If you are looking for the best ways to learn Vietnamese through online Vietnamese courses, then this post will be extremely useful for you.
We have compiled 10 of the best Vietnamese courses available right now. Whether you are looking for a Vietnamese tutor, a course that enables you to learn at your own pace, or a tool to improve your listening skills, you’ll find an appropriate option below.
We provide an overview of our experiences using each course, including:
👍 The advantages and benefits of each course
👍 The negative features that require improvement
👍 Any offer or discount we are able to provide
How we Chose these Vietnamese Courses
In order to make each Vietnamese course synopsis as varied and informative as possible, we trialed each and every one of the courses below.
Each scoring system is determined based on a number of factors.
Five stars indicate excellence, whilst a lower star rating indicates room for improvement.
The comments and opinions that you read throughout this article are results of language teacher James’s findings using the free and/or premium versions of each course.
The factors listed in the review table above are measured in the following ways:
Effectiveness – This is measured by the progress that we were able to make during the short time frame.
Value for money – We compare the cost of the app with similar competitor language learning apps, platforms, and courses.
Ease of use – As language learners, user experience plays a large part in whether or not we maintain consistency. A poor user experience usually leads to a lack of progress.
Languages Available – Offering multiple languages by no means makes an app or language platform better. However, it usually means they’re more popular and capture a wider audience, investing more heavily in the factors above.
Pimsleur Vietnamese – Learn Vietnamese through Audio Recordings
Cost: 7 Day Free Trial. Then $14.95 p/month subscription.
Pimsleur Vietnamese is an app that teaches basic Vietnamese vocabulary and phrases through audio lessons. It is designed to suit busy people who want to learn a language but don’t have the time for online classes with a real tutor.
The app was created by renowned linguist Dr. Pimsleur.
What we like about Pimsleur Vietnamese
What we really like about this app is that it only requires 30 minutes of Vietnamese practice a day in order to gain conversational skills, as well as improve Vietnamese pronunciation and comprehension of spoken Vietnamese.
It has 100 audio lessons in total, which are taught in 30-minute segments, with 5 minutes of review time after every lesson.
The lessons are designed to introduce students to the language. They can be used without reading or writing, meaning that the focus of each lesson is on listening and speaking.
What we don’t like about Pimsleur Vietnamese
The main downside of this app is that it does not offer any additional features. So, if you want to learn Vietnamese vocabulary or grammar through Pimsleur, there are no interactive lessons for these purposes.
Also, it’s more expensive than several other options, (although you get what you pay for).
We’d like to see Pimsleur introduce exercises to enhance writing skills.
Pimsleur |
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|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.0 out of 5.0 stars | |
| Effective at improving listening skills and overall language comprehension through repetition. | More expensive than many competitors. 7 Day Free Trial included. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Modern dashboard. Very easy to use and navigate on desktop and app. | 40+ languages available, including Spanish, French, Italian, German and Chinese. |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Huge library of audio lessons 👍 Modern, user-friendly dashboard 👍 Proven, effective method 👍 Encourages speaking practice | 👎 More expensive than main competitors 👎 Repetitive with limited reading practice |
SummaryPimsleur is a great option for anybody looking to improve their understanding of a foreign language. Each Premium Plan includes more than 75 hours of audio content, taking you from beginner through to advanced level. Native speakers feature throughout the course to get you used to hearing the language. Pimsleur's method is effective but repetitive. We'd like to see Pimsleur incorporate better grammar explanations into their lessons. |
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italki – Professional Tutors at an Affordable Price
Cost: Approx. $10 p/hour, depending on the tutor.
italki is one of the world’s leading online marketplaces for language lessons.
To date, it offers more than 60 languages to learn and speak through live 1-on-1 video chats with language tutors.
italki is one of the main competitor’s of online tutor marketplace, Preply. We will come on to that shortly, and discuss the benefits of each in greater detail.
If you’re looking for online Vietnamese classes, then italki is a great place to start.
What we like about italki
We recommend this tutoring platform to Vietnamese learners because it enables you to meet and have lessons with a professional teacher, or a tutor that can help you in specific areas.
italki community tutors are usually native speakers, and their lessons often cost less than lessons with italki professional teachers (who often have teaching experience).
Whether you’re at beginner level or more advanced, italki is one of the best ways to learn Vietnamese online through online Vietnamese classes.
All you need is a smartphone or tablet to get started.
