So, you’ve decided you want to learn a language that isn’t French or Spanish. Maybe it’s Thai, Albanian, or Tamil, but you find out the hard way that every big app you open doesn’t bother with it.
And… you’ve guessed right. It usually (and unfortunately) comes down to which markets bring in more users and revenue, not which languages actually matter to learners. However, learning small languages in 2026 is not as difficult as before. In fact, digital resources, especially new language apps, make it possible for anyone looking to learn less prominent foreign languages.
So, if you’re wondering how to learn underrated languages in 2026, this Ling guide is exactly what you need. Let’s get started!
Why Do Underrated Languages Get Left Behind?
Before we get into the how-to, it helps to understand why underrated languages get left behind so much.
Most major language apps build courses based on demand and revenue potential. The popularity of the language, the culture behind it, and the markets where it is spoken all play a role.
That’s why you’ll find plenty of apps to learn Norwegian, a language that’s only spoken by about 5 million people, but almost nothing for Punjabi, spoken by over 125 million.
These smaller languages (but with a lot of speakers) that get skipped tend to fall into different categories:
- Languages with huge speaker populations outside Europe and North America, like Bengali, Cebuano, Lao, or Javanese.
- Languages tied to growing economies, like Vietnamese or Indonesian
- Smaller regional languages like Albanian, Serbian, or Georgian
- Tonal languages that are hard to teach, like Thai or Cantonese
If your target language falls into any of these, you’re not imagining that famous gap. It’s very much real, and Ling’s research on underrated languages breaks down how these languages get ignored and why, backed by real user data.
Why Learn Underrated Languages?
A very good question. One that deserves good answers. With so few resources around, it can feel like you’re making things harder for yourself by learning a minor language that no one picks up.
However, there are some solid reasons to do so:
- Less competition, more opportunity: When a language is popular, so is its learning. Thousands of people study English to compete on the job market, while with an underrated language, you stand out and get more career opportunities. For example, a Vietnamese-speaking logistics manager or an Albanian-speaking policy analyst is a much rarer profile than an English or French-speaking one.
- Deeper cultural access: Learning Thai helps you talk to people in Bangkok, of course, but it also gives you the opportunity to delve deeper into the culture, the regional cuisine, and a whole way of seeing the world that is otherwise inaccessible to you. The same goes for Georgian, Tamil, or Cantonese.
- Building genuine human connections: For many people, the reason for learning an underrated language is family. Who hasn’t dreamed of understanding the stories of a grandmother who only speaks her native language? Or understanding cousins bantering between themselves?
How To Start A Language Learning Journey With Underrated Languages?
Most smaller languages, even if they have a very large population of native speakers, are hard to learn. But not for the linguistic reasons you might think of. Rather, it’s the scarcity of resources that makes them difficult to learn.
Despite modern digital resources and AI bursting the language-learning bubble, making them more accessible, one still needs a careful learning plan to avoid abandoning it after the first week due to frustration.
Here is how you can start learning an underrated language.
Step 1: Pick Your Target Language for the Right Reason
This sounds obvious, but it matters more than you think. Learning a language for the wrong reasons is the shortest way to give up after the first few weeks of motivational fire.
So, forget learning a foreign language because it’s trendy. You need a real and personal purpose.
Ask yourself honestly why you want this language. Career move? Connecting with your family or partner? Connecting with a new culture? An upcoming trip? Plain curiosity?
You need to know. Because your reason shapes how you’ll learn and how you’ll actually use your resources day by day.
Step 2: Start Learning From The Basics
Sounds obvious as well, right?
But we can’t stress enough how important the basics are. Especially now. Everything moves fast, and we want to move fast too.
Many language learners wish to speak their target language quickly, but they skip the basics that are non-negotiable in any language.
The thing is, learning the basics is very simple with a language app like Ling, which, by the way, covers 70+ languages, including most of the ones major apps consider too niche to bother with.
Every language course on Ling follows best practices for language learning, with a progressive structure that takes learners from complete beginner to conversational proficiency. As a result, there is no way to miss the basics.
You can’t go too fast. You just need to start at unit one.
Step 3: Listen To Native Speakers From Day One
As we previously said, many underrated languages that get skipped by big apps are sometimes difficult to learn, such as tonal languages.
Because they are so different from your native language, and because their phonetic and linguistic system are complex, they require you to start immersing yourself in them as early as possible.
Tonal languages, especially, need a lot of listening because a single wrong tone can completely change a word’s meaning.
Naturally, one of the most important steps you need to take when learning such a language is to listen to native speakers every day. You need to immerse yourself in the language, absorbing the tones, sounds, and pronunciation patterns in a way that will push your understanding and your speaking to the peak.
And this is what makes Ling one of the best tools to learn minor languages.
