Time to Enhance Your Knowledge of Vocabulary With Mobile Learning Apps

Vocabulary Learning Applets - Use them to your Advantage

Today I wish to give a brief outline of vocabulary learning apps. Those of you who do not like the old school learning approach, but have a flare for the latest tech inventions, will probably fall for those small pieces of software. Maybe you are not a great fan of old-fashioned ways of learning new words by means of writing them down and making long lists of new vocab units that sooner or later would end up in your waste bin. Or on the contrary, you don't feel to be that tech savvy?

Don't fear as installing the apps and using them is as easy as 1,2, 3.Well, why not go tech, and think of using those gadgets to your advantage? Your mobile phone is surely part and parcel of your everyday existence, so pack it with the app of your choice and start browsing, revising and learning new language stuff with it. Don't waste your time as you can learn new words everywhere: in a bus when going to work/school, even when being in a queue, and still have fun.

There are many apps of this kind for learning not only vocabulary, but also grammar, pronunciation, or conversational phrases in different languages (even for Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Arabic), but today vocabulary applets will be my main focus. Of course, you can choose among the free apps or opt for paid versions with more features available. I tested some of them for you. Unfortunately, some major drawback of free apps is that they do have limited access to the content and other features. That was the case with Learn To Speak Italian; the app contained merely 15 phrases, and the user was obliged to pay for further access.

Free vocabulary learning apps:

CardLearner. Flashcards!

Definitely my favorite one. I started using it to improve my still basic knowledge of Italian, and I do like it. You can create your own dictionaries. You can download a demo version to see if it works for you. (The latest full version costs 5 EUR, although the demo mode works pretty well, and also allows you to create dictionaries).

Pros:

- Good features for a low price
- More dictionaries can be downloaded from the web site
- The Reader function allows you to read foreign literature to learn languages faster.

Cons:

- It is available for Symbian ^3 (Symbian S60 v5 [i8910HD/5800/N97/Mini/X6] Apps Symbian^3 [N8/C7/C6/E7] - suitable for Nokia smartphones.

WordSteps Mobile

Learn words anytime anywhere and track your progress.

It is probably one of the most popular vocabulary learning apps. Moreover, it can be used on cell-phones, smartphones (Microsoft Windows devices as well as Nokia Symbian platform).

To get new words straight to your phone for download, you will have to set up a user account on WordSteps web site:
Word Steps and probably buy premium subscription (starting from $5 a month) to be able to download the dictionaries to your mobile phone.

Pros:

- It is free of charge and available for learning 25 languages
- You can practice vocabulary from dictionaries in WordSteps web site for free
- You can listen to pronunciation of the native speakers

Cons:

- Dictionaries may load a little bit too slow
- Some users say that progress bars may not work correctly
- If you don't have a premium subscription, you will not be allowed to download the dictionaries to your phone.
- There are only 12 dictionaries available once you install the app and need to go to WordSteps web site to get more.

Polyglot (For Android OS users)

Another applet with lots of languages to choose from. Also, it contains a new learning page with pictures visualization.

Pros:

- Language materials are divided into topics plus many languages are available for you to learn
- What I liked about this app was that it allowed me to download any language lesson to my Android SD card and listen to it without having to connect to the Internet.

Cons:

- So far, I haven't found major drawbacks, but it does not mean that they don't exist at all.

Learn English/Spanish/German with Busuu

Busuu.com is an online community for foreign language learners from around the globe. Recently, they decided to offer learning apps for English, Spanish and German.

Pros:

- Extensive vocabulary base - over 3,000 words and key phrases
- From beginner to advanced intermediate levels (A1 - B2)
- 150 different vocabulary topics

Cons:

- Too "flashy" for my liking
- Good to start with if you are a beginner. Later on as you progress I would advise to look for something more challenging
- It is not completely free of charge as users will need to pay for some other additional features

Hangman Game Applet

Pros:

- It is free of charge
- Definitely helps you enrich and improve your knowledge of English vocabulary
- Useful if you are preparing for different exams (TOEFL, GMAT, GRE, IELTS, tec)

Cons:

- The application loads a bit slowly
- Only for Symbian OS users

Business English Vocabulary App for Nokia

Pros:

- You can learn vocabulary concerning the economy, law, project management, accounting and finance as well as the latest IT technologies.

Cons:

- Only for Symbian operating system

While I don't profess to be an expert on mobile phone technology, I would suggest choosing the best alternative app that would match your mobile phone operating system. Also, I found a great deal of apps for Android, but a relatively tiny number of those available for Symbian OS. If you know any, and would like to recommend it to all of us, please feel free to do so.

Also, I recommend using AnkiDroid Flashcards app. You can learn basically anything you want with it, not just only new words. It is available for Windows, Linux and MacOS. Also, you can download a version for your laptop or netbook, and use it.

TIPS:

• If after installing the app does not want to load properly, restart your phone, and try again.
• Before installing a given vocabulary app check what operating system you have installed in your mobile device (Symbian OS, Android, ect).
• Also, make sure that the app version is compatible with your mobile phone operating system. Otherwise, the app simply will not work.

As you could see there are many apps. You can download whatever app you like and test it to see if it caters for your taste or not. Do you use such apps to enrich your vocabulary knowledge? If so, please share your comments.

Disclaimer:

Dear Reader, please mind you that I am not responsible for any damages of your mobile phone resulting from the use of those presented applets. By downloading them you agree to use them at your own risk.

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