6 Apps for learning English in 2025 There are hundreds and hundreds of apps for learning English. We all know the big names but what about adding some variety to your screen this year. Here are six apps for learning English you might not know, but you should definitely try this year. They are all apps I've tried and liked.ClozemasterI love the simple concept of this app. It takes gap filling exercises adds point scoring. So the kind of exercises you know from school, like this: I ___ to school yesterday. You have to add the right word in the gap. Then score points. You can practice writing or listening, with speaking practice coming soon. Great if you want to move on from basic vocabulary apps.Language Coach AISpeaking used to be really difficult to practice without another person to have a conversation. Now so many AI teachers are popping up it's hard to find a good quality bot. Language Coach AI takes the best bits of language learning apps and adds a speaking element. You practice vocabulary with matching and gap fill exercises and then have a conversation or role play to practice. If you're working with a teacher they can assign practice that's relevant to you.PolyglossDo you need to practice writing and do you like puzzles? This is a really innovative app to help your English writing. Working with a virtual partner, you pick a picture and write a description for your partner to guess the picture. Then they give you a sentence to guess. It's quick and easy, you can write an easy sentence or make it as complicated as you want to, and get hints to help you from the app too. Fun and useful!Say ItLooking for pronunciation practice? Say It will help you! The app provides a visual model of words to help you see where your pronunciation is different. It's great if you have some words that are really tricky for you, because seeing the word's sound waves and comparing to your version really helps to identify the differences. Hi NativeIf you have questions about English and no one to ask Hi Native is for you. You can ask what's the difference between words, if a phrase sounds natural, or, the meaning or intention behind words and phrases. You'll get answers from AI and native speakers too.UTalkBefore Duolingo there was Utalk. This is the original vocabulary learning organisation - they used to make CDs! Now on the app you can learn vocabulary from more than 150 languages from English to Estonian, Igbo to Italian. There are puzzle games, memory games, speaking as well as vocabulary practice. Give it a try today! Have fun learning with apps, and don't forget to find a passionate teacher or coach to help you bring it all together. The teachers at WeAreEnglishTeachers.com can help you succeed with English this year.

8 reasons you need a human English teacher in 2025Welcome to the future! Suddenly we are surrounded by AI chatbots, helpers and widgets that are trying to make our lives easier and more polished. And there are the AI English teachers. How fabulous, teachers who never get tired, are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for free, and always have an answer for you. What could be wrong with that? Read on for 8 reasons you need a human English teacher in 2025.1. AI uses a huge amount of energyIt's estimated that an enquiry on ChatGPT uses ten times more energy than a Google search. And everyday ChaGPT is using as much energy as a city of 180,000 households. It may not seem like much at the moment, but in the future demand will increase, where will the energy, and water, come from?2. AI liesSometimes we forget that not everything on the internet is correct, but what makes it worse is that AI can tell barefaced lies. The strawberry problem shows how this works. Ask a chatbot how many letter 'r's are in the word 'strawberry.' The bot replies: two. Even when questioned it insists 2 and then is proved wrong. This is a very basic problem that any human can see is wrong.  The strawberry glitch might have been sorted out, but it persists with other words and concepts - this is because of reason number 3...3. AI doesn't actually speak EnglishAI has learnt language from millions and millions of inputs. But it doesn't actually understand what it says. Sometimes you'll find Chatbots spitting out a lot of random lists of words. As Google AI told me: "While AI can process and respond to English language input through Natural Language Processing (NLP), it doesn't truly "understand" English in the same way humans do; it identifies patterns and generates responses based on the vast amount of data it's trained on, often lacking the deeper contextual understanding, nuance, and common sense that humans possess when interpreting language." 4. Humans understand your feelingsObviously, humans win at understanding feelings, and knowing when to provide correction and when not to. But good teachers can also judge when you need to learn a new grammar point, and when you need to just chat. When you really need to fix your pronunciation and when it doesn't really matter. And when your questions are a sign of stress, and when they really need answers.Humans understand feelings,  well most of the time. 5. Humans can make connections and rememberAs mentioned above AI doesn't really understand English, so it's not always good at connecting the dots. It can provide information but it can't know why you're asking about a certain topic. Humans can make the connection between your life situations and the phrases you might need. A teacher will also tell you the different kind of phrases you might use when talking to adults or children, to a professional audience or for entertainment. 6. Cultural insightsHumans understand culture and can give you pointers about what is appropriate in one setting and not in another. Teachers can also give you insight into why your words or actions might have produced a negative response or positive one, in business or life, because they can understand the meaning behind words. You need a human English teacher to give you this kind of help, just as much as helping your grammar or pronunciation. 7. MotivationHaving a regular scheduled lesson with a teacher