What we don’t like about italki
Many tutors no longer offer a free trial. So, be sure to check out the teacher’s profile and reviews before booking a lesson.
Also, your lesson experience is often determined by both internet connections.
See our italki Review.
italki |
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|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Effective at improving speaking skills through interaction. | Select a tutor based on personal budget. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Modern dashboard. Very easy to use and navigate on desktop and app. | 60+ languages available, including Spanish, French, Italian, German and Chinese. |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Huge list of tutors 👍 Modern, user-friendly dashboard 👍 Great for speaking practice 👍 Encourages regular interaction | 👎 Limited reading exercises 👎 Expensive over time |
Summaryitalki is a great option for anybody looking to improve their speaking and listening skills in a foreign language. |
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VietnamesePod101 – A Podcast Style Vietnamese Course
Cost: Starts at $4 p/month.
VietnamesePod101 is one of the best online Vietnamese courses for beginners.
The course consists of a variety of audio and video lessons, as well as quizzes and flashcards to help you test your grammar and general language knowledge.
The lessons are designed to be fun and interactive and cover a range of topics, from travel to business.
What we like about VietnamesePod101
One of the best things about VietnamesePod101 is that the lessons are available for free, so you can try them out before deciding if it’s the right course for you.
Additionally, it is one of the most affordable online Vietnamese courses available.
What we don’t like about VietnamesePod101:
Although there are free lessons available, they’re not as extensive as those that you have to pay for.
Additionally, the course doesn’t offer a transcript or translations into English. This can be an issue if you want to improve your listening comprehension
Rosetta Stone – A Good Vietnamese Course for Beginners
Cost: Starts at $6.49 p/month.
Rosetta Stone is a software program that uses pictures and sounds to teach you how to speak a foreign language. It is one of the most popular language-learning programs on the market, and it offers courses for over 26 different languages.
The Rosetta Stone Vietnamese course for beginners costs approx. $199.99, which is more expensive than some other language courses.
However, it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with your purchase.
What we like about Rosetta Stone Vietnamese
One of the great things about Rosetta Stone is that it’s available on both Mac and PC, as well as iOS and Android devices.
Rosetta Stone Vietnamese consists of 10 units, with each unit containing 4-5 chapters. You’re also given access to a pronunciation guide, interactive games, and soundboards, as well as a lesson review toolkit.
The lessons are interactive and encourage you to learn through listening, speaking, and reading Vietnamese instead of just learning the grammatical rules.
This means that Rosetta Stone is great for beginners who want to improve their conversational skills in Vietnamese rather than only focusing on grammar.
What we don’t like about Rosetta Stone Vietnamese
Rosetta Stone is one of the more expensive Vietnamese courses available.
Additionally, it can be difficult to stick to a learning routine and stay motivated when you’re not given set homework tasks or quizzes like some other courses provide.
See our full Rosetta Stone Review.
Rosetta Stone |
|
|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.0 out of 5.0 stars | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Effective at improving listening skills and overall language comprehension through repetition. | This rating is based on a one-time purchase for access to all languages. Still more expensive than many competitors if you purchase a subscription. 3 Day Free Trial included. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Modern dashboard. Very easy to use and navigate on desktop and app. Can be used on two devices at the same time. | 40+ languages available, including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Variety of exercises 👍 Requires constant engagement 👍 Proven, effective method 👍 Encourages speaking practice | 👎 More expensive than main competitors 👎 Repetitive with robotic dialogue |
SummaryRosetta Stone is a better option than Pimsleur for anybody who relies on visual elements to learn. Visual learners will benefit from its library of images and the way it uses them to teach vocabulary. Whilst the tool is excellent at teaching vocabulary, little context is provided until further into the course. Rosetta Stone's method is effective but repetitive. We'd like to see more natural conversation included in its courses. |
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Mondly Vietnamese – Vietnamese Courses through VR!
Cost: Approx $10 p/month for Premium.
Mondly is an award-winning language learning app that has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.
It offers 33 languages to learn, including Vietnamese, and can be accessed on both Android and iOS devices.
Mondly is unique because it offers a virtual reality feature that allows you to immerse yourself in a 3D world and learn Vietnamese by speaking with natives.
This helps listening comprehension as well as a platform from which to practice grammar, vocabulary, and speaking.
The app also has a chatbot feature that allows you to practice conversational Vietnamese with a virtual assistant.
