Two apps we found teach the English spoken in Scotland: Bubblegum and uTalk. They work in different ways, and the rest of the English apps teach American or British English. This page compares them and says how each one sounds. For free classes in Scotland and BBC radio, read our Best Ways to Learn Scottish English.
Scottish English is English as people speak it in Scotland. Scots and Scottish Gaelic are separate languages, and Scotland's 2022 census counted skills in each one on its own. This page is only about English.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn English. You learn from English you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Scottish English lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
Ask Poppy when someone would say wee instead of small.
- Lessons are in Scottish English, read aloud by voices picked for Glasgow English.
- Lessons use British spellings and a Scottish word like wee when a speaker would say it.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons teach standard Scottish English, so they don't teach Scots or Scottish Gaelic.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk offers English (Scottish) next to its American, British, Australian, Canadian, Cockney and Indian English courses. Its Scottish page starts with greetings and moves on to topics like food and drink, travel and family. It also says Scottish English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic are three separate courses, so choose the English one.
- A separate Scottish English course, recorded by native Scottish speakers.
- Its page says the course takes you to A1–A2.
MobileWeb
Preply
On Preply you pick the tutor, so you pick the accent. Ask for practice with the chats you'll have soon, like a call to a letting agent.
- Use the country of birth filter to look for English tutors from Scotland.
- Filter tutors by the other languages they speak.
MobileWeb
italki
On italki, tell your teacher which city you're moving to, so the examples fit your life there.
- Choose an English teacher by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
Tandem
You hear how people really talk, but there is no lesson plan, so pair it with lessons from Bubblegum or uTalk.
- Tandem has a page for English in Edinburgh.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video.
MobileWeb
Rosetta Stone has American and British English courses and says it teaches clear, standard English. Drops and Memrise have British English courses. Their pages don't mention Scottish English, so use them for general English and take the accent from a Scottish source. That could be Bubblegum's Glasgow-voiced lessons, uTalk's recordings, or a tutor from Scotland.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. |
| uTalk | Some lessons free | Every language has free starter words, and getting full marks in the games opens one more topic for free. For the rest, you subscribe or buy a language or topic. |
| Preply | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each tutor sets their own price. If your first tutor isn't a good fit, you can try two more for free. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| Tandem | Free version | Signing up is free, and Tandem reviews each new member first. Many features are free, and Tandem Pro gives you all of them. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which Scottish English app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning English, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with uTalk if you'd like to learn everyday Scottish words and phrases first.
Which accent will I learn from an app?
With Bubblegum, voices picked for Glasgow English read each lesson. With uTalk you hear native Scottish speakers, and with Rosetta Stone, Drops, or Memrise you learn American or British English. With Preply, italki, or Tandem you learn your tutor's or partner's accent.
Is Scottish English the same as Scots?
No. A bairn is a child in Scottish English, but Scots has its own grammar and words and is a separate language. Scotland's 2022 census found that 46.2% of people aged 3 and over had some skills in Scots, and 2.5% had some skills in Gaelic.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Bubblegum: Scottish English
- uTalk: Learn English (Scotland), recorded by native speakers
- uTalk: English courses in the store
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Tandem: Learn English in Edinburgh
- Rosetta Stone: Learn English (American and British English courses)
- Drops: Learn British English
- Memrise: British English course
- Wiktionary: wee (Scotland, Ireland, northern England)
- Wiktionary: bairn (Scotland, northern England)
- Scotland's Census 2022: Gaelic and Scots skills
- italki: what's free
- Tandem: what's free
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Tandem: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
- Bubblegum
- uTalk
- Tandem
