When setting learning objectives and long-term goals, it’s essential to include picking up a foreign language and acquiring new vocabulary and comprehension skills. As covered in a previous post on the benefits of language learning, investing in this endeavor can help improve your cognitive abilities and academic performance, mainly by enhancing your critical thinking, reasoning skills, learning productivity, and management abilities. Beyond academics, increased job opportunities also await those who learn a foreign language, considering 90% of US employers prefer candidates who are fluent in languages other than English.
If you’re wondering where to start, consider audiobooks as valuable resources for language learning since hearing the speaker’s voice helps improve reading fluency and speaking accuracy. As the audiobook market in the US reached a value of $2.75 billion in 2023 alone, this book format has also become increasingly accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets, and other consumer electronic devices. Popular platforms like Google’s Play Books even invest in advanced text-to-speech technology to automatically provide an audio-based teaching assistant for books.
Furthermore, the growing adoption and innovation of audiobooks means you can access diverse selections to meet your language learning needs. The digital library Everand’s language arts and discipline audiobooks range from trending titles like Learn Spanish with Paul Noble to masterclass lessons on language, writing, persuasion, and speech. With a monthly subscription, you have unlimited access to these titles and can utilize features like playback speed control and offline listening to tailor selected audiobooks to your learning style and daily routine.
So, without further ado, here are the best language-learning audiobooks worth listening to.
Learn Mandarin Chinese with Paul Noble for Beginners by Paul Noble and Kai-Ti Noble
Mandarin is by far the most spoken language in the world, making it instrumental not only in building professional networks but also in influencing social integration. In this case, Learn Mandarin Chinese with Paul Noble for Beginners can introduce you to the basics of Mandarin Chinese and help you learn a huge range of vocabulary for everyday scenarios. Written and narrated by native speakers Paul Noble and Kai-Ti Noble, this complete course takes a simpler, more relaxed approach to language learning, ultimately building your confidence to speak Mandarin in various situations.
French Short Stories for Beginners by Learn Like A Native
Meanwhile, Learn Like A Native’s approach focuses on fast-tracking your learning process through uniquely structured short stories. Despite French being one of the most difficult languages to learn with its pronunciation, tone, and other nuances, the book's French-to-English stories with over 500 digestible dialogues can help you quickly absorb basic terms, phrases, and tenses. With about six hours of listenable content, French Short Stories for Beginners can guide you better than traditional lectures and vocabulary lists.
Fluent in 3 Months by Benny Lewis
Regardless of the language you wish to learn for personal, academic, and professional benefits, self-taught polyglot Benny Lewis shares his blueprint for learning a new language better, faster, and more efficiently. Drawing from Lewis's own experience as someone who can speak over ten languages, Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World from HarperAudio will also debunk myths and long-held beliefs about language learning, encouraging learners of all ages and backgrounds.
In addition to making, it a daily routine to listen to the aforementioned audiobooks, you can supplement your resources and achieve better outcomes by downloading a language learning app. For example, Duolingo's latest language learning features include artificial intelligence to ensure the difficulty level of exercises is perfectly tailored to your personal strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, Babbel has flexible and intuitive study methods, such as progress checks and live classes to make it more exciting to learn and speak new languages. Overall, it helps to maximize digital tools for more accessible and efficient language learning.
