How I Learn English as a Working Mum in Australia – 10 Minutes a Day with ABC & Elevate Apps
As a working mum, "learning English" often feels like a task that always lingers in the back of my mind. Between full-time work, parenting, and everything else, there's just no time for formal classes or hours of YouTube.
So I found the most realistic way for me—using free public apps by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). They're free, low-pressure, and best of all, I can do them every day in short bursts. And that’s how it’s stuck.
✅ Morning Routine: ABC News App While Still in Bed
Before I get out of bed, I spend 5–10 minutes reading the ABC News app.
- National headlines and Canberra local news at a glance
- Short articles, interactive pieces, videos, and images
- Clear layout, no login needed, and completely free
📝 At first, I couldn’t understand most of it. But slowly, sentence by sentence, I began to recognize more. That sense of "I’m understanding a little more today" really helped me stay consistent.
✅ Evening Routine: ABC Listen App Before Sleep
At night, lying in bed, I turn on the ABC Listen app. This is also free and what I love most is the variety of podcasts by topic:
- 🎧 Working mum stories, mental health, parenting, education
- 🎧 News summaries, children’s stories, and even classical music
- 🎧 With the sleep timer, it’s perfect for falling asleep to
Even on days I feel like I’ve done nothing, this gives me a small win:
“At least I heard something in English today.”
✅ Bonus App: Elevate – A Smart Brain App the Whole Family Uses
The last app I highly recommend is Elevate.
I started with the free version, and later moved to the paid version—because it’s absolutely worth it.
- Vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, comprehension, error spotting
Word construction, synonyms, crossword puzzles, brain math challenges
- Sleek design, daily challenges, and totally addictive in a good way!
The best part?
My kids and I all use it with the same account on different devices (iPad, phone). Everyone gets their own personalised level and activities. It’s paid—but seriously, the value is unbeatable.
✅ App Download Links
- 📱 ABC News App (iOS)
- 📱 ABC News App (Android)
- 🎧 ABC Listen App (iOS)
- 🎧 ABC Listen App (Android)
- 🧠 Elevate Official Site
✅ English Learning in My 50s – The Silent Marathon
I’m now approaching my 50s. Even though I’ve lived in Australia for many years, I feel like I only started learning English seriously in the past few years.
My husband is Australian, and we speak English at home. But I’ve realized:
Without intentional study, there’s a limit to how far your English improves—especially advanced vocabulary, news, or writing.
As my kids grew older and I engaged more socially and professionally, I saw how much more confident I wanted to be in English.
Luckily, with so many free or affordable apps these days, it’s possible to go slow, forget sometimes, and still keep growing.
Actually,
I’m the kind of person who restarts every three days! 😆 I don’t do it every single day, but even just a few times a week is enough.
If you keep going, even imperfectly, one day you’ll suddenly notice:
“English feels just a little easier than before.”