What we like about Mondly
One of the great things about Mondly is that it’s free to download, and you can access the first 5 lessons of each language course for free.
After this point, monthly subscription options are available, as well as one-time payments for lifetime access.
We like Mondly Vietnamese as a tool to study the language online because it incorporates Vietnamese culture study into its lessons in a much more successful way than other courses, such as Rosetta Stone.
What we don’t like about Mondly
The Mondly app is free to download, but the lessons only offer a limited amount of content for beginners.
Once you’ve finished all these levels, it costs $11.99 per month in order to access the rest of its courses and features (which is more expensive than some other online Vietnamese courses).
See our full Mondly Review.
Mondly |
|
|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Highly effective at improving listening skills, reading skills and overall comprehension. Provides an opportunity to speak through functional speech recognition tool. | Cheaper than main competitors, including Yabla and FluentU. Free Trial Included. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Modern dashboard. Very easy to use and navigate. Interactive AR and VR exercises. | 41+ languages available including Spanish, Chinese, Italian, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, English and Japanese. Multiple language combinations, meaning you can learn from any language into any other. |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 41 languages and language combinations 👍 VR and AR experiences imbedded 👍 Can be used remotely and on-the-go 👍 World class speech recognition | 👎 Not the cheapest option on the market 👎 Limited speaking practice |
SummaryMondly ticks the boxes that so many language apps fail to tick. The variation of games, quizzes and activities keeps users engaged on the platform and takes any boredom out of learning. It is one of the few language learning options that covers listening, reading, writing and speaking in one solution, without focusing heavily on grammar. Mondly is suitable for beginner and intermediate learners. Advanced learners will likely prefer interaction with real people, although the app does cater for them too. |
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Free Trial Included |
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Preply – A Platform for Online Vietnamese Classes
Cost: Approx. $10 p/hour, depending on the tutor.
Preply is an online platform that can be accessed on both iOS and Android devices.
Like its main competitor, italki, you can choose to take online Vietnamese language classes with a qualified Vietnamese tutor.
Preply is great for beginners, but they also offer advanced lessons and courses for those who are more advanced in the language.
With Preply, you can easily find a Vietnamese tutor with your level and preferred teaching style.
This is particularly useful for those who prefer to learn in an intensive environment or want to practice conversation skills rather than just grammar and vocabulary.
What we like about Preply
All of the teachers on Preply have been selected by their qualifications and expertise in language education, so you know that they’re able to teach Vietnamese.
You can also communicate with your teacher via the app, which makes it easy to schedule lessons and conduct them even if you’re not in Vietnam.
One nice thing about Preply is that they offer free trial lesson periods for new users without any obligations or credit card information required.
What we don’t like about Preply
We were disappointed by the lack of a mobile app for Preply, as it would make lessons a lot easier to fit into your daily routine.
The lesson time is also limited by the platform.
See our full Preply Review.
Preply |
|
|---|---|
Effectiveness | Value for Money |
| 4.5 out of 5.0 stars | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Effective at improving speaking skills through interaction. | Select a tutor based on personal budget. |
Ease of Use | Languages |
| 5.0 out of 5.0 stars | 5.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Modern dashboard. Very easy to use and navigate on desktop and app. | 60+ languages available, including Spanish, French, Italian, German and Chinese. |
✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| 👍 Huge list of tutors 👍 Modern, user-friendly dashboard 👍 Great for speaking practice 👍 Encourages regular interaction | 👎 Limited reading exercises 👎 Expensive over time |
SummaryPreply is a great option for anybody looking to improve their speaking and listening skills in a foreign language. |
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Language Drops – A Fun, Immersive Option for Beginners
Cost: $5 p/month for Premium.
Language Drops is a Vietnamese language learning program that can be accessed on both Android and iOS devices.
The app offers a variety of Vietnamese exercises, including flashcards, audio lessons, verb conjugations, and quizzes.
The exercises are designed to help you improve your Vietnamese grammar, vocabulary, speaking skills, and listening comprehension.
What we like about Language Drops
One great thing about Language Drops is that it’s free to download and use.
You can also access the first 5 exercises of each course for free. After this point, monthly subscription options are available.
This makes it a great option for those who want to learn Vietnamese on a budget.
What we don’t like about Language Drops
We were disappointed by the lack of Vietnamese audio lessons in this course.
