The great news is it is no longer necessary to enrol in expensive language classes. Smartphone technology has opened up the whole learning process making it more flexible, easier to access and faster.  Whether you are just looking to learn basic everyday phrases or full immersion there is an app to suit; here are five of the best to get you started.

Busuu

Busuu offers full language courses with the added bonus of being able to converse with native speakers.  Learners can master reading, writing, listening and speaking skills for English, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.  Free and Premium versions are available with the Premium version offering bonus extras including quizzes and official certificates, travel courses, an offline mode, grammar exercises, a vocabulary trainer and the option to switch languages.  Busuu is available on the web and has downloadable apps for iPhone and Android devices.

Living Language

Living Language uses proven learning techniques originally developed for the US State Department.  It follows a four stage approach including building a solid foundation of essential words and phrases, advancing to full conversations, recall practise and development of practical language skills.  Aimed at serious learners, this is a paid service available in various formats and lengths of study time.  Over 20 languages are catered for with vocabulary, grammar, audio and cultural aspects available.

Memrise

Great for visual learners, the Memrise app features an array of categories containing user generated flash cards.  The flash cards use various graphics and humorous images to help with the learning process.  Different modules are provided for beginner through to advanced levels with over 200 languages available to choose from.  Memrise is free to use and is available on the web and has downloadable apps for iPhone and Android devices.

Duolingo

Duolingo is a free user-friendly site that uses a mixture of reading, writing, listening and speaking to teach the chosen language.  Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Dutch, Irish, Danish, and Swedish languages are on offer at various levels.  Study is presented in a fun way with points awarded for completing lessons and the use of goal achievement motivational methods.  There is the option to study multiple languages simultaneously and a handy website translation feature.

Babbel

Babbel focuses on learning by repetition.  An emphasis is placed on common phrases needed to start having real life everyday conversations.  Supplied via a modest monthly subscription, learners can choose from a list of individual language apps and easily monitor progress with pre-set goals tracking your achievements.  Babbel is available on the go via downloadable apps for iPhone and Android devices and also over the web.

The benefits of learning a second language have been well documented, these easy to use apps available on the go mean in as little as ten minutes a day you can be well on your way to achieving great results.  Now there is no excuse – why not give it a go today!

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Code Academy. Code Academy offers a wide range of interactive coding lessons, designed to take you from start to finish through a number of different languages. The focus is on web coding, such as HTML and CSS, Javascript, jQuery and PHP. These will take you through learning to make a website or interactive website that looks good and functions well. The lessons not only teach but test – checking that the new knowledge is staying on board.

Code.org. Code.org offers a short entry-level free course for younger learners, using popular characters to help kids understand the ideas behind coding, so that when they come to a programing language it makes more sense to them. There are also courses for beginners that can be accessed on mobile and tablet devices, making it easy to learn on the go.

Code School. Using screencasts and recorded video lessons, Code School takes you through a number of challenges that can be solved through coding. Challenges are a great way to test new knowledge and understand how things really work. You can take a number of paths that lead to a full coding knowledge, such a Ruby, Javascript and HTML/CSS.

ALISON. For those wanting more in-depth or advanced learning, ALISON provides a range of courses in languages such as C Programming, allowing you to learn more skills and work on much larger projects. Some courses mimic a diploma course, giving you a framework for your new knowledge.

Code Avengers. With a focus on gaining skills for creating technology and working for modern technology companies, Code Avengers is perfect for those looking to branch out into a new job or become their own boss.

Learning how to code online is easy with a wide variety of free learning resources that offer tutorials, explanations and plenty of opportunities to put your knowledge to the test.

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Harvard Essay Structure Guide. One of the hardest parts about writing an essay is figuring out how to structure it and decide what you want to write about – what your argument is, how best to present it and where the optimal place to explain each idea is. This comprehensive guide from Harvard focuses on how to get the substance of your essay in good shape by creating an essay map that takes into account what the reader of the essay will be looking for as they read it. The marker will be looking for you to follow a comprehensive, fluid format.

Purdue MLA Formatting Guide. Formatting an essay can be a bit intimidating at first – there are specific guides that must be followed, ranging from spacing to referencing material. If you don’t follow these conventions, you’ll be marked down. It may seem unnecessarily pedantic, but it’s to ensure that the marker is understanding your work correctly. This guide by Purdue tells you everything you need to know about formatting your essay, including how to set up the paper and make quotations.

