European Day of Languages 2018: Best apps for learning a language on the go

The children are back in school and there's more parents on the tube in the morning.

Make the most of gridlocked bus journeys by gaining a new skill — these are the best apps for learning a language.

Duolingo

The best-known language app — for good reason. There are 19 language courses for native English speakers and it’s all gamified, so you gain a virtual currency as you build your skills.

Free, iOS and Android

Memrise

Memrise’s focus is on repetition and memorising. If you practice words and phrases correctly you gain leaves and petals until you have grown a full flower.

Free, iOS and Android

Tandem

This one lets you talk to other people around the world to help learn each other’s language and share culture.

Free, Android

Léa Knows

This app saves every translation you make and turns them into flash cards which you can categorise: choose which ones you want to reference regularly, archive or delete.

Free, iOS and Android

Busuu​

Learn a language in just 10 minutes a day. After 22 hours on the app you’ll have done the equivalent of one college semester, according to scientists at City University of New York. It’s erfect for the Tube: just download your lessons and learn with Offline Mode.

Free, iOS and Android

Google Translate

Don't forget Google Translate. Google says its language translation platform now translates about 143 billion words every single day, and it can be a godsend when you're on holiday and can't remember the right word for something.

Free, iOS and Android