and encouragement I needed. Since then, all kinds of digital media, including smartphone and desktop apps, have made it downright easy to study even obscure languages anytime, anywhere.
While the pandemic has affected our ability to travel to countless countries, there’s never been a better time to learn a language so that when you can travel, you can hit the ground … chatting. Check out these apps and other tools that make studying a new language easy and fun.