According to a new survey from Drops, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese are the top three languages learners plan to pursue in the new year in the United States. Most are motivated by a passion for the culture rather than career goals.
Oslo, Norway (January 8, 2025): Drops, a Kahoot! company and a leading language-learning app, today revealed the survey findings showing strong enthusiasm for developing new language skills this year. Language learning apps rank as the #1 confidence-boosting tool for learners.
“As people across the United States set their New Year’s resolutions for 2025, language learning continues to be a key goal for personal development,” said Frederik Cordes, General Manager and CPO at Drops. “Our world is becoming more connected every day, and this is inspiring people to pursue language as a gateway to understanding and engaging more deeply with other cultures. Game-based learning technology technology can help people meet their language learning goals this year by making the learning process less intimidating and easier to fit into daily routines.”
The survey gathered insights from 2,071 respondents in the U.S. on the Drops platform, asking about their emotions, motivations, and challenges for learning and practicing new languages. Overall, 75% of respondents said that they had decided to learn a new language in the year ahead, primarily motivated by interest in the culture. This interest in new languages is also extending across all ages. Despite persistent myths that only children and students can successfully acquire new language skills, nearly a quarter (24%) of learners aged 56–65 are pursuing new languages, highlighting the appeal and benefits of language study as part of lifelong learning.
Learners reported plans to explore a broad range of languages, with Spanish leading as the target language of 25% of respondents—showcasing its growing popularity as the second most used language in the US. This is followed by 20% of learners planning to learn Korean, and 13% planning to learn Japanese. Tagalog is also a popular choice at 11%, while French rounds out the top five at 9%.
While many have touted the career-boosting benefits of learning a new language, this survey revealed learners’ top motivation (59%) to be passion for a specific culture, country, or language. Likewise, 42% of respondents chose fun or travel plans over career as their driving motivation, speaking to the prioritizing of personal fulfillment and connections above professional goals.
Respondents also report strong positive emotions while learning a language, with curiosity and accomplishment as the most commonly cited at 78%, followed by excitement and success. This underscores the importance of positive reinforcement and engaging learning tools for keeping learners motivated and making progress through consistent practice.
Though most respondents describe language learning as an overwhelmingly positive experience, people’s learning processes are not without their challenges. Lack of time and discipline ranked as the top obstacle for 73% of respondents, amplifying the need for flexible, time-efficient learning methods. Learners also shared that actually speaking the new language can be anxiety-inducing. Pronunciation and grammar mistakes top the list of worries for 83% of respondents, showing a critical area where learning support is needed for confident communication.
How are language learners building their confidence to practice new languages? Language learning apps are the top choice at 84%, highlighting the demand for tools providing interactive experiences that are also flexible, accessible, and focused on real-world application.
With more than 50 million installs to date, Drops invites learners to explore essential vocabulary, common phrases, and conversation skills in a new language through bite-sized lessons, using an intuitive and gamified approach. Learners can choose from over 50 available languages, each featuring interactive exercises, engaging challenges, and more. This also includes Drops' recently launched Multiplayer: the first real-time multiplayer learning game on any language app. In Multiplayer, Drops users can connect with friends and learners around the world for an exciting and fast-paced language competition in real-time. Users can either choose to be matched with other Drops learners globally, or host a session for friends, colleagues, or students.
For language learners who want to build confidence in their speaking skills in particular, Drops also recently announced the new AI-powered Speaking Practice exercises. This feature uses an AI large language model (LLM) to recognize users' pronunciation and compares it to a recording of a native speaker, helping learners improve their verbal communication in their target language.
This survey was conducted by Drops on the Drops platform from December 12th to December 18th, 2024. A total of 2,071 respondents in the U.S. participated in the survey. For more information on the survey findings, please contact press@languagedrops.com.
Drops is here to make language learning awesome with game-based engagement. By offering fun, easy and efficient experiences for acquiring our 51 languages, Drops has attracted more than 50 million installs to date. As part of the Kahoot! Group, Drops is used across the globe and enjoys continuous product and content improvements to meet the evolving needs of our diverse audience.
Experience Drops for free on App Store& Google Play. For more information about Drops, visit the Drops website or contact press@languagedrops.com.