Uplifting quotes about learning EnglishA few words of wisdom, about the English language, about learning and failing too. Here are 8 quotes about learning English, that will give you a boost today“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.” – Amy ChuaThe quote by Amy Chua above stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it. How wonderful and true it is. You are brave, for learning English and then for speaking it. Far braver than those who never learn and never try. “Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.” ― Mark Twain (one of the USA's most famous writers) Even as an English person I find English spelling weird and frustrating! It can be understood through thorough thought though (sorry)!  “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” ― Mark Twain (again)Kids refusing to go to school and moaning about it? Not keen on your lessons either? Remember education doesn't just happen in the classroom, and sometimes a break is good for everyone. "The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself." - Derek WalcottHow do you feel about English, is it your language? Are you still a 'learner' or a 'user'? You might feel that your English is 'broken' and that you must speak 'perfectly' but this isn't true. English is a global language and its purpose is communication. It's a tool, not something that has to be perfect. “The English language is a work in progress. Have fun with it.” ― Jonathan CulverIt changes all the time, and from country to country, even city to city and person to person. You can make your own version! "English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James NicollIf you've ever felt English has taken a lot of words from other languages, you're right! “We'll never get them to notice us if we say ordinary things in an ordinary way.” ― David Crystal, A Little Book of LanguageDavid Crystal is the author of over 100 books on language. He knows how flexible languages can and should be. And English is a very flexible language. Try with your teacher, ask about different meanings and ways of saying things. If you're looking for an English teacher check out the free Elevate directory of English language teachers at weareenglishteachers.com "You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over." - Richard BransonSame for speaking any language. You'll make mistakes, you'll fall over. Pick yourself up and carry on. "Don't give up. Obstacles can be overcome through strategy and learning." - Hidetaka MiyazakiFinal thought, you can do this!If you're looking for an English language teacher who will help you improve your English check out the Elevate directory of English language teachers at weareenglishteachers.com -

Feeling at home with English - interview with Monika RozmiarekI'm here with Monika Rozmiarek today. Monika, where are you? Hi, so I'm calling from the UK, from England to be exact. I see. And you're not originally from the UK? No, hence probably you've got some troubles pronouncing my surname I'm originally from Poland. I'm Polish but I moved, I moved to the UK five years ago, about five years ago.And you're an English teacher? That's right. I am an English language teacher. I was teaching in Poland back when I was still there and I started doing the same when I arrived in the UK. Now, I can say that I finally teach full -time and I teach adults only. I work, I help expats improve their English so they can feel at home in the UK. That's so important.  Are you in the UK? No, I'm in Japan. Right. But originally? Yeah. I'm from the UK. Yeah, the West country. Where are you in the UK now? Oxfordshire, Bicester to be exact. I don't know if you know where that is. Yeah, vaguely near Oxford. Yeah, in the South. Yeah. Okay, so you're helping expats with their English. So important. Just Polish or any anyone?So I have my private students that I teach online and these are so far they've been Polish people only just because I know this environment, I know how to reach people and but I work college as well. I teach ESOL in college and there's a mixture of nationalities. So, it's teaching English using English only. It's interesting, exciting to some extent. So, do you find that people have studied English in school and then they come to UK and they're a bit shocked or a bit surprised how different school English is to real life English? Right, to be honest I was shocked and surprised myself when I came here even if I studied that language at the university. So I was already at a very advanced level but still understanding native speakers was really hard, not only about the accent but also the words they used. You know, there's a specific British slang that they use