You learn to understand a new language by hearing speech you can mostly follow, again and again.
The apps below give you that in different forms: lessons that ask you to answer out loud, podcasts paced for learners, and real shows and songs with subtitles.
Lessons You Can Read and Hear
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is the best app for serious learners. You learn from text and audio you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes every Bubblegum lesson to match your level, so you hear sentences you can mostly follow. Pick a topic you like, such as football or cooking, and the next lesson you hear is about it.
For real shows and music, try the apps near the end of this page.
- Slow the audio down when a line goes by too fast, or speed it up.
- Follow the words on screen while you listen, and tap one you missed.
- Ask Poppy about a line you heard but couldn't catch.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- It doesn't play TV shows, podcasts, or songs.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, 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
Audio Lessons You Answer Out Loud
In these lessons, a voice asks you to say something, you answer, and then you hear the right answer.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur lessons are audio you answer by speaking, built around vocabulary, pronunciation, and speaking skills.
- Lessons play offline and in a hands-free mode, even in the car.
MobileWeb
Language Transfer
Each Language Transfer course is a recording of a real lesson that you join in on. Its courses include Spanish, Greek, Swahili, Arabic, and Turkish, and you don't need to sign up or pay.
- Pause the track, think, and say your answer out loud.
- Download tracks in the app and keep listening with your phone locked.
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika trains you one sentence at a time: you listen, repeat it, and record yourself. Glossika teaches more than 60 languages, and spaced repetition brings each sentence back just before you'd forget it.
- Switch to Listening-only mode for practice without tapping.
- Get lessons picked for your level and the topics you care about.
MobileWeb
Podcasts and Stories for Learners
These shows are made for people learning a language, and transcripts or word lists come with them.
News in Slow Spanish
News in Slow Spanish reads the news at a pace made for learners, from absolute beginner to advanced. The same team also makes weekly programs in French, Italian, and German.
- Each episode has a transcript with English translations in context.
- Switch to another level at any time at no extra cost.
MobileWeb
Fluent Fiction
Fluent Fiction is a story podcast in 36 languages, from Afrikaans and Irish to Thai and Welsh.
- After each story, you hear it again sentence by sentence, switching between your new language and English.
- Every episode comes with a word list and a transcript.
MobileWeb
Jiveworld
Jiveworld is for intermediate learners and up. Its Spanish stories come from the podcast Radio Ambulante, and its English stories come from shows such as This American Life and The Moth.
- X-Ray Script shows only the hardest words while you listen.
- Soundbites are short challenges built around a clip from a longer story.
MobileWeb
Shows, Videos, and Songs
These apps bring in TV, video, and music, with subtitles you can tap or lyrics you fill in.
Lingopie
Lingopie's library has more than 5,000 TV shows, plus music, podcasts, and books, across 15 languages. It runs on phones and on TVs, including Roku and Fire TV.
- Tap a word in the subtitles for a translation, and it's saved for review.
- Practice the words you met with video flashcards and games.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Dreaming Spanish
Dreaming Spanish comes from Dreaming, which also makes Dreaming French. Its videos are made so you can follow them from your first day, and its app has no vocabulary lists or grammar drills.
- Start with very simple videos, then move on to vlogs and documentaries as you improve.
- Pick a teacher whose videos cover what you like, such as cooking, travel, or science.
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
On a Windows or Mac computer, Language Reactor puts two sets of subtitles under a Netflix show, one in each language.
- Choose from thousands of YouTube channels on any topic.
Browser extension
LingoClip
LingoClip, also called LyricsTraining, teaches 13 languages with songs, movie clips, and talks.
- Fill in the missing words of a song while its video plays.
- Press and hold a word to look it up or translate it.
MobileWeb
How Many Languages Each Listening App Covers
| App | Languages to Hear | Menu Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 60 | 74 |
| Pimsleur | 50+ | 3 |
| Language Transfer | 9 | Not listed |
| Glossika | 60+ | 2 |
| News in Slow Spanish | 4 | 1 |
| Fluent Fiction | 36 | 1 |
| Jiveworld | 2 | 1 |
| Lingopie | 15 | 6 |
| Dreaming Spanish | 1 | 1 |
| Language Reactor | Not listed | 27 |
| LingoClip | 13 | 1 |
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- Innovative Language 101Audio and video lessons in more than 35 languages, from the makers of JapanesePod101 and its sister sites.
- BeelinguappAudiobooks with the text scrolling along in time, next to a translation in your language.
- ReadleA short podcast where two hosts go through one real story sentence by sentence and then retell the whole thing.
Common Questions
Which listening app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning a language, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Language Transfer if you'd like free audio lessons that explain things as they go, or with Dreaming Spanish if you'd rather watch very simple videos.
How often do these apps add new audio?
News in Slow Spanish adds new episodes every week, and Readle's story podcast has a new episode every other day. Fluent Fiction Plus brings new episodes every day.
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 your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Bubblegum: Every language you can learn
- Pimsleur: Home page (Voice Coach, All Access, 50+ languages)
- Pimsleur: List of languages (30-minute lessons)
- Pimsleur: App Store listing (offline and hands-free modes, 3 menu languages)
- Language Transfer: Free courses
- Language Transfer: Home page
- Language Transfer: Google Play listing
- Glossika: Home page (over 60 languages, Listening-only mode)
- Glossika: App Store listing (2 menu languages)
- News in Slow Spanish: Spanish listening practice
- News in Slow (Linguistica 360): App Store listing (1 menu language)
- Fluent Fiction: Home page
- Fluent Fiction: App Store listing (36 languages, 1 menu language)
- Jiveworld: Home page
- Jiveworld: App Store listing (1 menu language)
- Lingopie: TV shows and movies in 15 languages
- Lingopie: App Store listing (6 menu languages)
- Dreaming: Immersive language learning
- Dreaming Spanish: Series and subjects
- Dreaming: App Store listing (1 menu language)
- Language Reactor: Chrome Web Store listing (27 languages)
- LingoClip: Learn languages with music
- LingoClip: App Store listing (13 languages, 1 menu language)
- Innovative Language: Home page
- Beelinguapp: App Store listing
- Readle: Home page (story podcast)
- Bubblegum
- Fluent Fiction
- Lingopie
- Language Reactor
Checked on October 15, 2026 against each app's own pages.
