Getting started

Four steps, about ten minutes, and you will have finished a real lesson rather than a tour.

Open Lingara

Lingara runs in your browser at app.getlingara.com — on a computer, a tablet or a phone. It needs no download and no account to generate a first vocabulary list. If you want it to open like any other app, with its own icon and window, install it on your computer or phone: the app opens with an Install button, or with the steps your browser needs.

You can look around as a guest, but a guest account keeps nothing: progress is not saved and flashcards are unavailable. Creating an account takes one tap — sign in with Google or Apple, or use an email address and password.

Signing in also starts your free trial. See Trial & plans for what that includes.

Choose your languages

Lingara needs two languages from you:

the language you speak — the one explanations, translations and the app itself appear in;
the language you are learning.

Both are set the first time you open the app and both can be changed later in settings. Changing the language you are learning does not erase progress in the one you were studying before; each is tracked separately, so learning two at once is fine.

Pick a level

Levels run from beginner to advanced and decide which vocabulary you are shown. If you are unsure, start lower than feels right: the early levels move quickly when the words are already familiar, and being shown words you half-know is what makes the flashcard scheduling useful.

Do a first session

From the home screen, generate a lesson plan — optionally typing a topic you care about, like ordering coffee or job interviews — and work through the exercises it contains. Words you meet become flashcards, and the app schedules them for review.

A first session takes five to ten minutes. Doing one most days beats doing six on a Sunday: the scheduling in Flashcards & exercises is built around short, regular reviews.

Where to next