Apps, Children and the learning of another language

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The new technologies create new opportunities and instruments, which can enhance the learning of languages ​​for bilingual children. “Apps” are a new tool. Apps comes from the word “Applications” and can be defined as “small programs” that can be installed on tablet PCs, smart phones and computers. Since 2010 there are now well over one million apps. The apps can be acquired in online stores such as:  App StoreWindows Phone MarketplaceGoogle PlayNokia Store, BlackBerry App World, and  PlayNow. Apps can be used in the car, while waiting e.g. at the doctor, at the restaurant or while flying. Apps are an ideal tool for learning  and expand the vocabulary through games and stories. The apps can also arouse the interest in learning languages​​.

In the market for apps that are suitable to learning new languages​​, you can find some that are geared towards children and others that are geared towards teenagers and adults. Here is a list of apps for kids:

Ana Lomba Spanish for Kid´s. The little red hen: is the free version of this app, and is produced by Ana Lomba Early Languages ​​LLC. This is a bilingual story. The graphics are very nice and the pronunciation clear. There is a similar apps also in Chinese, Spanish and French, each one can be found in combination with English. There are other classic stories.

BabblemaniaThis application is focusing on children growing up bilingual Spanish-English up in order to reinforce the Spanish. The app is focused on the basic vocabulary. There are similar versions in other languages​​.

Bilingual Kids, is created by Litte as a applications to learn basic vocabulary through flash cards. It is designed for learning English and German. The graphics are photos of real objects.

Cute CardsThis app was produced by OSRAM, to learn the English language, and is aimed to learn the basic vocabulary through digital flash cards.

Grolly Animal Adventure:  This is an app to learn English. Emma and her friend Grolly invite you to discover the world of animals in a playful way. There are several stories.

iLearnWith Little Pim . This is an app to learn English through an interactive game with the help of Panda Little Pim, who accompanies the game. There are similar games in Spanish, French and Chinese.

Lang Memory Deutsch. This app is geared towards learning the English alphabet, and also includes a memory game. There are other versions in Cantonese, Vietnamese, Mandarin and English.

Lesespiel. The purpose of this app is to associate words with pictures in German, English and Spanish. It is made ​​in a simple form and focuses on the basic vocabulary.

Lingupingu, is created by Elevision. This app is available in various language combinations. It is an excellent choice to train the basic vocabulary for children and to expand it. The app has a nice graphic.

 My first spanish words: Animals, is an app for learning words and its spelling (in Spanish).

Tap& Say, is an app for learning basic vocabulary in several languages​​.

Ultimate Word Search Free, There is an app in the classic kind of “word soup”

 Vocabuland, is an app for learning basic vocabulary by associating pictures with names and small sentences. There are similar versions with different language combinations.

 

Here is a list of apps for adolescents and adults:

Babbel, is an app for learning vocabulary. The vocabulary is organized by themes and depth. It requires a monthly payment, and there are different versions in other languages​​.

Busuu.com. This app is designed in the traditional style of the course. It is possible to be part of a community and use the chat with error correction.

Gengo Word Power, is an app to learn English. You can practice phrases, words and word families. You can also record your own pronunciation. There are similar versions for other languages​​.

Goethe Institut, is an interesting app, where you will practice the German language skills in a simulated journey. It is an original idea that one should look at.

Harenberg Englisch Tag für Tag, This app contains a short text or game for each day. Designed for beginners or advanced. This app is available in different languages.

iLingQis an app that allows the use of LingQ without internet access. Here you can practice reading and listening, vocabulary tranieren and much more.

IgolingualWith this app you can learn different languages​​. It is divided by themes or lessons. Each lesson has a separate costTap& Say is an app for learning basic vocabulary in several languages​​.

Ultimate Word Search Free. Es ist eine App in den klassischen Art  des “Wortsalat”

VerbForms in Spanish. This app is used to learn Spanish verbs. This app aims to improve the grammar of verbs.

Vocabuland, is an app for learning basic vocabulary by linking names and pictures and little sentences. There are similar versions with different language combinations.

Many of the apps include free versions that allow us a more accurate picture of the product before buying. But these free versions are usually only an Open door to the paid versions. As more new apps coming on the market, we recommend that you perform a custom search in the various app stores.

It would be great if you could comment on these apps with your own recommendations about apps!

Comments:

Hi Rosario,

This is Rosa from Onlinecollegecourses.com. We write about  Chinese Smartphone Apps, and  some of your recent discussions and posts inspired our recent article, 15 Smartphone Apps to Teach Yourself Chinese.  If you’d like to share it with your readers, feel free to pass it along.

Thanks for your time and consideration. We look forward to reading more of your posts!

Rosa Ray

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