Learning Malayalam using Ling

This week I want to cover my favorite app to learn Malayalam. I highly encourage any of you learning Malayalam to use this resource. The app I am referring to in the Ling app. They have a comprehensive guide to learn Malayalam divided into units, chapters, and lessons.

This image above shows the layout of the app. It divides the language into learning units. The first unit is shown above. They teach you how to say what gender you are, how old you are, where you are from, and what languages you speak. You go through each chapter in the unit and then can take an exam to prove you learned the material and move forward. The second picture shows a single page in a chapter. Here it shows you how to say you speak German. Above you see the characters in the Malayalam script. Then you see how to pronounce the words using English script. Finally, you see the words in English so you can associate the new words together. There are also symbols on the side that let you hear the narration and an option to hear it very slowly to work on pronunciation.

I am in no way sponsored by the application, but I have nothing but praise for Ling. It uses gamification so well. First it will tell you what something is. Then it will give you 3-word puzzles where you must use what you have previously learned. It also lets you go back and reference previous resources. This makes it feel fun like a videogame and not stressful like a quiz. There is also a progress bar at the top that makes you feel like you are completing a level. In the picture above you can also see that when your complete sections, chapters, or units it will show complete check marks or other identifiers. There is a strong sense of achievement that motivates you to keep going. They even manage to bring gamification into their exams at the end of each unit. Instead of giving you a grade, you get lives. If you do not run out of lives during the exam you pass. If you fail, you can always “replay” the exam.

I also want to take a minute to talk about the exam structure. It does such a great job of covering the material. At any point in the exam, you can access two resources to answer the question. They may give you the question in English and spoken Malayalam or some other combination. This makes it easier to figure out the answers. As I said before the great use of gamification also keeps the exam low stress.

If you enjoy playing games and learning languages, then I truly think this is the game for you. I have had so much fun using this app. If any of you would like to join me, @ me so we help each other out. Best wishes everyone!