21 Great Gifts for Language Learners at Any Time of the Year

All we language learners want for the holidays is to be fluent in our target languages.

While anyone would appreciate a gift that’s given with love, sometimes you really want to show someone that you care with a super thoughtful gift that suits them perfectly.

If you’re shopping for a friend or loved one who’s addicted to languages, I’ve got you covered!

We’ve been geeking out over the following books, movies, gadgets and gizmos ourselves. Here are 21 of the best gifts for language learners available right now.

Contents


Books and Movies

1. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is the language learning world’s best kept secret (until now, I guess, since I’m shouting it out to the whole internet). Lots of language learners turn to these timeless books to practice their skills in a fun way. Plus, if you grew up loving this series, it’s a fantastic thing to see the books in a whole new language.

To find the right version, your best bet is to search Amazon for the book title you want plus the language. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [Language]” yields the following results:

An accompanying Harry Potter audiobook or movie will not only be appreciated, but it can make for supercharged learning for anyone from beginner to advanced learners.

2. “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer

Okay, “Twilight” haters, go ahead and keep scrolling. I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of the series myself, but I was gifted the first book in Spanish by a friend once upon a time.

I found it available in:

This book makes for casual, entertaining reading, since the language is simple enough for low-intermediate learners. Plus, it’s so popular it’s been translated into a ton of languages, as have all its audiobooks and movies.

3. “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was himself a famous language learner, and his works provide fodder for linguistic geeks around the globe. I mean, the man invented his own languages in this series.

While the books and movies don’t come fully translated into Elvish, Dwarvish and Entish, they have been translated into dozens of our world’s languages:

To find more translations of the books or movies, you can check this list or simply run a search for the language you want plus the title.

“The Lord of the Rings” is most suitable for advanced readers, but having it in another language on the shelf might be good inspiration to keep studying. The movies are approachable for most levels of learners, but they should expect to hear some outdated language.

4. “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin

Another series with a huge fandom—and many a language learner is part of the fandom, thanks to the presence of the fictional language Dothraki.

For any language-obsessed fans of “A Game of Thrones,” you can track down the whole series of books in various languages via Amazon, just like the titles above.

You can also gift them this Dothraki course by Living Language. That’s a fun language learning gift they’ll never see coming!

5. “With Languages in Mind: Musings of a Polyglot” by Kató Lomb

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Here’s a sweet, humorous and totally relatable read for any language learner, particularly one who’s gone way beyond language number two.

Kató Lomb is a world-famous Hungarian polyglot who blazed trails in the fields of translation and interpretation. In fact, she was one of the very first simultaneous interpreters (delivering translations while people were actively speaking).

As someone who originally studied hard sciences and later found a passion for languages, Lomb has a sharp, incisive and logical take on all things related to linguistics and learning, but her musings in this book are anything but dry!

6. “Babel” by Gaston Dorren

Babel: Around the World in 20 Languages

Another great book for polyglots, or aspiring ones, is “Babel.”

It covers the world’s twenty most spoken languages, and why they’re the prominent ones of more than 6,500 options.

Not only does Gaston Dorren cover the highs and lows of each tongue, he also explains how they influence each other and how they affect the perspectives of their native speakers.

A dive into both linguistics and cultural history, this book will inspire learners and those who are simply fascinated by other languages to reconsider the world and how we all communicate about it.

7. “5 Language Visual Dictionary” by DK

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A visual dictionary attaches vocabulary directly to illustrations and pictures, so that language learners can build stronger associations between objects and their names.

This visual dictionary takes this to a whole different level, including five very popular languages all together in the same book.

Gadgets

8. Kindle Paperwhite

I was gifted a Kindle by my father, and it’s been an essential tool for learning languages. I’ve been able to download books, short stories and digital dictionaries in a myriad of languages, making practice a breeze.

I personally recommend the Paperwhite version, as it’s easy on the eyes and makes longer reading sessions much more comfortable. It’s especially convenient for the learner who happens to also love traveling, as they won’t have to lug around a ton of books.

They’ll even be able to download a dictionary in the language they’re learning so that they can simply touch any word to look it up while reading novels in their target language.

9. ASUS Chromebook

If you’re looking to spoil a language lover with a bigger-ticket gift, this is the way to go. Plus, the ticket isn’t even that big—being a Chromebook, it’s quite affordable. A Chromebook basically has the functionality and storage space of a tablet, with all the sturdiness of a legit laptop.

