Stories, podcasts, and videos can all help you learn English when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from English you can mostly understand. About half of all websites are in English, according to W3Techs, so there is plenty to choose from. Most of it is written for people who already speak English well, so the hard part is finding English at your level.
These apps help you find English you can follow, or make the English you choose easier to understand. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our English app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn English with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of English about music, food, work, or daily life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for you. If a word or a sentence is hard to follow, just ask her to explain it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help with English you found yourself. For a show, a book, or an article you already picked, the apps in Read and Watch English You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- Choose American, British, or Australian English, and your lessons follow it.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- You cannot bring in your own books, shows, or articles.
- AI voices read each lesson, not recordings of English speakers.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Read Stories Written for Learners
Readable
Readable is made only for English learners. Teachers simplify each story to your level, and many stories are free to read. It was made by a team that has worked with the BBC, the British Council, and Cambridge University Press.
- Horror, thriller, and other short fiction, plus news that is updated every day.
- Every story has audio.
- Tap any word to hear it and see what it means.
- Save words and practice them with the Word Trainer.
- Flashcards
Mobile
Read the News in Easy English
News in Levels
News in Levels writes short world news for students of English, on its website and in its app. Each level uses the same words again and again, so they become familiar as you read. When a level feels easy, you move up to the next one.
- Each story comes in three levels, using the 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000 most common English words.
- Listen to every story in an American or a British voice.
- New stories come out every day.
MobileWeb
Listen to Podcasts Made for Learners
LearnEnglish Podcast
LearnEnglish Podcast is the British Council's podcast app for English learners. It suits learners who like to listen on the go.
- New episodes every week, on topics from learning tips to the wider world.
- Read the script as you listen, and slow the audio down when a speaker is hard to follow.
- Download episodes to listen offline, and try a short exercise after each one.
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Read and Watch English You Choose
These tools help you learn from shows, videos, books, and web pages you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to English from its library or bring in your own. Its reader highlights the words you haven't met yet and the words you are learning, so you can see what is new on each page.
- Read and listen to English lessons with matching audio and text.
- Import YouTube videos, books, and songs you want to learn from.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Readlang
Readlang helps you read English on the web or in e-books you upload. Its library has a few short starter stories to begin with.
- Click a word or phrase on any web page to see what it means.
- Ask for an AI explanation of a word in its sentence.
- Review the words you look up with flashcards.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Kindle
Learners often suggest the Kindle app for reading English books, because you can look up a word without leaving the page. It suits learners who are ready for real books.
- Tap and hold a word to see its definition in the built-in dictionary.
- Get instant translations as you read.
- Try any book with a free sample.
Mobile
Language Reactor
Language Reactor adds learning tools to the shows and videos you already watch. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- See English subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Look up words in a pop-up dictionary.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
Browser extension
Read Two Languages Side by Side
Beelinguapp
With Beelinguapp, read the English first, then check your own language when you need help. Its BeKids section has stories for children who are learning English.
- Read English beside a language you know.
- Voice actors read the stories, news, and songs as you follow the text.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
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Free Podcasts, Videos, Radio, and Easy News
- BBC Learning English puts out new episodes of Real Easy English, 6 Minute English, The English We Speak, and Learning English from the News every week. Real Easy English is at the easy level, with presenters talking about an everyday topic and explaining the words.
- The British Council's LearnEnglish site has free videos, audio, and texts at different levels.
- SBS Learn English is a free service from Australia's public broadcaster SBS, with podcasts and videos about life in Australia.
- Breaking News English has more than 3,600 free news lessons in seven levels. ELLLO has more than 2,000 free listening lessons, with speakers from over 100 countries.
- ER Central has free texts to read and listen to across 20 levels.
- Easy English makes street interviews with hosts based in Brighton, England, and every episode has English subtitles. Easy Stories in English is a podcast of stories at four levels, from beginner to advanced, each with a transcript.
- Once you are past the beginner stage, try podcasts such as English Learning for Curious Minds, Luke's English Podcast, and All Ears English.
- Simple English Wikipedia uses simple words and grammar, for children and adults who are learning English.
- VOA Learning English reads its stories one-third slower than normal speech. Its newest stories date from March 2025, and the archive is still online.
- For English at full speed, some learners keep BBC Radio 4 or the BBC World Service on in the background, on BBC Sounds.
Learn English in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Language Reactor (Chrome Web Store) and Readlang (its help forum). Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Readable | 17 | Full list |
| News in Levels | 1 | Full list |
| LearnEnglish Podcast | 3 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
| Kindle | 10 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Beelinguapp | 22 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (16)
- ReadleReal news and stories turned into short graded lessons, with grammar tips and flashcards. English is one of its six languages, and it also has a separate app for English news.
- iStoriaMore than 100 graded Oxford stories from beginner to advanced. Tap a word to translate it and hear it in an American or British accent. Its menus are in Arabic and English.
- Oxford Reading ClubDigital graded readers from Oxford University Press, including the Oxford Bookworms Library, with audio and a dictionary. It needs an Oxford Reading Club account.
- LingopieTV shows and movies from Britain and America with dual subtitles. Tap a word for a translation, then review it with flashcards.
- MigakuInteractive subtitles for Netflix and YouTube, with a score that shows how much of a show or page you already know.
- FluentUA library of learner-friendly videos, chosen and annotated by its team, with quizzes on the words.
- CakeShort clips from vlogs, movies, and TV shows, where you learn the slang and idioms people really use and practice saying them.
- VoiceTubeReal English videos, from movies to news, with an AI speaking coach.
- EnglishCentralMore than 30,000 videos on over 50 topics, with live lessons from tutors as well.
- LearnEnglish VideosThe British Council's video app for learners, with interactive scripts and downloads for offline viewing.
- Todaii: Learn EnglishBilingual news at different levels, with one-touch word lookup and IELTS, TOEFL, and TOEIC words marked.
- Level ReadGraded English news in three levels, with audio, tap-to-look-up words, and a short quiz. It is new and growing.
- LangakuPopular Japanese manga in English, made for reading a lot of English. Its menus are in Japanese, Korean, and English.
- Immersive TranslateShows a translation beside the English on web pages, e-books, and video subtitles.
- Printed graded readersSeries such as the Oxford Bookworms Library and Penguin Readers, which learners and teachers often suggest for reading at your level.
- AnkiA flashcard app that many learners use alongside reading and listening.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find English at the right level?
Pick something where you already know almost every word. In one study, readers needed to know about 98 out of 100 words in a story to follow it well. If you stop on almost every line, try something easier.
Should I listen to American or British English?
Pick the kind of English you hear most or want to use. VOA Learning English uses American English, and Luke's English Podcast teaches British English. Our guides to British English and Australian English list more resources for each.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- W3Techs, Usage statistics of content languages for websites
- Hu and Nation (2000), Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension
- VOA Learning English, About
- BBC Learning English
- Bubblegum
- Readable
- News in Levels
- LearnEnglish Podcast
- LingQ
- Readlang
- Kindle
- Language Reactor
- Beelinguapp
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
