Bubblegum is the only app we found with lessons in the English spoken in South Africa. uTalk sells seven English courses, and South African English is not one of them. Other English apps teach American or British English, so the South African words and accent come from Bubblegum or from people. This page compares the apps and says how each one sounds. For a free dictionary and more ways to practice, read our Best Ways to Learn South African English.
English is one of the 12 official languages of South Africa. The spelling is British, so you write colour and centre, and prices are in rand. Afrikaans is a separate language, and our Afrikaans app comparison covers it.
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 South African 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 why a robot on a road is a traffic light, not a machine.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking. To practice speaking, try a tutor or partner in Practice With People From South Africa.
- Lessons are in South African English, read aloud by voices with Cape Town English accents.
- Lessons use rand for prices and everyday local words, like braai, when a scene calls for them.
- 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 everyday South African English. They don't cover every regional accent or the way each home-language group speaks.
- 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
Preply
On Preply you pick the tutor, so you pick the accent. Choose a tutor born in South Africa and practice a call to a landlord or a chat in a meeting.
- Filter English tutors by country of birth.
- Filter tutors by the other languages they speak.
MobileWeb
italki
italki lists teachers by where they're from. Tell your teacher which city you're moving to, and ask what people there say for a pickup truck or running shoes.
- Choose an English teacher from South Africa.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
Tandem
Tandem's page for English in Cape Town says 172 English speakers there want to practice, and it also points to Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein. You hear everyday talk, but there is no lesson plan.
- Find language partners who live in Cape Town.
- Trade voice notes, or talk over video.
MobileWeb
Rosetta Stone has American and British English courses and calls its English clear, standard English. Drops and Memrise teach British English. None of their pages mention South African English. Use them for general English, which already has British spelling, and then add Bubblegum or a tutor from South Africa for words like takkies, which is the South African word for sports shoes.
| 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. |
| 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 |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which South African 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 a tutor on Preply or italki if you want to talk with someone from South Africa from your first week.
Which accent will I learn from an app?
Bubblegum's lessons are read by AI voices with Cape Town English accents. Rosetta Stone, Drops, and Memrise teach American or British English, and a tutor or partner teaches you their own accent.
Is there a South African English course on uTalk?
No. uTalk's store lists American, Australian, British, Canadian, Cockney, Indian, and Scottish English, and no South African English.
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: South African English
- uTalk: English courses in the store (no South African English course)
- Preply: English tutors (country of birth filter)
- italki: English teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Tandem: Learn English in Cape Town
- Rosetta Stone: Learn English (American and British English courses)
- Drops: Learn British English
- Memrise: British English course
- South African Government: South Africa's people (12 official languages)
- Wiktionary: robot (South Africa, traffic light)
- Wiktionary: bakkie
- Wiktionary: takkie
- 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)
- Bubblegum
- Tandem