ASUS crafts some of the most durable computer shells and hardware, and the one I’ve brought around with me on travels since 2010 (different ASUS model, same basic idea) has served me extremely well for writing emails to family members, Skyping and keeping in touch with people, writing blog posts and all-around taking care of business.

Plus, it’s so tiny and lightweight that it can be safely and discretely traveled with in a normal-sized backpack.

10. Voice Recorder

To practice speaking skills, hone pronunciation, get feedback and keep records of your progress, there’s nothing quite like a good, old-fashioned voice recorder. Give a language learner a voice recorder with a built-in USB connection, and they’ll get tons of mileage out of this gift.

11. Label Maker

Do you happen to notice sticky notes with foreign writing all over your gift recipient’s house? One very common learning strategy, especially for beginners, is to label everything in the language you’re trying to learn so that you see the word “chair” in the foreign language attached to the object, which is great for building vocabulary.

As an alternative, give Vocabulary Stickers as a gift, and the gift-receiver will have well over 100 foreign language words to put on items they use and see every day around their home and office.

12. Casio Multilingual Watch

This nifty watch displays the date and lets you scroll through its settings in 13 different languages. Once again great for language learners and travelers alike, it’s even water resistant up to 165 feet (50 meters).

Language Learning Courses

13. Rosetta Stone

Give the gift of Rosetta Stone! They make it easy to send to your loved one by mail or email.

You already know the buzz about it. This is a top-notch choice for someone who has talked endlessly about learning a certain language but hasn’t gotten their momentum going yet. This program can provide the structure and comprehensive support they need to get the ball rolling—and to keep it rolling.

Rosetta Stone is available in a ton of languages, including French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and many, many more.

For more information, you can read our full review of this classic language learning program.

14. FluentU

This online language learning program is a great gift option for dedicated language learners. By exposing your loved one to a new language the way it’s spoken in real life, they’ll pick up more natural pronunciation, slang and other nuances as used by locals.

To gift a FluentU subscription to someone, click here!

15. Pimsleur

Alright, what about that person who spends tons of time driving? Pimsleur is the way to go if you think someone has ample time to practice languages in their car.

This is another gift idea I’m drawing from personal experience. A lovely family member—hi, Aunt Valerie!—once gave me both the Arabic and German Pimsleur CD collections for Christmas, and I still use them to this very day.

All in all, they’re fun, effective and super useful for anyone who’s on the road often. You can find them featuring a huge variety of languages including French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and more.

You can learn more by reading our full Pimsleur review here.

Household Items

16. Multilingual Doormat

Some of the truly unique gifts for language learners are things they’ll use every day.

Style up their house and help them show the world that they’re on the road to being a polyglot with this cool doormat. Then even their guests can pick up a new word or two when they come to visit!

17. Sticky Notes

These sticky notes feature a cute map-of-the-world background, which is generally appealing to most people who love language, culture and travel.

On the practical side of things, language learners tend to use lots of sticky notes to jot down thoughts, label items and mark important pages in their textbooks and foreign-language novels.

18. Magnetic Poetry

A staple of college dorms everywhere, magnetic poetry sets can also do worlds of good for language learners. Grab them a set in their target language for their refrigerator so they can play with words and phrasings while their coffee is brewing.

I’ve tracked down several options in different languages: Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, German and Chinese.

19. Scratch the World

This Scratch the World map is a really cute way for any travel enthusiast to keep track of their many adventures and display them proudly on their wall at home. If your language lover is always country hopping, this could be a great gift for wherever they call home.

20. Corkboard Adhesive Map

Nothing is more helpful for language learners than having a place to stick their notes, flashcards, study schedules and assignment papers. This corkboard goes beyond the boring, rectangular version with a beautiful map-of-the-world cut-out design that sticks right on the wall.

21. Traveler’s Notebook

What’s better than being organized? Whether they’re traveling the world or just moving around town with lots of study materials, this traveler’s notebook does a nice job of holding onto tiny papers, important documents, pens and littler items.

 

Are you feeling inspired?

Hopefully I’ve given you some nice ideas for gifts for language learners so you can brighten up a special person’s day with something they’ll truly love.

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