There are also limited grammar exercises and vocabulary word lists available, so it’s not suitable for those who want to study more than just basic conversation skills.
However, if you are serious about becoming fluent in Vietnamese and immersing yourself in the culture, this isn’t the right option for you.
Memrise Vietnamese
Cost: Free.
Memrise Vietnamese is an online platform that focuses on memory-based learning.
The Vietnamese course offered by Memrise is designed for beginners and those who have a very basic knowledge of the language.
The course consists of over 150 lessons and includes vocabulary, grammar, and culture tips.
Memrise also offers a flashcard feature and a listening test to help you improve your Vietnamese listening skills.
What we like about Memrise Vietnamese
One great thing about Memrise is that it’s free to use. This makes it a great option for those who want to learn Vietnamese on a budget.
Furthermore, a variety of Vietnamese lessons are available, including vocabulary, grammar, and culture tips.
What we don’t like about Memrise Vietnamese
We were disappointed by the lack of audio exercises in this course.
There are also no social features available on Memrise, so you can’t connect with teachers for Vietnamese language classes.
See full Memrise Review.
Duolingo – A Comprehensive Option for Beginners
Cost: Free.
Duolingo is a popular language-learning app that can be used to learn Vietnamese.
The course offered by Duolingo is designed for those who have no knowledge of Vietnamese.
The course offers a free mobile app for Android and iOS devices as well as online lessons that can be accessed from your computer’s web browser.
What we like about Duolingo
One beneficial thing about Duolingo is that it offers a variety of exercises available, including listening comprehension quizzes, fill-in-the-blank activities, word matching tasks, and translation challenges.
This makes it a great option for those who want to not only learn the rules of Vietnamese grammar but also gain fluency in everyday conversation.
What we don’t like about Duolingo
We were disappointed by the lack of audio lessons available on this platform, as most language learners find that speaking practice is essential when learning new languages.
This is a popular app, but it is not one of the best ways to learn Vietnamese online.
See our full Duolingo Review.
Glossika Vietnamese
Cost: $30 p/month.
Glossika Vietnamese is an online language learning program that uses a unique approach to teaching Vietnamese.
The program consists of audio lessons, which you are required to listen to on a daily basis.
In addition to the audio lessons, Glossika also offers vocabulary lists and grammar notes that can be accessed online.
What we like about Glossika
We love the fact that Glossika offers audio lessons, as this makes it easier for learners to improve their listening skills.
The program also includes a variety of exercises and quizzes to help you practice your Vietnamese grammar and vocabulary.
It is one of the best ways to learn Vietnamese online.
What we don’t like about Glossika
There are no reading exercises available with this course, which makes Glossika unsuitable for those who want to focus on learning Vietnamese through written materials.
FAQs Relating to Learning Vietnamese
Before we finish, let’s take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions relating to learning Vietnamese.
How can I learn Vietnamese fast?
Sorry, but this is a silly question. There are no shortcuts in language learning. That said, it’s important that you find a course that suits your learning style and needs.
In addition, it’s essential that you practice regularly and make use of Vietnamese resources such as online dictionaries, grammar notes, and vocabulary lists.
How much does it cost to learn Vietnamese?
The cost of learning Vietnamese varies depending on the course or program you choose.
Many free courses and apps are available, while more comprehensive programs such as private tutoring or online language schools can cost up to $30 per month.
Is Vietnamese hard to learn?
Yes, Vietnamese is a challenging language to learn. However, it’s also one of the most rewarding languages you can study and master!
The language has a complex grammar system and a wide range of tones, which can make it difficult for beginners.
However, with the right course and plenty of practice, you’ll be speaking Vietnamese in no time!
What we know about these Free & Affordable Online Vietnamese Courses
So, there we have it.
If you’re a beginner looking for free and affordable online Vietnamese courses, there are plenty of options to choose from.
As we have seen today, these 10 online courses offer great ways to learn Vietnamese at no cost or at an extremely low price point.
We hope that by reading this post you will be able to find your next favorite language-learning resource!
Which one of these resources do you think you’ll enjoy most? Try them out, and let us know which was best!
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Author bio: 
James is the founder of travel-lingual.com, this online travel and language blog. He is a tutor of English, Spanish and French. He has visited 35 countries and sometimes writes in the third person!
He has worked as a language teacher in France, Spain, Argentina, and Costa Rica. His love of languages led him to create this blog, to share best practices in language learning and inspire others to learn!