Free English learning apps and websites: skills, free limits and a one-week plan
Published
To study English for free, combine a vocabulary tool such as AnkiDroid or Duolingo with short listening resources from ELLLO, reading from British Council and basic writing practice from Write & Improve. Separate genuinely free resources, ad-supported access, usage limits and time-limited trials, then leave time to say a sentence yourself. Free material does not mean unlimited tutoring, correction or spontaneous conversation.
Compare free access before choosing
Checked 15 October 2026. This is a role-based shortlist, not a ranking. We inspected official descriptions and official store listings; we did not install third-party apps, create accounts or measure their usability or correction quality. Availability, interface language and payment terms can vary by country. StudySwitch is a Japanese-language example, not a claim of an English-interface alternative everywhere.
| Service | Skill | Provider | App/site | What is free | Paid boundary | Update/status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AnkiDroid | Vocabulary | AnkiDroid Open Source Team | Android | Custom cards and review; no ads flag on Play | Donations; iOS AnkiMobile is a separate paid app | Play 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-15 |
| Duolingo | Vocabulary/basics | Duolingo | App/site | Free courses, ads; extra functions vary | Super/Max | Play 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-15 |
| ELLLO | Listening | ELLLO (independent developer) | Site | Free public lessons; ads not established | Separate courses linked; price unverified | Site accessible; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| Randall’s ESL Lab | Listening | Randall’s ESL Lab (independent developer) | Site | Free, supported by ads | No paid learner tier stated on checked page | Site accessible; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| English Pronunciation Training | Pronunciation | StudySwitch | App, Japanese | Free exercises with ads | No paid tier stated on checked listing | Play 2025-11-17 | 2026-10-15 |
| Cambridge pronunciation | Pronunciation | Cambridge University Press & Assessment | Site | Public word audio/IPA; ads unverified | No paid division established for this page | Official search listing checked; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| Speechling | Speaking | Speechling | App/site | Curriculum, audio, recording comparison; English excluded from free coaching | Unlimited from US$19.99/month | Pricing accessible; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| Cake | Speaking | Cake Corp. | App | Free video/audio practice, ads and limits | Plus: no ads, unlimited hearts and more | Play 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-15 |
| SpeakGain | Your own sentence | SpeakGain（自社） | App | Initial two-week free Pro trial (official pricing page); no ongoing free allowance listed | Subscription; Japan reference ¥980/month or ¥9,800/year, store price prevails | Official site accessible; Japanese price notice 2026-08-19 | 2026-10-15 |
| LearnEnglish Reading | Reading | British Council | Site | Public reading and exercises | Paid teaching/courses separate | Site accessible; section edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| News in Levels | Reading | English in Levels | Site | Public articles/audio; ads | No paid reading tier stated on checked web page | Article dated 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-15 |
| Write & Improve | Writing | Cambridge University Press & Assessment | Site | Basic tasks/automatic feedback; usable without registration | +Test Zone exam practice separate | Site accessible; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
| Purdue OWL | Writing | Purdue University | Site | Public writing guides, not personal correction | No learner paid tier stated on checked page | Site accessible; edit date unstated | 2026-10-15 |
App dates refer to official Google Play listings, including AnkiDroid and Duolingo. Site accessible means the official page could be retrieved, not that every function was tested. Cambridge’s pronunciation content was available in its official search listing; direct retrieval was restricted. No stated paid tier does not prove that no paid product exists. Unverified ads does not mean ad-free. SpeakGain is our own product and is assessed under the same budget rule.