EasyBib. Formatting the bibliography is a notoriously frustrating part of creating an academic essay. EasyBib lets you enter the name, author and format (including websites and journals) of your source and automatically generates a bibliographic entry for you, which you can then simply copy and paste into the bibliography page of your essay.

Getting a handle on an academic writing style takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find it easy to create professional-sounding prose and to structure your thoughts and ideas correctly. 

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Coursera Introduction to Finance. This free online course is instructed by a professor from the University of Michigan, in which students will learn about essential concepts of valuation – how to create value from assets using both theory and real-world examples. Although some principles will apply more to business owners, time, money and risk are all factors everyone must consider at some stage in their lives.

OpenLearn Managing My Money. Over a 24 hour course, students will learn how to manage all aspects of their personal finance including budgeting, debts, investments, pensions, property buying and insurance. The information and statistics are all constantly updated (albeit aimed at UK users) so that the advice is current and relevant to you. The key focus is on you – managing the money that will affect you the most. If you’re finding it hard to cover the bills every week or are dealing with debt that doesn’t seem to get paid off, this is an excellent course.

Open2Study Financial Literacy. Financial literacy is the general term for understanding what money terms mean, and two professors from Macquarie University offer this course to not only help understand but also plan and set goals. Setting up a plan for your money, following through and seeing the results is all part of true financial competence – and once you understand the concepts involved, it becomes a fun challenge rather than a struggle.

If you feel like your finances are something beyond your control, a course in financial literacy could help give you confidence. It’s a skill we use every single day that impacts our entire lives, so it makes sense to be as proficient as possible.

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There are a number of online resources for learning to cook, which make it easy to replicate the techniques in your own home.

AllRecipes How To Videos. Cooking involves a number of techniques that can be difficult to understand and replicate if you’ve never seen them before. Cooking videos are a great way to get a step-by-step view of the process so that you fully understand how to complete a task. The videos at AllRecipes span from the basics such as cutting a mango or frying eggs, through to entire recipes such as devilled eggs and pies.

NY Times Technique Videos. These technique videos from the New York Times take you through the steps for more complicated or fancy cooking techniques, such as poaching an egg, making a roux, or caramelizing onions. These are perfect for if you’ve already mastered the basics but want to upgrade your retinue further.

Chef2Chef Cooking School. This online class provides a huge range of courses that are designed to take you through the preparation and creation of many different dishes. You can start as a total novice and work your way through sequentially, or you can simply jump in wherever you feel like you need an extra lesson. Each course contains 5 manageable daily lessons so you can gradually build up your skills, and begin to apply your new knowledge to your everyday cooking.

Rouxbe Cooking School. Whether you’re a professional chef, home cook or interested in health and wellness, Rouxbe has specialised cooking lessons for you to undertake. The idea is to give students the knowledge and understanding to be able to create recipes of their own design based on the ingredients they already have on hand.

Cooking is an important skill to learn, and not everyone has time to attend a dedicated cooking class. Whatever your skill level, you’ll find an online resource that allows you to improve and practice at your own pace.

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Open Study

There are a number of subject study groups available, such as:

• Maths
• Physics
• History
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Computer Science

And many more. The way it works is that you first sign up with a username, profile and information about your study/credentials. From there, you can pose a question about your subject that you’re struggling with, and other users will come and answer this for you and offer different ideas and discussion. You can reward people who give particularly helpful answers by giving them medals, which shows how active they are in the community. Alternatively if you have insight to share, you can browse questions and offer answers in return. By giving and sharing, you get to participate in a community while learning at the same time.

Open Study is backed by a number of partnerships, such as with MIT, NYU, CNN and The Chronicle. It’s created and maintained by a team dedicated to free learning, with the believe that everyone is entitled to fair knowledge. Fun and friendly, it’s a warm positive environment to improve your skills and gain new insights.

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Pixelovely. One of the most crucial skills for an artist to develop is life drawing – that is, drawing the human figure. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in drawing people, it’s a great way to practice drawing from life, and human figures are complex yet familiar enough that they provide a good level of challenge. Pixelovely allows you to select whether you wish to draw nude or clothed models, how long each pose will be and how long the overall session is. There are also other tools for hand practice, animal practice and facial expression practice. It’s perfect for getting into the habit of drawing exercises each day.

