5 Best Free Open Source Alternatives To Ling App

Planning to be your own language teacher? Modify and develop your own decks with these 5 publicly accessible software.

There is no denying that language learning is a challenging endeavor. While it is true that there are foreign languages that will only take you 23 weeks to learn, there are others that are exceptionally difficult and may even need at least 88 weeks to master. For this reason, a huge number of language enthusiasts are constantly looking for new resources to make the language learning journey fun, exciting, and less overwhelming. One example of that is the Ling App developed by Simya Solutions.

When it comes to learning 60+ foreign languages, Ling App is quickly becoming the most popular choice due to its distinct gamified features guaranteed to support learners of any level. It is a practical choice since it is available for free and can be accessed through its web version and mobile app.

Given its success, there are a number of fans from the modding community who would love to see what’s under the hood and modify the source code to suit their needs and interests better. However, their whole platform is like a guarded secret and is currently not available to the public.

Luckily, there are tons of available open-source platforms that you can use to create your own project that is somewhat similar to Ling App. While most of these may not directly replicate the whole experience, they at least give you a chance to focus on a specific feature of the Ling App so that you may tailor-fit it to your needs. Read on below to discover our top 5 most recommended alternatives.

There are many good reasons to try using one of these apps. Here are a few of them that might be of use if you want to learn a foreign language. There are many good reasons to use open source language learning resources. The first thing is that these open source learning applications are free, which means that you have more money to spend on other resources. Secondly, open source language learning applications will most likely have a great community support behind them. These are other users you can also help you learn.

 Another benefit is that open source learning applications are great for privacy as they don’t track you and do not send you advertising based on what they know about you. Open source language learning app location has one great benefit end. The typical construction model consists of phrases and sentences that are provided by real life users. This community will be very quick to deliver their opinion on various features as they roll out. You’ll find that these applications are often updated very frequently.

Some of the problems that you might find on using open-source learning apps is that The user interface might not be as comfortable as what you’re used to. you may also need to configure some of these apps to self as they might require some of your own learning material. This might be ideal for some people however it may be a hindrance to others.

When it comes to choosing the level of difficulty you will see that the name brand apps are particularly careful when it comes to the various levels of difficulty. It is the case with these free open source apps that the natural progression of difficulty might be harder than you anticipate. Last week and potentially the most important thing to think of is some apps. Their development if the community decides to move on.

Anki (2006)

Anki has been around for quite a time now and it still remains to be one of the most popular apps due to its seamless flashcard program. It empowers users to create and exchange their decks with anyone for free and it can also be used not just for memorizing vocabulary but also for other topics. This platform is functional in the sense that it has a number of options on how you want the card to be created so that you can increase the probability of retaining learned information for a longer period of time.

The Anki is mainly programmed using Python and Rust and is made available under the GNU Affero General Public 3.0 License. Given its flexible licensing, users are allowed to study, explore, and modify the software. The development for this seems to be continuous as there are about 7 verified releases and about 1.3k forks tracked on GitHub. Some of the benefits of this program is that it has many possibilities due to its content. It supports images, audio files, videos and scientific applications through LaTeX which is designed for scientific documentation. This versatility makes it a great program for learning a language, studying for law or medical exams or even practising musical instruments. 

LibreLingo (2019) 

LibreLingo was brought to life with the goal of creating a language-learning platform that can easily be adapted to the requirements and needs of every user. This language learning platform is owned by the community of users who have the freedom to study, modify and share the software. You can even create your own courses and are encouraged to share them under a free license.  Just like the Ling App, it features spaced repetition and allows you to seamlessly synchronize your learning progress across your devices. 

And speaking of devices, this one can run on your phone, desktop computer, or even your tablet making it a great tool for those who are learning a foreign language on the go. As of writing, this alternative also offers a basic Spanish language course which is pretty interactive and will remind you of how Quizlet and Duolingo works. With this software you can practice language by doing a variety of interactive exercises. 

LibreLingo is mainly programmed by David Kantor using Python, Javascript, and TypeScript and is made available under the GNU Affero General Public 3.0 License. There are about 51 releases for this open-source software and about 103 forks tracked on GitHub. 

Mnemosyne Project (2003) 

If there is one free, open-source software in this list that has the best name then that would definitely be Mnemosyne. This one is named after the Greek goddess of memory known as Mnemosyne. And if you are a language enthusiast, then you must know that the English word “mnemonic” actually came from the same Greek name! 

Based on the name itself, this one is perfect for optimizing your language learning process through the use of flashcards. It makes use of an algorithm where you can manipulate exactly when a specific card should come up for review and how many times you must encounter it during the duration of the session. If you are interested in using it for research purposes, Mnemosyne can be used to track down the level of retention of its users. 

Mnemosyne is developed using C and Python and is licensed under the GNU Library General Public 3.0. Despite being around for more than a decade now, there are only about 7 major releases and the most recent one was just on March 2, 2021. Since parts of the license are private, this is the reason why there are only 47 forks tracked here based on GitHub. 

Memcode (2018) 

Memcode is perfect for those interested in formatting their deck when learning a foreign language. This means that you can add images, gif, or even highlights so that you can create a reviewer that will fit your needs. If you are still on the fence on whether this will work for you, you can try creating your own courses on their website for free and see for yourself how flexible it is. 

If you are skilled in Javascript and CSS, then Memcode is perfect for you! This open-source software originally developed by Evgenia Karunus is made available under the MIT License. Since this is still fresh on the market, there are only 36 forks recorded with about 12 active contributors on GitHub. 

OpenWords (2017)

OpenWorld is a language learning open-source application which allows schools and instructors to create best-in-class foreign language lessons and training modules for different topics. If you are interested in dabbling in CSS, Javascript, HTML, and some Java, then the Openwords created by Marc Bogonovich is what you should definitely check out!

This open-source software is openly licensed and is considered an Open Education Resource. Development for this appears to have slowed down with only 7 forks, 2 main contributors, and no new releases. 

In conclusion, we see that there are many benefits to using these open-source programs. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are some downsides. Such as having the technical difficulties that commonly arise.

Unlike software that is proprietary, most of these kinds of programs don’t offer technical support. Since the software is an effort by many people there is a greater chance that someone might make a mistake. In cases like these fixing the problem can be a chore so keep that in mind if you decide to take advantage of these free open source language learning programs.