A week using free resources only
Editorial plan: use a browser and paper notes. No premium trial, paid coaching or premium downloads are needed. Fifteen minutes is an example allocation, not a promise of a proficiency gain; connection and device costs are separate.
| Day | Free resource | Example 15-minute task | Keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | ELLLO + paper | Listen to one short, easy lesson; check its text; choose three useful words | Words and a situation |
| Tue | The same lesson | Listen again; cover the notes; say one short sentence | One difficult part |
| Wed | LearnEnglish Reading | Read a manageable text and answer its questions | One main point |
| Thu | Paper + your voice | Write a sentence about your own life; say it with and without looking | Your sentence |
| Fri | Write & Improve basic free tasks | Write briefly, inspect automatic feedback and revise one point | What you changed and why |
| Sat | ELLLO + this week’s notes | Revisit the audio; say your sentence; change one word if useful | One variation |
| Sun | Your notes | Explain without reading; choose what to revisit next week | One resource and a review sentence |
Write & Improve officially permits unregistered use; a profile supports saving. We did not submit writing during this research. If you miss a day, our suggestion is to resume with the previous sentence rather than double the next session. The aim is a repeatable routine, not completing six skills in seven days.
Four meanings of “free”
Free app or public material: the specified resource has no usage charge. Keep separate platforms and courses separate: free AnkiDroid on Android does not make the official iOS AnkiMobile free. Ad-supported: Duolingo and Randall’s explain how ads help fund access. Ads alone do not establish material quality; consider whether interruptions prevent the practice you need.
Usage or feature limits: saving, lessons or convenience features may require payment. Cake lists unlimited hearts and ad removal as Plus benefits; we do not invent a universal daily free quota. Time-limited trial: a paid product is available temporarily. SpeakGain’s Japanese official terms describe an initial two-week trial followed by an automatically renewing subscription. We exclude it from the free-only week. Record the end date, renewal price and cancellation route before accepting any trial.
Vocabulary: prepared lessons or your own words?
Free tools can introduce basic words and help you return to words you chose. AnkiDroid’s manual describes creating cards, adding media and choosing a review response; it is not a promise of a complete ready-made English syllabus. Duolingo offers free courses supported by advertising and subscriptions.
Editorial judgment, based on official information: choose AnkiDroid when you know what to save; consider Duolingo when deciding what to study is the obstacle. Do not turn every unfamiliar word into a card: entering material can crowd out reading and using it. Start with three useful words and one sentence. For exam books and other choices, see our vocabulary app comparison.
Listening: choose a short recording you can check
Free audio is more useful for this routine when you can return to a transcript. ELLLO describes free lessons, most with text, vocabulary and quizzes; its FAQ explains access without a lesson paywall or login. Randall’s organizes listening by difficulty and includes activities before and after listening. Its FAQ explains ad support and prohibits downloading its audio.
Editorial judgment: consider ELLLO for selecting short conversations, Randall’s for question-led practice. You do not need both every day; use one lesson twice. See listening apps, learning podcasts and, when you want to follow the audio aloud, shadowing materials.
Pronunciation: hearing a model and checking your voice differ
Free practice can begin by hearing one word and repeating it in a sentence. StudySwitch’s Japanese listing describes free practice, model audio, tips and automatic checking, with ads. It is a Japanese-reader option. Cambridge’s public pronunciation page describes UK/US human-recorded word audio and phonetic transcriptions; it is not a diagnosis of your own recording.
Editorial judgment: use word audio when you need a model; consider guided exercises when you need a sequence. Avoid making one machine score your entire goal. Compare feedback and recording formats in our pronunciation app guide.
Speaking: repetition, comparison and conversation are different jobs
You can say a model sentence and adapt it without buying a conversation subscription. Speechling’s pricing includes curriculum, recorded models and side-by-side voice comparison in its free offer. English is excluded from the ten free monthly coaching sessions. Its guide requires login before recording; we did not create an account or submit audio.
Cake’s official listing describes free video/audio and speaking practice, with ads and paid Plus benefits. SpeakGain describes keeping your own English sentence with generated audio, explanations and review. The official pricing page describes an initial two-week Pro trial and does not list an ongoing free allowance.
Editorial judgment: Speechling for prepared sentence comparison, Cake for a video-led starting point, SpeakGain for considering a personal sentence workflow within its verified subscription terms. We do not put our own product first or describe it here as a scoring/correction service. Choose a different practice format if you need unscripted replies; see conversation apps.
