I brought my iPod Touch with me to Paris this summer, and decided to make use of it by trying to learn French on-the-go.
A week before my trip, I scoured the Apple App Store for anything “learn French” related, and since I’m doing this project as inexpensively as possible, I eliminated most of the bulk by choosing only free apps.
Doing this does limit some apps to the “lite” or “ad version” which, in most cases, isn’t a big deal.
For me, the big deciding factor in choosing apps was WIFI access. Or, rather, those that worked fine on a lack thereof.
Going across the pond, I had no idea if or where I would find free WIFI (although I did download the handy Wi-Fi Finder to point me in the right direction) and looking at my intensive itinerary, whether or not my ‘free time’ would coincide with a WIFI hotspot. In the end, finding WIFI was a problem. (And so was finding “free time” to learn, but that’s another matter...)
I took seven apps along with me - here are my favourite 4:
Like most in its category, this app requires an Internet connection to access the dictionary database. A sample sentence is included with each word, and to test your burgeoning vocabulary, a basic Scrabble-look-alike spelling game.
The interface is very simple, clean, and doesn’t look amateur like French Word of the Day! (note the !) which does not require WIFI, but doesn’t offer much else.
2. French-English Translate Dictionary Lite.
I’ve used this offline dictionary to look up verbs I didn’t understand, and most times found the entry I was looking for, but being the lite version, it isn’t as well stocked as the paid one. However, in testing it out with words I do know, I’ve found it can be not wholly accurate: “midi” for example, is listed as meaning “south”, when it also more commonly means “noon”, or “midday”, or “lunchtime”.
3. Memorize Words for French Lite
Boosts your French vocabulary, using flash cards, audible pronunciation, and simple games. The app keeps track of which words you master, and those you’re having trouble with so your review sessions can focus on the latter.
I’ve scrapped BYKI (and the buggy BYKI app) from my curriculum for this app. Both are nearly identical in terms of teaching methods (flash cards) and sitting at my computer for half an hour clicking through cards felt like a waste of time. Having MemWords on my iPod Touch means I can be learning during wasted time that’s already in my daily schedule (like commuting).
4. iTranz Language Matrix Lite
Translates basic dialogue between languages of your choice. That said, you can’t type in sentences and have the app translate it for you (iTranslate is the better app there); rather, you choose templates, like “directions”, and follow along sentence by sentence, with the option of hearing the pronunciation. In this sense, iTranz is more iScript, providing simple conversations which you can follow in both your native language and the one you’re learning.
The problem with the lite version is the templates are extremely limited - directions, keywords, and a hello-how-are-you type dialogue. iTranz doesn’t actually teach you French, but teaches you to memorize French phrases - which, as I’ve mentioned before are two entirely different things!
Still, it’s a handy app to pick up (and probably buy the full version) as a substitute for a French phrase book.
Know a great French language app I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments!
Up next: review of Radio Lingua’s French audio/video podcasts.
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