Free Online Languages Courses

  • 5 courses
  • 5 free
  • 2 with a free certificate

Sources: freeCodeCamp, Alison, Coursera, Udemy · Verified

The language courses listed here are few and specific. Four are English courses: a self-paced grammar diploma from Alison that is free to study with an optional paid certificate, a short Udemy grammar course with no certificate, and freeCodeCamp’s A2 and B1 English for Developers certifications, which are free in full and publish a verifiable certificate for workplace English in a software team. The only course in another language is Yonsei University’s First Step Korean on Coursera, a beginner course in the Korean alphabet and everyday expressions that is free to take, with a shareable certificate as a paid option. No Spanish, French, German, Chinese or Japanese course is listed yet; courses in those languages are added only after their pages have been read and their free access confirmed. What makes a language course worth your time is the same whatever the language.

Look for a stated level, ideally on the CEFR scale as the freeCodeCamp courses give; for how speaking and listening are practised, since a grammar course alone will not get you talking; and for whether the course teaches through English or in the target language from the start. University language courses on edX and Coursera are usually free to audit or free to take with a paid certificate, and app-based learning is a separate category that this site does not list as a course. Languages suit travellers, people with family or work ties to another country, students preparing for exchange or exams, developers who need English at work, and older learners who want a sustained mental challenge. The English page on this site lists the English courses in full.

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    Free Online Languages Courses
    # Course Provider Cost Certificate Level Duration Open
    1 First Step Korean First Step Korean is Yonsei University's elementary course in the Korean language, taught in English on Coursera. Coursera · Beginner · 2 weeks Coursera Free PaidPaid certificate Beginner 2 weeks
    2 A2 English for Developers Certification (Beta) An English course written for software developers and pitched at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Ref… freeCodeCamp freeCodeCamp Free IncludedCertificate included
    3 B1 English for Developers Certification (Beta) The follow-on to freeCodeCamp's A2 course, written for developers and aligned with the B1 level of the Common Europea… freeCodeCamp freeCodeCamp Free IncludedCertificate included
    4 Diploma in Basic English Grammar This diploma course covers the core of English grammar for learners who want to write and speak more accurately. Alison · Beginner Alison Free PaidPaid certificate Beginner
    5 FREE English Grammar Course An introductory grammar course centred on the parts of speech and the most important English verbs. Udemy · Beginner · 2 hours Udemy Free NoneNo certificate Beginner 2 hours

    Free online language courses with certificates: what each listed course gives you

    The 5 courses on this page split into three groups by what you hold at the end: a free verifiable certificate, a certificate you can buy after a free course, or nothing but the knowledge. Check the group before you enrol.

    Free certificate: the freeCodeCamp English certifications

    A2 English for Developers Certification and B1 English for Developers Certification are the only listed language courses whose certificate costs nothing. Both are marked Beta by freeCodeCamp, both run in the browser at your own pace, and both publish the certification at a public URL on freecodecamp.org where anyone can check it. The A2 course is built from 105 dialogues in 55 blocks, each followed by a quiz; the B1 course continues with 73 dialogues in 49 blocks. The catch is the audience: the vocabulary is written for software developers, so a general learner will meet stand-up meetings and GitHub troubleshooting rather than travel or family conversation.

    Free course, paid certificate: Coursera and Alison

    First Step Korean is flagged as free on Coursera, so every lesson is open without payment. A shareable certificate exists as a paid option whose price is not shown until you enrol; financial aid is listed. Diploma in Basic English Grammar on Alison is free to study in full, and the Alison Diploma at the end is an optional paid purchase in digital or printed form. If you do not buy it, you can download a free Learner Record confirming the course you completed and the result you achieved.

    No certificate: the Udemy grammar course

    FREE English Grammar Course is free to enrol in, but as a free Udemy course it carries no certificate of completion, no instructor Q&A and may show advertisements.

    Learn Korean online free with First Step Korean from Yonsei University

    The only listed course that teaches a language other than English is Yonsei University's elementary Korean course, taught in English on Coursera. After a short introduction it works through five lessons: the Korean alphabet, greetings and introducing yourself, family, time and date, and daily life. Each lesson is built from dialogues, pronunciation practice, vocabulary, grammar, quizzes and role-plays, so reading, writing, listening and speaking all get attention.

    Coursera schedules it at two weeks of 10 hours a week on a flexible timetable, at beginner level with no prior experience required. By the end, the course page says, you should read and write Hangul, use basic everyday expressions and know something of Korean culture. If you already read the alphabet, it will move too slowly for you.

    Which free English grammar course online fits you

    The remaining courses are all English courses, and they overlap less than their titles suggest. The Alison diploma is the fullest grammar treatment: parts of speech and sentence structure, then most of its time on verbs, including how the present and past tenses are formed, how the passive is built and how easily confused tenses differ, before a final strand on punctuation. Alison rates it beginner level and offers it in English and Spanish; it suits learners who understand basic sentences but still make tense and punctuation errors in writing.

    The Udemy course covers the parts of speech and the essential English verbs across four sections and 21 video lectures, in about 2 hours. The lectures are in English only, so you need at least a beginner level to follow, and the instructor names IELTS and TOEFL candidates among the intended audience. It is a grammar primer, not a conversation or pronunciation class.

    The freeCodeCamp A2 and B1 certifications teach grammar inside workplace dialogues rather than as rules: the A2 course covers greetings, describing your workday, your project and your background; the B1 course adds the Present Perfect, future forms, conditionals, modal verbs and reported speech, plus giving feedback and disagreeing. Both are aligned to CEFR levels, which helps if you need to describe your English on a CV.

    How long the listed language courses take

    Only the Coursera and Udemy courses carry a stated length, given above. Alison shows its duration as a range on the course page rather than a single figure, so none is stored here, and freeCodeCamp publishes no hour estimate; with 105 and 73 dialogues respectively, expect the English for Developers courses to take longer than a short video course.

    None of the listed courses imposes a deadline. The Coursera course runs on a flexible timetable, Alison sets no time limit for completing a course, freeCodeCamp is self-paced, and Udemy's free courses have no trial period.

    How to learn languages online free beyond this page

    This hub is short because most free language material on the web is either app-based, which this site does not list as a course, or a first-module preview that is not free in full. If English is your target, the English courses hub lists every English record on the site. Learners who want to write better after a grammar course can continue on the writing hub, and older learners taking up a language as a sustained challenge will find picks on the courses for seniors page. The free certifications hub lists every course on the site with a free certificate, including the two freeCodeCamp English certifications.

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    Languages courses by provider

    Questions about free Languages courses

    Which languages do the listed courses cover?

    English and Korean. Four of the courses teach English, two of them written for software developers, and one is Yonsei University’s beginner course in Korean. Courses in other languages are added as their pages are verified.

    Can I reach fluency with free courses alone?

    Courses take you a long way with grammar and vocabulary. Fluency needs conversation, and the courses that include speaking practice or pair you with other learners are the ones to favour.

    Do free language courses offer certificates?

    Two of the listed courses do at no cost: freeCodeCamp’s A2 and B1 English for Developers certifications are published at a public URL. The Alison diploma and the Korean course sell an optional certificate, and the Udemy course has none. Recognised proficiency certificates such as DELE or DELF come from separate paid examinations that a course can only prepare you for.

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