What Are the Best Apps for Learning Swahili?

 When thinking of a language to learn, most people wouldn't put Swahili high on their list, compared with French, Spanish or German. Yet Swahili is spoken as a first or second language by at least 90 million people, and it's a language encountered throughout the eastern part of Africa, from Somalia down to Mozambique. It's most common, though, in Kenya and Tanzania, where it's the main language used.

 While many city-dwellers in these areas may speak English or another European language, once you're out into more rural areas, knowing Swahili is essential. And even if you're sticking to major cities like Nairobi or Dar es Salaam, you're likely to receive a friendlier welcome if you speak at least some Swahili.

 As with other languages, most people nowadays prefer to learn Swahili through apps, rather than books. This will allow you to hear native speakers and practice speaking, with your own pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar being corrected as you learn. There are fewer good apps for Swahili than for the more popular languages, but here are some of the best.

Duolingo

 Duolingo is one of the most popular language apps, offering short lessons that allow you to go at your own pace.It's available free, though you can upgrade to a premium account which gives you access to extra features. Although it allows you to practice Swahili conversation with the app's bots, though, you don't get any actual interaction with live native speakers. However, it can offer you a good start in learning to speak Swahili.

Tandem

 By contrast, Tandem is an app that pairs you with native speakers of the language you're learning, via audio or video links or by text. This means you'll be able to practice Swahili with native speakers, while they learn English from you. This model works well with popular languages, but in practice the choice of Swahili speakers tends to be quite narrow. However, if you can find someone to be paired up with, you'll be learning straight from a native Swahili speaker.

HelloTalk

 HelloTalk combines pairing up native speakers, like Tandem, with paid lessons. With 25 million members in 200 countries, it should theoretically offer plenty of choice, allowing you to learn not only the language, but also about the culture.

 However, as with Tandem, Swahili-speaking members are a little thin on the ground, meaning there isn't actually as much choice as might seem. Besides this, the paid lessons aren't as good as you're likely to find elsewhere.

Mango Languages

 Mango is a lesson-based course, as opposed to a conversation app. It teaches Swahili through colour-coded lexical "chunks", rather than teaching rules, to help you learn language patterns. On the downside, this makes it light on grammar, which can hold learners back in places. There's also no free option — the cheapest plan is quoted is $7.99 per month (approximately £6).

 These are just a few of the best apps for learning Swahili, and they'll get you a fair way in your quest to learn the language. Ultimately, though, apps are most useful when combined with learning one-to-one with a tutor. Register with TutorExtra to find the right Swahili tutor to combine with the apps.