What mobile apps could you use to learn Luxembourgish?

If learning Luxembourgish is one of your New Year's resolutions, you might wonder how to get beyond "Moien" quickly and efficiently and get ready for the "Sproochtest" which is needed to be passed in order to acquire the Luxembourgish nationality.

While we might all agree that repetition is essential to learning Luxembourgish, how can we ensure we practice the language on a daily basis? A mobile app might come in handy to help you study Luxembourgish as often as you wish, whenever and wherever you want. To get you started and help you save time, you'll find below the list of the mobile apps currently available for learning Luxembourgish.

1. 365 Days Luxembourgish - this free app provides you with a step-by-step learning method. There are 365 daily short and progressive lessons. The interactive exercises help you practice the content until you are able to pass the test of the day.

The content of each year of study is organized in 365 days and each day allows you to work on some vocabulary, grammar, oral and written comprehension and expression. With the free version you get access each day to new content planned for that day. However, if you wish to advance quicker, e.i. the content for several days at once, then you can get the Premium version which allows you to study as much as you want for €2,99/month.

The new vocabulary is introduced via exercises such as matching the words with their translations, unscramble the letters or organize the words to match the word or sentence heard, filling in the missing words from sentences, selecting the meaning of a word in a multiple choice exercise or matching the pronouns with their verb conjugation. The content becomes more and more challenging the more progress is being made.

This app goes beyond the virtual space and organizes free practice events every month in a different bar/café in Luxembourg-City. In addition, you can request one-to-one tailormade classes either by Skype or in person at the language school Languages.lu by contacting the team through the envelope linked to the school's email address.

Here are the links to download the app for iOS.

And for Android.

2. Aurelux - this app has been created by a Luxembourgish teacher and it has a joyful and colorful design. Renert, a nice fox character, welcomes you when you first open the app and then accompanies you throughout your learning journey.

What's great about this app is that you can choose among 7 languages, including Turkish, in which to receive the written explanations on your screen

The app is organized by topics and you get free access to the first 2 lessons: 1. Greetings and articles and 2. Numbers and calendar. If you like the content and decide to continue studying with this app, the access to the rest of the (for the moment) 7 lessons costs €3,99. I trust that there shall be more content added in time.

Like the first app, all lessons provide audio, interactive content and a practice part. The audio is, however, in Luxembourgish only and I found it a bit difficult to figure out on your own how to structure your sentences from only what you hear, especially if you're like me and retain better when you see it in writing.

The practice part includes 3 parts: vocabulary, theoretical lesson and theoretical exercises and it can help you learn vocabulary and repeat it through the different games.

Here is the link to download the app for iOS.

And for Android.

3. Batta Klang - this free app brings you some fun exercises to learn and then check your vocabulary, which is however not organized on topics or on a certain learning progression but rather mixed to challenge you even more.

The menu of the app is in Luxembourgish only which might be too challenging for an absolute beginner. However, you have the possibility to purchase the explanations in English for 1,09 eur, and also add animated verbs for 1,09 eur, whilst the pronunciation part can be purchased for 5,49 eur.

The app promises to help you learn 1000 words in Luxembourgish (which would correspond to the A2 level requested by the Sproochtest).

If you have at least an A1 level and would like to revise some vocabulary like "en Anker" (anchor) or "e Kaméil" (a camel), then you would find this app very useful and funny.

Here is the link to download the app for iOS.

And for Android.

4. Wierder Buch - this translation app helps you translate words from Luxembourgish into French, English, German and Portuguese and back. All the data is used as-is from the dataset published by the Ministry of Culture data.public.lu linked to the ?L?tzebuerger online dictionnaire? website www.lod.lu, which is continuously updated and enriched by a team of linguists.

The great thing about using this app -instead of always going to www.lod.lu- is that it's also available offline, the internet connection is needed only if you want to check the pronunciation. In addition, once you start writing a word in any of the 5 languages mentioned above, it shows you all the other words which include what you just wrote.

Here is the link to download the app for iOS.

And for Android.

5. Luxquiz - this app helps you learn Luxembourgish by doing crosswords.

Its content is organized by 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced and it proposes more than 100 grids.

I find this app very entertaining, especially if you like to give attention to details, the focus in this case being on the written Luxembourgish. It could keep you very busy during long hours, so I recommend it if you travel often or if you commute every day.

Here is the link to download the app for iOS.  

And for Android.

6. Languages of Luxembourg 7 - this free app is not specifically focused on Luxembourgish but on 7 of the many languages spoken in Luxembourg, including Luxembourgish, English, French, as well as Farsi and Arabic. It feels like a conversation guide at your fingerprints.

Even though this app is static, what's great about it is that it offers 16 thematic chapters such as greetings, all about numbers, seasons and weather, presentations, talking about yourself and others, description, going to work, giving directions etc. And there is audio for each language content! You can click on Play and then the entire audio file is being played, which can be very useful to listen to in order to improve your oral comprehension.

Here is the link to download the app for iOS.

And for Android.

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About the Author: 

Daniela (Clara) Moraru is a serial entrepreneur who set up companies in Romania, UK and Luxembourg, and an INSEAD certified independent director with expertise in Marketing & Communication. She holds an MBA from John Welsh College of Business, Sacred Heart University, with a double concentration in Marketing and International Business, a certificate in Global Management from INSEAD and a Master in Management from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.

Ms Moraru is CEO of Languages.lu, a boutique language school specialized in tailor made courses for companies and individuals, as well as in language camps for children and teenagers during all school holidays. She is known as the ?Ambassador of the Luxembourgish language? because she promotes heavily the language among non Luxembourgers. She has conceived and published 6 different learning materials to learn Luxembourgish.