that it's not so familiar to people who come to the UK because this type of language is not being taught at schools. So, yeah, I've had many people with the same problems as me when I came here. Yes, so you understand the sort of surprise and what, yeah, what are people talking about? This is not like the books.Yes, yes, I understand the frustration as well, because even if your English is really good and you can speak, you communicate, and then you come here and you suddenly start thinking, I don't know anything. I don't know any English at all. And it is, you know, it is frustrating because you want to feel here at home as you decided to live here. So I try helping them as much as I can, understanding the British aspects of it as well. Yeah, exactly. Have you got any memorable moments from your teaching or students that sort of stand out in your mind for you? ]Many of them, you know. What changes usually, what I've noticed and what the students have told me. It's their feelings about their, well, their life and their English in general. What I mean is when they came here, they didn't know any English or they knew little English. They didn't have the confidence to open up, to speak and they just felt a bit lonely. And then after a few lessons or a few months lessons with me, they started feeling more confident. So, I that's

Why you need to celebrate your English lessonsDo you ever celebrate your English lessons? Sounds weird I know. But do you know what makes you want to keep learning English? What makes you enjoy learning English?Scientifically speaking it's dopamine. That's the hormone that makes you happy. Dopamine does a lot of jobs in your body, and making you happy is just one result.When you do something rewarding or pleasurable dopamine is released. Dopamine makes you feel good and you want more. So you do more of the pleasurable thing.Usually, people talk about eating delicious food,  listening to music, taking drugs or having sex as the pleasurable activities. But what about study? Not the same as food, roll and rock, drugs or sex, I know! But can studying cause a dopamine release?The answer is yes, but here's the trick to cause a dopamine release, and therefore feel happy about studying - you have to celebrate! So every time - after you finish studying or after you finish a lesson, celebrate! No, I don't mean crack open a bottle of champagne or feast on chocolate cake. A quick 'well done me' is enough. Feel good about what you achieved. Say it aloud! Yay me! Smile. Compare this feeling to one of finishing your English lesson in school. You feel exhausted, bored, maybe fed up that your English isn't improving. You go away with a sigh or relief that it's all over. No dopamine there. But if you try to see the good side, that you did speak, you understood, and celebrate that feeling - now how do you leave? Head up, smiling, dopamine passing through your body. A much better feeling.Your brain will come associate this feeling of happiness with study. You get a reward (a dopamine hit) after study. And over time you'll want to it more. So celebrate your English lessons, and you'll want to do more, and your English will improve, without you realising.Try it this week!If you're looking for innovative and creative English teachers to help you improve your English, and celebrate your English lessons with, check out the Elevate Directory of English language teachers. -

The Joy of English Pronunciation with Jennie ReedWelcome back to the Elevate blog. I'm here with Jennie Reed today. Hi Jennie. Hi Abbie, thanks for inviting me. No problem, where are you in the world? I am in Scotland in the UK. I see, have you lived there a long time? Where I live now, we've been here about four years, but I've been in Scotland for eight years now. How's that? You like Scotland? Yes, we love Scotland. It's so beautiful. The people are so friendly and welcoming. The weather is very changeable and the long days in the summer are lovely, short days in the winter not as nice, but they're all part and parcel of the experience of living in Scotland. That's right, and so you're an English teacher? Yes, that's right.And who do you help? I help lots of different people but mainly I work with English teachers so people who are non -native speakers who want to feel more confident with their pronunciation and also help their learners with pronunciation too So pronunciation's your main interest? Yes, I think it's fascinating. So honestly, up until 2018, I probably didn't consider pronunciation very much in my classes at all, other than to give direct corrections to my students. And that would just be if it was something that I really couldn't understand what they were saying, and it would just be correcting what they said and then in 2018 I started a diploma in teaching English as a second language and through that I learned so much about pronunciation and I started using it in my lessons at the time I was working in a language school in Edinburgh and the difference it made for my students I could just see their confidence increasing in their communication and from that point on, I just knew that it was not quite magic, but it was something that was a key part of speaking another language. And I think that's been really fun. And it has so many different possibilities and so many different ways that it can help people increase their confidence in their communication. And I think