Sites like Swagbucks can really help spare your wallet by offering rewards you can turn into language learning resources.

Swagbucks for linguists: premium learning that spares your wallet

Language learning can be a pricey business. Apps, books, subscriptions – they all add up. Enter Swagbucks, which is great for turning clicks into learning resources!

I’ve been using the Swagbucks reward site since November, when I found out that it offers iTunes credit as rewards. I’d put off buying an expensive language learning app, AnkiMobile Flashcards, due to the cost. But if I could earn vouchers to buy the app rather than use my own money, it wouldn’t hit my pocket so hard!

It took me a few weeks of occasional surveys and clicks to reach the £20 iTunes credit I needed. I won’t pretend that it’s a riveting business, filling in surveys! However, it’s no real hardship, and the points accrue quickly. The site is a favourite of Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis as a great way to garner treats in your spare moments.

Swagbucks for the linguist

Once I’d got my Anki app, why stop there? Swagbucks awards treats not only for iTunes, but also Amazon, and even hard cash through Paypal. All three of these can greatly benefit the language learner by providing a payment source for learning resources. Here are some of the things you can do with your bucks:

iTunes

For a start, you can pay for apps with your iTunes vouchers. There are lots of great pay-for apps, like AnkiMobile Flashcards (which is well worth the high price by the way), and the Eurotalk range of apps for basic vocab.

But you can also use iTunes credit to pay for subscriptions. A couple of big language-learning apps follow a freemium model, where the app is free, but you pay for extra content in the form of subscriptions or add-ons. A couple of the biggies are:

Amazon

It’s a no-brainer – if you redeem your Swagbucks as Amazon vouchers, you can purchase almost anything. Digitally, that means Android apps, foreign language music and Kindle books. In the real world, it’s practically any language learning tool you like, from language courses to DVDs.

PayPal

Likewise, cashing out as PayPal gives you a real freedom to choose. You’ll get a slightly lower rate of conversion, though; you’ll get more purchase for your bucks when redeeming iTunes or Amazon vouchers, so only use PayPal if there’s nothing useful you can get with the other two.

In terms of hard cash sites, one of the most useful resources I’ve found is iTalki. The site offers face-to-face lessons with global teachers over Skype, with prices starting from just a couple of pounds per lesson. Convert your Swagbucks to cash, and they’ll go a long way to promoting your fluency when spent on iTalki lessons.

So, a little elbow grease on a rewards site can really help fuel your language addiction. Roll up your sleeves, grit your teeth, and commit to a Swagbucks survey or two a day. Enjoy guilt-free, wallet-sparing access to premium resources as a result!