50languages Review: A Handy Interactive Phrasebook for Travelers

Most language learning programs assume that the learner is comfortable with using English as the base language. 50languages.com does things differently, allowing learners to study their target language from nearly any other language for free.

The catch is that it focuses on teaching set phrases on common topics, allowing you to have a basis in the language and not much more. But I still found it worth checking out, and it seems particularly helpful for anyone about to go on a trip or whose native tongue isn’t English.

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50Languages By the Numbers: What to Expect

50+ Languages and 2500+ Language Combinations

First and foremost, you do, in fact, get 50 languages from 50languages. Languages range from the more popular learning choices like Spanish, German, French and Chinese, to less common options like Bosnian, Tigrinya, Kazakh and more. 

When you visit the website, you can choose the language you want to study either from a map or from a drop-down menu. A second menu lets you also choose the language you want to use as a base.

This means you can study Italian from Kurdish, or Korean from Ukrainian. There are over 2500 language learning combinations! This is an incredibly useful resource for anyone whose native language isn’t English. 

And there doesn’t seem to be any difference in material, regardless of what language combination you choose. I tried learning Japanese from Spanish. This also changed the entire website language to Spanish, making navigation easy for Spanish speakers. 

100 Lessons for Each Language

Each language course has 100 lessons. These lessons cover everything from core vocabulary topics like colors and days of the week, to key grammar information like how to form negations and a very limited introduction to tenses.

Among the lessons are also some common topics of conversations, like making small talk, checking in at a hotel, going shopping and other topics that would be useful in everyday life.

What 50languages Does Right

Interactive Phrasebook

I’ve tried to learn from phrases before and discovered that rote memorization is just not effective for me. With 50languages, though, I actually managed to remember a couple of phrases in Japanese.

That’s because the program gamifies the traditional phrasebook. Each phrase has letters missing so you can try to remember it yourself. To reveal the missing letters, you just click on the entry. You can also click on a button to reveal all the answers at once. 

Each phrase has an audio pronunciation and the option to hear it in a number of other languages. If you’re an aspiring polyglot, this program is a great way to study phrases in multiple languages at once. 

Additional Resources

Besides the phrasebook, 50languages also has some additional resources for your learning needs. 

There are several simple games: match the cards, find the opposites, crosswords (only in five languages, though) and a game that has you remember the missing word. Some of the games can be one or two players.

There are also sections for learning alphabets, vocabulary flashcards, number learning, fill-in-the-blank tests and even some radio stations. A translation trainer lets you try your hand at translating sentences from one language to another.

If you like learning with the program but prefer to use physical resources, you can buy the book versions of any language’s workbook.  

Finally, I’m not always connected to the internet when I’m traveling, so I was glad to discover that 50languages offer offline learning. You can download the MP3s of all the phrases in each chapter for easy learning on the go. 

Simple and Intuitive Interface

With 50languages, what you see is what you get. The website design is simple and no-nonsense. I was never confused about any of the features, and everything was clearly labeled. 

I love how easy it is to switch things up on the fly. It’s super easy to change the lesson as well as what language you’re learning with and from without leaving the page you’re on. 

Has Mobile App 

If you prefer your language learning to be contained in an app, you’re in luck: 50languages has one main app for all the languages and another app called “STEPS” that’s a more guided learning experience through the program.

You can also download the app that corresponds to the specific language you’re trying to learn if you’re only studying one. These more specific apps are slightly better organized than the main app since they’re more focused. Which app you download is up to you and your learning goals!

Where 50languages Falls Short 

No Customization Features

One good and bad thing about 50languages is that it doesn’t require you to make an account to use the program. On one hand, signing up (and dealing with all the promotional mail that comes with a signup) can be a hassle.

On the other hand, not having an account means that there are no customization features in the program, since it doesn’t save your information. For instance, there’s no way to save any of the words to favorites or a word list for later review. You’d just have to go back to the right lesson.

Only Teaches Set Phrases

The program’s goal is pretty lofty: “With no prior knowledge, you will learn to fluently speak short sentences in real-world situations in no time.” 

The key phrase here is “fluently speak short sentences,” because that’s really all the app will teach you. At the end of the day, 50langauges is really only a phrasebook—a way to learn the most common vocabulary and phrases as quickly as possible.

You might learn how to say specific phrases but you won’t learn why the grammar works the way that it does or how to form your own phrases from the vocabulary you pick up. This might be exactly what you’re looking for in a language learning app, like if you’re planning a short trip, but it’s not a good way to start actually learning a language. 

Doesn’t Cover All Language Skills

The 50languages program hones your listening and reading skills, but it has no writing or speaking practice. Even the tests let you choose the answers from a selection of words, rather than type them in.

If you want to learn how to actually speak the language, you’ll need to pair the program with opportunities to speak, such as through a language exchange program like My Language Exchange or a tutoring service like italki.

One other issue is that the phrases you see in the program might not be the ones you’d hear native speakers actually use. For a more authentic introduction to languages, a program like FluentU would come in useful.

Has Some Intrusive Ads

Since 50languages is free, it runs on ads. This is understandable and not generally a big deal. The ads are mostly non-intrusive, even though they take up a large portion of some of the pages. 

However, it’s worth noting that there are also frequent popup ads (some of which I wasn’t sure at first how to close). It also frequently shows the types of ads that look like they’re part of the page, like the ones that prompt you to “download” a pdf for free with a big green button. Just be aware of what’s part of the page and what’s an ad!

 

50languages is a great free resource if you’re just trying to learn some common phrases. 

It’s not, however, a way to actually learn a language. It simply doesn’t provide enough guidance on grammar, sentence structure, conjugation and other key language skills for forming your own sentences.

The program might be a great way to stock up on some common phrases for a trip or as a way to quickly learn a lot of phrases to use in common situations and get you started on the language.