The app doesn’t cut any corners. Every word and phrase in every course is recorded by real native speakers. For a language like Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, or Yoruba, where the tonal system is one of the biggest hurdles you can encounter, this matters enormously.
Make a habit of listening closely, even repeating phrases out loud (we promise you won’t look crazy speaking to yourself). The earlier you tune your ear to the rhythm and pronunciation of these languages, the less you’ll have to unlearn later.
Step 4: Build A Language Learning Routine You Can Actually Keep
There is no secret to learning a language. Consistency beats quantity, every time.
Studying your target language fifteen minutes a day for three months will get you further than three-hour cram sessions during the weekend, followed by a whole week doing nothing.
As a gamified app, Ling helps you build language-learning habits from day one through streaks, points, and badges. This gentle form of gamification makes it easier to stick to a routine and avoid procrastination.
Here are a few practical learning rituals you can set up:
- Set a specific time each day for your learning, whether it’s with your morning coffee, while commuting, or right before bed.
- Turn on app notifications so you never miss a learning session.
- Don’t skip review sessions. They’re short, and they’re what makes your newly acquired vocabulary stick long-term.
- If you miss a day, don’t spiral into a procrastinating loop that you’ll have a hard time getting out of. Just come back the next day. One missed day isn’t that bad!
Step 5: Go Beyond Apps, Online Courses, And Other Digital Resources
Ling, or other language apps and online courses, may get you a long way on their own.
But they won’t make you complete your full language learning journey, and that’s true of any language, underrated or not.
Once you’ve built a solid foundation in your target language, you’ll need to go beyond these resources and start actively using the language.
You can do so by finding a conversation partner through a language exchange platform or program. This will help you speak with more ease and fully understand the language at an idiomatic level.
Why Does Ling Actually Work For Underrated Languages?
If underrated languages are harder to learn, it isn’t that they’re inherently more difficult (even though many of them are). It has more to do with the fact that almost nobody has built good tools for them.
Ling exists specifically to close that (very big) gap. The app was originally built because its founders wanted a practical way to learn Thai and couldn’t find one. After that, the same logic extended to dozens of other languages that deserve the same attention.
As of 2026, Ling is one of the very few apps that focus on teaching rare languages, helping people connect with other cultures without language barriers.
What Are Some Common Mistakes Learners Make When Learning An Underrated Language?
Learning a language with fewer resources comes with some traps that are quite easy to fall into, mostly because you don’t have the same safety net of forums, study materials, and various forms of content that popular languages have.
Here are the ones worth watching out for:
- Relying too heavily on translation in your native tongue and on romanization, and forgoing learning your target language script (if it uses a non-Latin alphabet), will significantly slow down your progress
- Skipping speaking practice because it feels awkward with no one to talk to will leave a real gap between what you understand and what you can actually say
- Comparing your progress to people learning Spanish or French can ruin your motivation. These languages have significantly more resources available, so comparing learning speeds is rarely fair.
- Assuming smaller languages mean simpler grammar systems, when in reality the opposite is often true (especially for Slavic languages)
- Not seeking out any native content, shows, or podcasts, because it feels harder to find, when a little bit of deeper digging can lead you to many resources
FAQs: How To Learn Underrated Languages?
How Do I Learn An Underrated Language If There Is No App For It?
Start by checking whether Ling already covers it first. The app supports 70+ languages, many of which major platforms like Duolingo and Babbel don’t offer at all, like Thai, Tagalog, Albanian, Serbian, Tamil, Telugu, Vietnamese, Maori, Amharic, and Indonesian. If your language is on that list, you already have a structured course to start. If it isn’t, YouTube and language exchange platforms are your best friends.
What App Is Good For Learning Underrated Languages?
Ling is built specifically for languages that major apps skip, with a massive library to choose from. Duolingo is also good if you want to dabble in fictional languages like High Valyrian!
Why Don’t Apps Like Duolingo Offer More Lesser-Taught Languages?
It mostly comes down to where the demand and the revenue are. Major apps like Duolingo generally prioritize languages that have more users in Western markets, which is why a language like Swedish, with only 10 million speakers, can be learned very easily, while Bengali, with 230 million speakers, is barely available anywhere.
Is It Harder To Learn An Underrated Language Than A Popular One?
Not necessarily. The difficulty of learning underrated languages depends on various factors, such as how different they are from your mother tongue and how many learning resources are available for them.
Ready To Learn An Underrated Language With Ling?
Learning a language nobody else is teaching can feel a little lonely and difficult at first. The resources are scarce, and the motivation can plummet as soon as you hit a small hurdle!
But with good language apps, like Ling, a good dose of daily consistency, and a clear goal, you can start speaking your target language from day one!
So don’t let overthinking hold you back! Start learning any language you want, whether it’s a popular one or an underrated one, today!
