Memrise

What is Memrise?

Memrise is an online platform that really focuses on making language learning feel personal and immersive. They offer courses designed to teach you languages as they’re actually used in everyday life. You’ll find videos of native speakers, which is a fantastic way to quickly get a feel for speaking and understanding the language. The whole approach is built on memory techniques, a solid understanding of how our brains work (neuroscience, really!), and some clever new ways to learn a second language. Basically, they aim to make picking up a new language simpler and faster. It’s worth noting that Memrise is a research-backed organization, with a team hailing from over 20 different countries, all working together to create an amazing learning experience for everyone.

Who created Memrise?

Memrise was actually started by three friends: Ed Cooke, Ben Whately, and Greg Detre. They met while studying neuroscience and psychology at Oxford University. Because they were all so interested in how humans learn and how technology could make that process better, they decided to create Memrise. The platform uses memory tricks, insights from neuroscience, and fresh language learning methods to make it easier and quicker to learn a language. Memrise officially launched on July 10, 2023, and since then, it’s welcomed over 65 million learners from 189 countries.

What is Memrise used for?

Memrise is super versatile, helping you in lots of ways:

• Learn exactly what you want: You can pick wordlists based on whatever you’re trying to learn.
• Speak like a local: Get started with words and phrases that people actually use every day.
• See and hear real people: Immerse yourself in videos featuring native speakers.
• Chat with an AI: Practice your conversations with Membot to build confidence.
• Hear authentic speech: Get a real sense of how locals sound when they talk.
• Build your own vocabulary: Learn what’s useful to you and create a personal wordlist.
• Combine with your favorites: You can even use Memrise alongside your favorite books and YouTube videos for a complete language learning setup.
• Free access to 23 languages: The Free Plan gives you official courses for a good number of languages.
• Real-life phrases: You’ll get video clips showing phrases used in actual situations, even on the Free Plan.
• Fun learning: The Free Plan also includes gamified tests and personalized review sessions.
• Focus on real-world use: They teach languages with a strong emphasis on how they’re used in everyday contexts.
• Native speaker videos: Lessons often feature videos of native speakers, helping you understand quickly.
• Personalized and immersive: It offers a learning experience that’s tailored to you and feels like you’re really there.
• Develop practical skills: You’ll build solid skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Interactive practice: Strengthen your language abilities through engaging, interactive lessons.
• Start speaking fast: They help users begin speaking and understanding the language quickly.
• Lots of languages: They offer courses for a wide variety of languages.
• Tailored learning: The experience is customized to what each individual needs.
• Authentic experience: It provides a genuine way to learn a language.
• Better understanding: Videos of native speakers really help you grasp the language better.
• Learn local lingo: Pick up words and phrases that locals use.
• Dive into native videos: Immerse yourself in videos from native speakers.
• Create your own lists: Generate personal wordlists that match your learning needs.
• Free Plan perks: Get official courses for 23 languages, real-life phrase videos, fun tests, custom review plans, and sync across all your devices.
• Pro Plan benefits: Upgrade for full access to all learning features, an ad-free experience, and fluency by mastering key real-life conversations.
• Practical skills focus: The platform offers an immersive experience, concentrating on practical listening, speaking, reading, and writing, plus exposure to how language is really used.
• Comprehensive courses: They provide language-specific and broader courses for many different languages.

Who is Memrise for?

Memrise is great for:

• Anyone learning a new language
• Polyglots (people who speak many languages)
• Neuroscience researchers
• Psychologists
• Expats living abroad
• Travellers
• Healthcare Workers
• Refugees
• Students
• Visa Applicants
• Anyone who loves languages
• Language Teachers
• Translators
• Interpreters
• Tour Guides
• Diplomats

How to use Memrise?

Ready to start learning with Memrise? Here’s a simple guide:

1. Pick Your Language: First, choose from the many languages Memrise offers. You’ll find popular ones like English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, and many more.
2. Learn with Wordlists: Begin by learning words and phrases that are actually relevant to what you want to achieve with your language learning.
3. Connect with Native Speakers: Dive into videos featuring native speakers. This is a fantastic way to pick up on accents and understand common phrases used in real-life conversations.
4. Practice with Membot: Once you feel a bit more comfortable, try practicing conversations with Membot. It’s a great way to build your speaking skills.
5. Explore Extra Features: Make sure to check out all the other helpful tools available. This includes official courses, video clips of phrases used in real life, fun gamified tests, personalized review plans, and the ability to sync your progress across all your devices.
6. Consider Going Pro: If you’re serious about accelerating your learning, think about upgrading to the Pro Plan. It unlocks all the learning features, gives you an ad-free experience, and helps you achieve fluency faster by mastering important real-life conversations.
7. Learn the Memrise Story: It’s also interesting to learn about the founders and the vision behind Memrise. It’s a platform built on the idea of revolutionizing language learning by combining memory techniques with a deep understanding of how we learn.

Overall, Memrise offers a really personal and interactive way to learn languages. It focuses on practical language use and authentic interactions. By using videos of native speakers and a variety of learning tools, Memrise aims to help you build strong language skills effectively and efficiently.