Reading: manageable length before difficult headlines
LearnEnglish Reading provides level-organized texts and tasks from A1 to C1; paid classes are separate. News in Levels offers short news at three levels with audio. Its own three bands are not assumed to equal CEFR levels.
Editorial judgment: choose LearnEnglish for everyday texts and questions, News in Levels for reading one news topic at different difficulties. Say one reported fact and one personal reaction separately. Our learner news guide covers more choices and update checks.
Writing: automatic feedback or a guide to consult?
Write & Improve describes free basic tasks, automatic feedback and revision, usable without registration. Its IELTS Test Zone is a separate paid product. Purdue OWL provides writing resources; its official support page explains keeping resources free. It is a guide library, not personal diary correction.
Editorial judgment: use basic Write & Improve tasks to write and revise; consult OWL when you want to understand a writing convention. English-language instructions can burden a beginner, so begin with a short task. Identify one change before rewriting, rather than copying every suggestion without checking meaning. Grammar choices can help if sentence structure is the difficulty.
For a short diary routine, compare English diary and writing apps by correction method and free access.
How we would connect free study to speaking
Editorial opinion: choose one place to find material and one place to keep a sentence. Paper is sufficient. After a lesson about routines, write something about your own life. Our original example is I review a few English words after lunch. It means you go back over a small number of words after your midday meal. Adapt the action or time rather than copying a resource’s sentence.
Say it once while looking, then cover it and answer “What do you do after lunch?” Return to the difficult part and try the same situation tomorrow. This checks recall of a sentence, not spontaneous conversational ability. If considering SpeakGain, check the trial end date and ongoing price first; the free-only alternative remains paper and your voice.
The sentence workflow we actually checked in SpeakGain
We created this one original sentence through Add, opened Knowledge in Library and selected Learn this card. The observed study flow began in Listening with the sentence hidden: listen, say your best guess aloud, then use Reveal answer to see the English. The meaning-cue recall exercise above is our separate editorial suggestion, not an invented in-app question. We did not record, score or submit anything for correction.
AI-generated Viking practice audio, not a human recording. The same sentence and single audio file are reused across all languages.
Methods we do not recommend
Installing many free apps at once: choosing between apps and entering material can take the time meant for practice. Add a tool only when you can name the missing job. Trials without an end-date note: the renewal period and bill are easy to overlook. Keep time-limited trials out of a strictly free routine.
Only saving or chasing scores: neither establishes that you can recall the sentence. Say it without reading. Republishing free material: free access is not permission to redistribute text or audio; follow provider terms and use original public examples.
FAQ
Can I learn to speak with free tools alone?
You can start learning expressions, listening, repeating and saying your own short sentences. Price alone does not establish speaking ability. Turn-taking and being understood need their own practice; this plan guarantees no level or fluency outcome.
Should I avoid apps with ads?
Not automatically. Our criterion is whether you can concentrate and finish the free task. We did not measure ad frequency or wait times.
What happens after a free trial?
Check the official renewal and cancellation terms before registering. A free download is not proof of permanent free study; SpeakGain’s Japanese terms describe automatic renewal after its trial.
What should parents check?
Age suitability, ads, purchases and interaction with other people. Easy English is not necessarily child-appropriate content. The checked StudySwitch Play listing displayed 17+; we do not recommend it indiscriminately to children.
How many tools do I need?
Our starting suggestion is one resource plus somewhere to write. Six skills do not require six installations.
Can I use them offline?
It depends. AnkiDroid’s manual covers local cards and optional synchronization. Free websites are not automatically available offline; Randall’s FAQ does not permit audio downloads.
Is SpeakGain part of the permanently free plan?
No. The official pricing page describes an initial two-week Pro trial and does not list an ongoing free allowance. Paper notes let you begin without a subscription trial.
Final editorial verdict
Start with a short public lesson, write one original sentence and say it without looking. Keep using free access if it covers the job; you do not need a reason to pay. When you need personal correction, more conversation or specific material, compare that exact gap. Our own product faces the same test. For the wider routine, see how to study English.