DrawSpace. For those who want a little more structure and different lesson plans, DrawSpace provides tutorials from beginner to advanced, for both realism and more cartoonish styles. Start with simple skills such as sketching and contouring, then move onto shading and rendering and eventually colour. Ideal for those who are have never drawn before and need some help knowing where to start.

Drawing Factory. If you’re looking for reference material and advice rather than rigidly structured lessons, Drawing Factory offers tips and professional instruction in a range of areas that you can browse at your own pace and pick out what you need. Some people learn better with visual guidance, and for this there are a number of tutorial videos where artists record their progress and show you step-by-step how they create their work. You can also submit drawings you’ve completed with the help of their guides, to show what you’ve learned.

Learning to draw can be daunting if you’ve never done it before, but it can be very relaxing and satisfying. The key is to practice every day, and to focus on drawing the things that interest you.

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Study materials are provided at the start of the course in a digital format, and are produced uniquely for each course by the lecturer who will be teaching you, so that it fits with their teaching style exactly. This is then supplemented by a world-class digital library system, with over 870,000 books and even more articles and journals. These can be browsed and downloaded digitally and used as resources for essays and assignments, so in many ways it’s even more convenient than a physical library system. However, there may be some books missing from this collection, and in these cases you can have the physical copy delivered to you for free.

One of the downsides of distance learning is not having regular face time with lecturers and other students. To make up for this, the online learning environment Stream has been developed, allowing you to share ideas with fellow students and the lecturer. This takes place in forums and discussion boards, and it’s also a hub for all the resources and information you need about the course.

Some courses also offer on-campus options, giving an opportunity for face-to-face tuition and explanation. The learning period is highly concentrated and focused, and can range from a few days to several weeks – on campuses with accommodation available, though you may need to organise this for yourself. During this time the course will cover essential skills that require either active instruction or specialised equipment only found at the university.

Distance Learning at Massey University adapts their top quality courses for distance learning, giving you the same options and opportunities as on-campus students.

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Like a traditional “offline” polytechnic, courses require a set attendance and enrolment (as opposed to other online courses where you can basically pick and choose when you want to attend and complete the lessons), so it’s definitely a commitment. However, this also gives you set goals and responsibilities, which makes it easier to stay on track and keep your progress up. It also gives structure to those who aren’t sure of the specific skills they need to learn, but know which area they want to go into.

There is a truly comprehensive range of subjects, and because it’s based in New Zealand they translate directly to the current industries and workplaces here. There is a big focus on practical skills such as construction and trades, education and IT and computing, and each one has a range of sub-courses and papers to choose from.

The qualifications gained come at a range of different levels, from certificates through to full Bachelor of Arts degrees such as with the social science and humanities courses. This makes it a very satisfying option for those looking for a real certification in addition to just acquiring some new skills and knowledge.

The biggest strength of the Open Polytech is that it is a specially designed online learning course, nothing about it has been adapted from regular courses and made to fit. It’s completely tailored for distance learning, and all the lecturers have experience and understanding of the challenges of this. This makes it a good choice for those making a serious educational investment.

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One of the largest subject areas is coding, design and development. Courses such as Android programming in Java, becoming a certified web developer and building iPhone apps are all very popular. One thing users may notice is that there can be multiple courses on the same topic – this is because multiple instructors can run the same course, and it’s up to students to decide which one would suit their learning needs best. It also means instructors have to be a little bit competitive and try to offer the best course possible.

Pricing varies from course to course, and it’s up to the instructors to decide how much they want to charge for their services. Some are free, while others range from USD$100-300. This allows you to choose one that fits your budget, and of course because there are so many different course providers the prices do have to be a little bit competitive, which is good news for prospective students. You can also view how many people are enrolled in a course, to give you an overview of whether it’s popular or not, as well as reviews by those who have previously completed it. Courses offer a certificate of completion, and the course information page will tell you whether it’s accessible for iPhone, iPad and Android – making it a little easier for those who lead busy lives.

The courses themselves are made up mainly of videos, with some quizzes and activities to check you’re retaining what you’re learning. This can make it easy to be a little bit passive, so it’s important that learners push themselves to make notes, create their own exercises and go back and re-watch any passages they didn’t understand.

Udemy is a simple and practical way to undertake comprehensive courses that often lead you through a subject or skill from start to finish.

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