The Tools of the Trade
Digital technologies are revolutionising the world. Business, politics, education, and social relations are all being changed by the constant development of new software that, thanks to near ubiquitous mobile access, is available to more and more people. We have provided summaries below to help familiarise some of the apps and programs that are focused on language learning.
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This free app tries to gamify language learning. It utilises spaced repetition algorithms to have users repeat topics and vocabulary regularly. It has a host of languages that can be learned from both direction and uses a form of selective crowd sourcing to develop new courses. For example, English for Korean speakers is available but Korean for English speakers is still under development.
QuizletQuizlet is a memorisation tool that lets users create and share cue cards with a variety of algorithmic learning methods and games. Its strength lies in the breadth and width of its content and the community that adds to it. With roughly 100 million user generated sets, you can probably find something specific to that first level Spanish that you elected to take in your final year.
BabbelBabbel is a language app that employs real linguists to develop the themes and lessons. It differs from some other apps because it tailors its learning to each language. The idea is that there are optimal ways to learn languages depending on your native and target language. For example, a speaker of German may learn English differently than they learn Turkish.
HelloTalkAnother free app that concentrates on the conversational side of language learning that, by all accounts, is the most important element of language learning. HelloTalk facilitates real time conversations through text or video-chat directly in the app. It even has a doodle app for clarifying language misunderstandings.
Facebook makes the list of language learning apps by sheer dint of it community building power. There are a host of language learning community groups that are open to the public. One can participate in chats with native speakers or attend meetups and events facilitated by this widely popular site.
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Rosetta Stone offers an immersion experience with advanced voice recognition software to lead users on an organic language learning experience. Its strength, they say, is in the fact that there is only the target language. You learn as a child would by starting with simple pictures and vocabulary and moving to more complex arrangements of grammar.
BusuuBusuu can be considered a social network as it matches learners and native speakers together to enable language use. In this manner, users are both learners of their target language and teachers of their native language. Like many proprietary programs, paid access is required to take advantage of the majority of the content.
HiNativeHiNative is another app that connects you with native speakers, hence the name. It is geared toward quick questions rather than conversations. Its strength, or weakness, is that your questions are crowd sourced and answered by users. It differentiates itself by focusing on quick questions and interactions. Perhaps best used as a complement to other learning regimens.
MindsnacksThe tagline is "Games for your Brain" and it lives up to the hype. Vocabulary and Grammar points are drilled through a variety of games, lessons, and quests, for the goal oriented language learner. Though proprietary, it is cheaper than many of its competitors and has an interface that will appeal to learners of all ages.
MemriseMemrise is another vocabulary builder but employs an interesting association technique for memorising words. It has you link new words to ones that you already know to help you recall more readily. It also uses an algorithmic spaced repetition to help users retain what they have learned. Combined with a user friendly interface, we have a competitive and effective language clearing app.
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The real power of interactive technologies is that they let us learn in ways that aren’t otherwise possible or practical. - David Lassner