This alternative to Duolingo changed the way I learn languages

My friend is visiting from Colombia for the holidays and let’s just say my 700+ days of studying Spanish on Duolingo are really being put to the test. Don’t get me wrong, I can definitely see the progress I have made in my Spanish learning journey. I pick up things when I hear Spanish and can usually piece together what is being said. However, contributing to the conversation is something else entirely. Duolingo includes speaking exercises in its lessons, but the functionality feels more like a smaller piece of the puzzle than the focus. TalkAnother language learning app I’ve been watching from afar for the past few years turns this strategy on its head, and the difference has been revealed to me.

As the app’s name implies, talking is essential from the start. Your first lesson is oral-only, and most of your learning time will be spent saying things out loud rather than simply answering a bunch of multiple-choice questions and filling in the blanks. First with Hungarian (pre-Speak app, since Hungarian is not available yet) and now with Spanish, I found that speaking first is the most effective learning method for me. That also seems logical. After all, don’t we first learn to speak when we are young and then to read and write?

It is important to note that speaking in Speak is dynamic. With most language apps, you have to repeat an exact word or phrase, which is essentially memorizing. With Speak, there are exercises where it explicitly asks you to respond however you want and the app’s response changes based on what you say. This is where AI can be really powerful for learning. I also really like that the AI ​​analyzes what you say and suggests other ways to say what you wanted to say while sounding more like a native speaker. The entire process has impressive nuances.

Speak does not reinvent the wheel where it is not necessary. Instead, it appears to have identified what works in other apps and applied it to its talk-first method.

When you first open the app, you’ll notice a very similar layout to Duolingo, with a walkthrough of short lessons to guide you on your learning journey. The app is gamified and even has its own cute mascot. Sound familiar? Today, these elements seem fundamental to any modern language learning app, all thanks to that app with the green owl. This method is tried and true, and Speak has implemented it very well.

Speak is far from the first to try a speak-first approach. Another, called Pimsleuris popular for its oral lessons and I also find that platform to be incredibly useful. However, a key difference with Pimsleur is that its lessons are recorded by real humans rather than using AI. While listening to real humans speak their native language is helpful and probably preferable, I’ve found that Speak’s AI-powered voices sound very natural while still providing those dynamic responses. Obviously, you could hire a human tutor to get real-time, dynamic responses, and that’s probably the best option, but maybe a human tutor doesn’t fit your budget or you’d prefer this app-based approach. Speak offers a good alternative, in that case. Instead of repeating pre-recorded phrases like other apps might ask you to, Speak gives you hands-on practice in everyday conversations and scenarios.

While Pimsleur has added similar functionality to Speak with AI-generated conversations and shorter practice methods, its core learning path has much longer lessons, typically between 30 and 60 minutes each, and in today’s fast-paced, focus-deprived world, I can appreciate the way Speak breaks lessons down into smaller, more Duolingo-like study sessions. This allows you to include a lesson here or there where a longer lesson might not be feasible, thus eliminating the excuse of not having enough time to learn. Sure, you could just pause a longer Pimsleur lesson and come back later, but I bet the achievement of completing a full but shorter lesson leads to a stickier experience overall, which in turn leads to users learning more languages ​​in the long run.

Speak’s use of AI has proven to be tasteful and, more importantly, useful in my experience. Its approach is similar to Google Translate’s new Practice mode in the way you can study topics that are relevant to you thanks to AI-generated lessons and answers, but Speak adds a level of organization and intention to its AI-powered learning that I don’t get from Google Translate thanks to its learning paths.

Unlike Duolingo and Google Translate, which are free to use, both Speak ($17.99/month or $83.99/year) and Pimsleur (starting at $19.95/month or $164.95/year) require a subscription after a free trial period.

I’m clearly enjoying my time with Speak, but I have one complaint: Speak lacks the number of languages ​​on its platform. Yes, I know that my beloved Hungarian, for example, is used less around the world than Spanish, but other platforms like Duolingo and Pimsleur include many more languages. For now, Speak only has five languages: Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese and Italian. This, of course, covers some of the most used languages, but I look forward to the day when more languages ​​are added to Speak.

There are countless apps for learning languages ​​and I only mentioned a few here. The truth is that we all learn in different ways; This is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. While Speak does a great job of bringing together several different methods into one app, I will continue to use Duolingo and Google Translate alongside Speak. Duolingo is where I have a group of real-life friends added to compete and motivate each other. Google Translate is completely free and dynamic with its short AI-powered lessons. Speaking allows me to talk more about all three, improving my conversation skills.

Depending on the day, I will spend more time on one than the other, but this multi-app approach is leading me to one result: spending more time learning a language. I think that’s what really matters here. I would even love to continue using Pimsleur as a fourth app in the rotation, but one has a limited amount of time and money, so at least for now, I’m sticking with this combination of three apps.

Talking is essentially what you get if Duolingo, Google Translate, and Pimsleur had a baby. No one wants to waste time on something that doesn’t produce results, and fortunately, I find Speak incredibly helpful in my language learning journey. I feel more confident talking to my Colombian friend, and if I had been using Speak as long as I have used Duolingo, I wonder if I would have more complete and nuanced conversations in Spanish. While I’m not going to ditch that 700-day Duolingo streak just yet, Speak has quickly become a daily staple in my Spanish studies, and I only see that continuing for the foreseeable future.