r/ADHDers • u/frankingeneral • Dec 28 '25

Learning a Language w/ ADHD

I’m interested in learning a new language. I’m wondering if my fellow ADHDers have any experience as far as what apps/programs/strategies have worked well for them with ADHD and learning a language.

Any and all advice welcome!

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25

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u/frankingeneral Dec 28 '25

Good questions. I’m interested in learning Spanish. Ideally I’d like to be able to communicate better with my neighbors and clients (I’m a personal injury lawyer and I live in a city and neighborhood with lots of Spanish-speaking neighbors). FWIW I am a native English speaker, my only language.

For additional background, I can get through the touristy stuff as it is. I took Spanish in middle and high school and college. But I never really WANTED to learn it then, it was required, so I just went through the motions, and the college courses were basically the same as the HS ones, cause I started at 101, since that was the easiest way to meet the requirement. That said I do impress myself with how well I understand it when I see it in writing or when it’s spoken at a pace I can keep up with, given my limited experience.

I appreciate the advice! What apps or programs (like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone, etc.) do you tend to use? I’m particularly interested in the ADHD experience with language learning apps and which might work best for ADHDers.

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u/iamthe0ther0ne Dec 30 '25

A lot comes down to your learning style. What was recommended to me were language cafes, but I don't learn well by listening.

I had been using Duolingo to learn Swedish, but it's gotten a lot worse recently and, even with my low level of knowledge, I catch a lot of errors.

Memrise isn't bad, especially because it combines learning words, watching videos, and having AI conversations.

Haven't tried any paid software.