that's really important. I see. So, what changes do you see when you're helping your learners with pronunciation? I mean, maybe some people think, there's no way, nobody can help me with my pronunciation. What can you do to help them? There's two sides to this. Lots of people come to me initially saying, oh, my accent is too strong. And first of all I'd like to clarify that it's not about accent. Everyone has an accent and it doesn't matter whether that's a Scottish accent or an English accent or an Italian accent or a Spanish accent or a Japanese accent, as long as you can speak clearly enough for other people to understand what you're saying. accent isn't the problem as long as you're consistent with the sounds and this is where it's key because the consistency allows other people to understand what you're saying and so when I work with my clients it's about distinguishing sounds that are quite similar that can maybe cause confusion So this could be vowel sounds, for example, and some consonant sounds, although not so much because we're a bit more forgiving with the consonant sounds, but also thinking about the stress patterns. So some languages, the stress is very regular, but English, it changes depending on what the person is trying to say. And this can be very subjective and you have the same sentence said by five different

How to speak more EnglishThe number one question I am always asked is, how do I get fluent in speaking English? The only answer is speak more English! But how do you speak more English everyday? Here are my 5 top practical tips for speaking more English everyday so you get fluent faster. 1. Read out loudEspecially good if you have no idea what to say. Grab an English book near you, open it up and start to read. Out loud. Reading aloud will help you master tricky pronunciation combinations like the ‘th’ and ‘s’ in ‘six months old.’ You’ll also expose yourself to more vocabulary and grammar that you might not use yourself. Reading helps you to get fluent in speaking without having to think about what to say. You'll immediately speak more English!  2. Talk to yourself.If you have no one else to speak more English to, speak to yourself! You get the best answers, and the best jokes, that way! Look around you, what can you see? Describe where you are, what are people doing, what are you thinking about and planning to do next? Say these things aloud! Talk to yourself in the mirror to practice your pronunciation. Pretend you are a YouTuber or a famous chef and you’re describing the meal you’re making. Imagine you have to train someone to do your job, in English, what do you say? 3. Talk to your children, pets or plants.Your pets and plants will not care about mistakes you make and they’ll always be there for you! Tell them about your day, your feelings, sing songs to them! Speak more English to your children, and don’t be shy about your accent or mistakes. Children will have a lot of sources of English, you will not be the only input. So they won’t pick up your mistakes. If your children speak English fluently already, well, great, you’ve done a great job! Now get them to teach you! 4. Find a conversation partner.There are loads of websites to find a conversation partner, so go and find one. When you write your profile put a little bit of information about yourself, about your hobbies or interests, your job or your family so you’ll find someone who has similar interests. It’ll be much easier to talk about something you have in common. 5. Find a teacher.When you’re looking for a teacher check their information carefully, will they encourage you to talk? Are their lessons about speaking or something else? Tell them that you want to talk as much as possible, be clear that speaking English fluently is your goal. If they don’t encourage you to talk, or they focus on something that is not interesting to you don’t be afraid to change that teacher and find one that is focused on speaking. If you're learning English and looking for excellent teachers to help you on your journey check out the Elevate Directory of English language teachers.How do you feel about your English speaking? Let me know below! -

The human side of learning English - interview with Joann ColonWelcome back to the Elevate blog. I'm here with Joanne Colon. Where are you at the moment in the world? Right now I'm in Jacksonville, Florida And it's quite warm?Yes, I'm I'm I've been living here about, All together about five years within, several gaps in between, but now four years uninterrupted and I'm still not accustomed to the summers.So you're an English teacher. Can you tell me a bit about the people that you teach at the moment? So I focus on adults, though I'm starting to branch out to teenagers as well. And I basically help them speak English more confidently and just provide a safe, calm, fun environment for them to practice and improve their English. And I guess show that English can be fun without without ever expecting it. Do you find a lot of your learners are a bit, they've come from the school system and they know they need English? they not really in love with English? Some, Some do, especially the teenagers. They, they're going through the school system as we speak and they just want to, well, speak and so in my sessions this is when they have the space and the opportunity to speak of whatever they like. I usually have something planned but sometimes we go