English for QA: free resources that actually help
A QA engineer without English is a career constraint. Apple/Google/Microsoft docs, the best books (Crispin & Gregory, Whittaker), conference talks, communicating with the team on international products — it’s all in English. The good news: there are so many free resources now that paying for courses isn’t necessary. Here’s what people actually use.
Platforms for structured study
— Duolingo — everybody knows it. Gamification, daily habit. Works best for the base (A1-B1).
— Coursera — university courses, free to audit (no certificate). Look for English for Career Development by University of Pennsylvania.
— edX — same idea, other universities.
— Saylor Academy — many free courses at B2+ level.
Grammar and exercises
— Quizlet — flashcards for vocabulary. Create your own or use community sets (often IT/QA-themed). — LearningApps — interactive grammar exercises. Gamified, not boring. — PerfectEnglishGrammar — straight grammar exercises by topic.
Pronunciation and listening
— YouGlish — most powerful tool. Type a word or phrase → it shows YouTube moments where native speakers say it. Real pronunciation, real context. — BBC Learning English — news adapted to your level. Daily listening habit. — VOA Learning English — same, from Voice of America. Clear pronunciation, slower pace.
Shows and films for passive intake
Pick by level:
— B1: Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Brooklyn Nine-Nine — simple plots, everyday vocabulary. — B2: The Office (US), Silicon Valley (bonus — IT vocabulary), TED Talks. — C1+: Black Mirror, Succession, Netflix documentaries without subtitles.
Watch with English subtitles, not native — otherwise your brain reads the translation instead of listening.
Technical English for QA
A separate skill — Duolingo won’t teach this:
— Read Apple HIG and Google Material — you’ll absorb specific UX vocabulary. — Read Playwright or Selenium documentation — what you actually work with. — Subscribe to Test Automation University (free) — video courses on QA in English by experienced engineers. — Listen to podcasts: TestTalks, Quality Sense Podcast, The Testing Show.
What I’d do at the start
✅ 20 minutes every day is better than 3 hours once a week. Habit matters more than volume.
✅ Start with what’s professionally interesting — Playwright docs, not “top 10 tourist phrases”. Higher motivation → faster learning.
✅ Record yourself on video — a 2-minute story about the last bug you fixed. Listen back. It’s painful, but gives instant feedback on pronunciation.
✅ Find a speaking partner on Tandem or HelloTalk — speech practice without money. 30 minutes a week — meaningful progress in 3 months.
✅ Stop waiting until “I’ve learned it” — at B1 you can already work in an international team. The pain point isn’t vocabulary, it’s willingness to speak with mistakes.
The pitfall
The hardest part of English for QA isn’t learning — it’s applying. If you don’t use the language at work, it atrophies. So:
— Write your tickets in English even if the team speaks Russian. — Maintain test docs in English (in international projects it’s the norm). — Write README files for your repos in English.
This gives constant practice and makes your CV stronger.