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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteA 2026 study found that nine times as many participants said Preply tutoring was more motivating than a self-learning language app. That is a report about 113 adults who experienced both approaches in sequence—not proof that human teachers universally outperform apps or that tutoring caused the difference.
What the 9-to-1 result means
Preply announced the study on August 4, 2026, with education research organization Leanlab Education. The 113 participants were native Spanish-speaking adults aged 25 to 50, learning English for professional goals. They first took part in a 12-week self-learning app study and then used Preply for 12 weeks. During the tutoring phase, they averaged 23 hours of lessons, compared with 18 hours of app use in the earlier phase. Preply’s announcement and Leanlab’s report describe the findings.
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The headline comparison concerns participants’ reported motivation: nine times as many said Preply was more motivating than the app. It does not mean that tutoring produced nine times as much learning, nor that nine out of every ten language learners would choose a tutor. The result describes this study group’s perceptions after trying both formats.
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Leanlab reported several other perceived advantages during the Preply phase:
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- All participants said Preply contributed more to their fluency, and 98% said it contributed more to their speaking ability.
- 99% said their speaking confidence improved; 98% felt more supported; and nine in ten said the experience was more personalized.
- 56% said they achieved their goals “very well” or “completely” with Preply, compared with 27% during the app phase.
- 76% cited human connection as key to their learning experience.
These are reported study results, not population-wide estimates. Leanlab also reports statistically significant CEFR-level gains after the Preply period in speaking, pronunciation, and reading. Because different assessment tools were used in the two periods, however, Leanlab says skill growth cannot be compared across the app and tutoring phases.
Can the study show that tutoring caused the difference?
No. Participants used the app first and Preply later; they were not randomly assigned to concurrent app and tutor groups. The study is descriptive and relies on participants’ self-reported comparisons. It therefore cannot separate the effect of tutoring from factors such as the order of the experiences, the extra time spent learning, or how participants judged each phase.
Preply’s earlier comparison of app learning and tutoring used separate participant samples and was described as exploratory and contextual. Preply says further between-group experimental research would be needed to validate observed differences. The 2026 same-participant follow-up adds useful detail about how this group experienced each format, but it does not establish a universal ranking of tutors over apps. See Preply’s discussion of the limits of self-learning app comparisons.
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When an app or a tutor may fit better
The study does not provide a controlled price comparison, so it cannot show which approach offers better value. It does highlight differences worth considering when choosing how to learn:
| Consideration | Self-learning app | One-to-one tutoring |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule and independence | Flexible, independent practice, as characterized in the study materials | Lessons involve scheduled interaction with a tutor |
| Speaking practice and feedback | Practice is app-based; the study does not establish a general measure of feedback quality | Live conversation and personalized interaction are central to the tutoring format |
| Accountability and connection | Primarily independent learning | Ongoing contact with a tutor; participants in this study often reported stronger support and human connection |
| Cost comparison | Not established by the study | Not established by the study |
If your priority is fitting practice around your schedule, independent app work may suit you. If you want a person to respond to your speaking, adapt practice to your needs, and provide a regular point of accountability, tutoring may be more appealing. Those are practical trade-offs, not conclusions that one format will work better for every learner.
What about the claim that Preply has 150,000 tutors?
AndroidGuys reported on October 2, 2026, that Preply had passed 150,000 tutors, up 50% from a previous 100,000 milestone, after an announcement on October 1. That is a secondary report; the primary study sources cited above do not verify the company-network figure. Treat the count as reported by AndroidGuys rather than as independently confirmed here. Read the AndroidGuys report.
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What the study is useful for
The clearest takeaway is that these 113 adults generally described the tutoring phase as more motivating and supportive than their earlier app phase, while also reporting stronger perceived progress toward goals. That can help learners think about the value of human interaction, feedback, and accountability. It should not be read as experimental proof that tutors beat apps for language learners as a whole.
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