Well-known apps like Duolingo, Babbel or Rosetta Stone offer no Lingala courses, but there are other apps for learning Lingala that are just as good.
Overview of the Lingala Language:
The Lingala language has about 20-30 million native speakers and about 20-30 million people who speak it as a second language.
Lingala is spoken primarily in the two Congo states and in northern Angola. In these three states it is one of the national languages.
The Latin alphabet is used for writing, maing it easier to learn Lingala.
There are many loan words in Lingala from Swahili, from the local Kinkongo language, as well as from French, Portuguese and English.
Now let's take a look at the apps, software and online courses that you can use to learn Lingala. The biggest advantage of such learning apps is that they are much cheaper than traditional language courses.
uTalk Lingala App
Alternative to Duolingo or Babbel
Systems: Android App, iPhone App, Online Version
Content: Lingala vocabulary (2000 words), lessons and playful exercises
Prices:
USD 12 (1 month and all 160 languages)
USD 60 (12 months and all 160 languages)
Discount offer: USD 199 (Lifetime Access to all 160 Languages)
Overall Value: 
The uTalk app teaches about 2000 Lingala words and focuses primarily on playful exercises.
There are several exercises to choose from:
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Read and listen to Lingala words (with translation and photos)
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Match the Lingala word you heard to a photo
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Speak a Lingala word and compare the recording with the original
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A memory game with pictures
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Speak the Lingala translation of an English word
The vocabulary is divided into 60 freely selectable topics. The special thing about the uTalk app is that you get access to
all 160 languages.
The interface of the app is well made and is similar to other apps like Babbel, Duolingo or Mondly.
Summary: Getting access to 160 languages is impressive and the scope (2000 words with native speaker audio and exercises) is also solid.
Link: uTalk Lingala Language Course App
Lingala Basic Course
From 17 Minute Languages
Systems: Online Access (PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS)
Suitable for: Beginners and Advanced Learners, Students, Professionals
Content: 1300 words (basic course), 5200 words (complete course), grammar, verb conjugations, exercises
Prices: USD 29,95 (Basic Course), USD 97 (Complete Course)
Overall Value:
The Lingala Basic Course contains a vocabulary trainer for the basic Lingala vocabulary (1300 words) with native-speaker audio, as well as grammar explanations and various exercises.
The vocabulary trainer works with a long-term memory method, in which the new vocabulary is checked at increasing intervals.
You can choose between text input, multiple choice or simply confirming whether you knew a word or not.
The exercises include text comprehension questions, filling in word gaps or just vocabulary lists where one side is covered.
The basic course corresponds to the official language levels A1 and A2 (explanation of CEFR language levels).
The Complete Course contains:
- Basic course for beginners (basic vocabulary with 1300 words)
- Intermediate course (1800 more words)
- Advanced course for experts (2100 words)
- Additional specialized vocabulary
- Covers the official CEFR language levels A1 to C2
Other than English, this app has 16 interface languages to choose from.
Summary: Much cheaper and even better than the famous Rosetta Stone. There is a free demo version available and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Link: Lingala Basic Course and Complete Course
Cudoo: Lingala Course
Online Learning with Certificates
Systems: Online Access (PC, Mac, smartphones)
Content: Lingala video lessons and quiz tests
Prices: USD 12.99 (one course), USD 24.99 (4-7 courses bundle)
Overall Value: 
Cudoo is a kind of online university that offers courses with certificates on different topics.
This includes language courses for 160 languages. These are all beginner courses (CEFR level A1 and A2).
For each language there are 1-10 courses and each course has 20-40 lessons.
The lessons each include a short video with new vocabulary and there are short quiz questions below the video.
Summary: The videos are well made, so especially for smaller languages these courses are a good start.
Link: Cudoo Online Lingala Language Course
Linguashop: Lingala
Educational Software for Download
Systems: PC (Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP)
Content: Lingala lessons with native speaker audio and speech recognition, grammar
Prices: USD 35 (second language for free)
Overall Value: 
The Linguashop educational software ("TeachMe") is available for over 90 languages, including Lingala. It also includes an audio CD.
The native speaker audio and speech recognition are relatively good.
However, the interface of the learning software is quite chaotic and there are no exercises — only lessons where new vocabulary is presented.
It is also unclear how many words are included in this Lingala learning program. There is no information about this on the website.
Some grammar lessons are included — however, these are basically just images with short texts.
Summary: Poor quality for a relatively low price. You get language courses for two languages when you buy, one as a free bonus.
Additional Ways To Learn Lingala Online:
Colanguage: Find Skype teachers
Overall Value:
At Colanguage you can arrange face-to-face language lessons online via Skype with language teachers around the world (from $5-10 per hour).
In addition to using apps, it is definitely a good idea to also practice with native speakers in order to learn Lingala properly.
Tandem: Find a language exchange partner
Overall Value: 
Instead of hiring teachers, you can also find people who are interested in a free language exchange online via Skype.
It is completely free of charge, but you have to act as a language teacher for the other person half of the time.
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