Preply study reports gains for learners who switched from a self-study language app

Preply published findings on 4 August 2026 from a 12-week study carried out with research organisation Leanlab Education. The study followed 113 native Spanish-speaking adults who had earlier taken part in a study of a leading self-learning language app and then used Preply's one-to-one tutoring to learn English. According to the company, the work combined learner surveys on perceptions, goal achievement and willingness to recommend with an independent standardised language assessment given before and after the 12 weeks.

The company said every participant rated Preply as contributing more to their fluency than the self-study app, and that the share saying they met their language goals very well or completely rose from 27% to 56%. It also reported that nine times as many learners said tutoring kept them motivated, and that 98% felt it did more for their speaking ability. Most participants, it added, rated tutoring as better for both everyday and professional English.

Leanlab principal researcher Amber Wang described the results as promising exploratory evidence, noting that the same learners experienced both approaches. Preply chief executive Kirill Bigai said the findings support the company's view that language learning works best when it is led by people and assisted by AI. The study is small, relies partly on self-reported survey data and was published by Preply, which ran it in partnership with Leanlab, so the results should be read as company-published evidence.