off topic and I tell them as long as it's in English we're good. Yeah, exactly. It's that safe space where you can just speak. Yeah, exactly. And same with adults as well. Do you find that they are happy to speak? Do they have particular wants with their English, the adults especially? Yes, some want to improve their grammar, and I don't offer grammar lessons. I feel that if they want to study grammar, they don't necessarily need me, but if they have a grammar question, I'll happily answer for them and give them examples. And then usually when they have a, "oh, OK," response then, OK, they got it. Yeah, that's satisfying, isn't it? Yeah. Have you got any moments or learners in particular that have made a, you know, a big breakthrough with you, or you can see their progress? Yes, I remember one in particular, a lady from Poland that, she did not like speaking English and with time she started to enjoy it and not only that but there was one time that during one of our sessions there was a very big thunderstorm. I heard the thunder like like it was right here I thought like oh my goodness this is very loud. And she was, and I felt very touched that she, she admitted to me that she is scared to death of thunderstorms. But she, she wanted to stay with me until our session was done or until the electricity went off, whichever came first. And, and, like, I told her that, if you want to get up that's okay I completely understand and she said no I I want you to stay with me please it's very scary. I was very very touched yeah That's really it's it's really important isn't it with your English because you make a plan like you're studying business English but then something like this comes along, you have to tell people how you're feeling. Yes, and fortunately we finished the entire session and by that time the storm had died down quite a bit. So, phew!You got through it. Yeah. So, so I feel that in a way this, this can, this can serve as a, as an analogy that I and other teachers I'm sure we're here to hold your hand if it's necessary. Yeah, sometimes it

The top six excuses for not practising your EnglishWhy are you learning English? I'm sure you get asked that a lot!  How about this question: what’s your excuse for not practising English today? Not such a common question, but a really common problem. Today? I’m too busy, I’m too tired. We all know the feeling. We all know we should do a little everyday, and practice makes perfect. But, life happens and suddenly you’re falling into bed at the end of the day and - oops I forgot to do some language study. Think about the excuses you used today and over the past week. Why didn’t you study? Write down ten excuses. Go on, write them down. I bet having no time was quite high on the list, wasn’t it? And no money? How about no motivation?I know, I’ve been there, I am there everyday with learning Japanese. Man, it’s hard!! I have all the excuses in my top pocket ready to go. Let’s beat these excuses. I know them, you know them, and really we all know they are rubbish, and with a bit of logic and application we can overcome them. Here are the top six excuses I use: I have no time. All-time number one excuse for not doing anything, isn’t it? Sure, some days are so busy there is barely time to scratch your head let alone concentrate on the finer points of English grammar. But everyday? If you honestly can’t find five minutes to study you really need to think about if learning English is a priority for you at the moment. And it’s okay to say right now I don’t have time, but next month I’m going to find five minutes a day to study. A way to make time is to link study to something you already do everyday. Brush your teeth, eat meals, watch TV, take a bus, drive a car, wash the dishes. What learning tools can you use at the same time? Do your flashcards on the bus, listen to a podcast in the car, conjugate verbs while you brush your teeth. If you try to connect a new habit with an old one, it’s much more likely to stick.  I don’t know where to start. I get it. There are so many materials out there, and so many tools, courses, apps and books you could use. But let’s start where we are, not where we want to be. First have a look at the books and apps and materials you already have. Some you’ve never really looked at, right? Go take another look at them and see if they fit your needs now. Secondly, what is it you really need to do right now with your language? Pass an exam? Give a presentation at work? Talk to a school teacher? Find the materials that will help you do that, and use them. And here’s a really great tip: find a resource you love and stick with it. Try to wring as much out of the material that you have chosen as you can. This is because a book or a course will progress, and a well designed course will help you progress more. You will progress if you stick with one thing and use it. If you keep switching, you might progress, but you might get lost starting over and over again.  I don’t know how to practiceAll the materials, courses, books and apps out there can be overwhelming, and you can spend a lot of time planning your study rather than studying. So, keep things simple, stick with a few chosen materials and then use them. Focus on what you need to do in this language, and think of the steps to do get there. For example I want to be better at speaking in Japanese, but I often don’t understand what people say to me