Hey reader,
Today’s feature looks at the best subreddits for language learners. I was inspired to write this after my own search where I encountered actual AI-hallucinated slop, waxing poetic about subreddits that either didn’t exist or contained a single post. Ugh.
It’s not the first time I’ve been disappointed by the state of content out there right now, so much so I’m thinking of writing a piece on that topic itself.
Anyway, below is what I’ve written. It’s not perfect, I’d like to add to it over time, including more languages. If you know of any good sources, let me know!
As always, links for the week are below the feature.
Simon
💡Mondecast Feature: The top subreddits for language learners
If you’re looking to use Reddit to improve at language learning, of course there’s no better place to stop than r/languagelearning. In addition to all the great posts and advice, it also contains links to every other language subreddit, which are fantastic resources for you to get advice about the language you are learning.
But the best way to use Reddit as a language learner isn’t just to read and post in the learner subreddits, it’s to lurk where natives go.
The level of language means these places tend to be better for more advanced language learners, but lower-intermediates can still use them to find motivating or interesting content that helps them engage with the language.
What’s more, the type of casual, less filtered language is often neglected by learners, but it’s available in buckets in these online communities, giving you a new angle to approach the language with.
When it comes to Reddit-like alternatives, there are surprisingly few options on the web. Nothing has quite managed to match the size and features of Reddit itself. Where I can, I’ve added something similar enough that you can use for language learning.
French
Top subreddits:
r/suisjeletroudeballe – Am I The Asshole in French
r/france
r/rance – memes about France, basically r/MURICA for France
Other sites:
jeuxvideo.com Blabla 18-25 – Technically a gaming website, but its off-topic forum is the most popular and active forum on the site.
German
Top subreddits:
r/de
r/ich_iel – r/me_irl memes in German
r/de_IAmA – I Am A in German, a space for people to post and answer questions
Other sites:
GuteFrage – similar to Quora or Yahoo Answers
Spanish
Top subreddits:
r/yo_elvr – me_irl in Spanish
r/LatinoPeopleTwitter – Memes and jokes, not always in Spanish
Other sites:
Meneame – A Spanish Reddit-style social news aggregator
Italian
Top subreddits:
r/memesITA – Italian memes
r/ITAGLIA – A satirical subreddit about Italy
How to use them
Don’t just look at memes and read headlines. Read the comments. The posts are often links or images, but the comments are where the language lives. There you’ll find the idioms, the regional expressions, the cultural references that no textbook will teach you.
🛠️Resource spotlight: Fable Cottage
Dual-langauge fairy tales. The language is simple, clear and modern, and there is audio and pictures to go with it. There’s some free stuff, but most of the content is behind a paywall. Overall, it’s a great source of content for beginner language learners.
🌐Language learning
People’s advice on building conversation skills.
Someone asks if it’s ok to pretend not to speak English.
How to learn a language with a friend.
💻From around the web
Language Jones explains ergativity.
Sami language schools in Finland.
Source: Starkey Comics
Till next time!
Mondecast is a twice-monthly newsletter for curious language learners.
Did you know you can reply to this email? I read every response, and interesting responses can be featured in future editions.
Follow Mondecast