Below you will find the top 5 iOS apps as posted by OpenLanguage on March 11, 2014.
Learn English Grammar
by The British Council
- Free
Pros:
People often underestimate the importance of grammar, especially when they want to learn how to speak English quickly. Many people can find grammar boring or tedious, but it's an essential part of any language learning process. The British Council understood this and created this app through which they developed an organized, yet fun way to learn English grammar. Using a series of simple exercises like multiple-choice questions and sentence re-ordering, you'll be able to understand and remember the grammar rules in English.
Cons:
This app is free to download, but then you only get a few lessons to study. If you wish to continue studying, you'll need to pay about one dollar per new level. One other potential issue is that if you don't have a basic understanding of English (which we think you do because you are reading this) this app is definitely not for you!
Get it here.
WordPower Learn American English Vocabulary
People often underestimate the importance of grammar, especially when they want to learn how to speak English quickly. Many people can find grammar boring or tedious, but it's an essential part of any language learning process. The British Council understood this and created this app through which they developed an organized, yet fun way to learn English grammar. Using a series of simple exercises like multiple-choice questions and sentence re-ordering, you'll be able to understand and remember the grammar rules in English.
Cons:
This app is free to download, but then you only get a few lessons to study. If you wish to continue studying, you'll need to pay about one dollar per new level. One other potential issue is that if you don't have a basic understanding of English (which we think you do because you are reading this) this app is definitely not for you!
Get it here.
WordPower Learn American English Vocabulary
by InnovativeLanguage.com
- Free
Pros: Once you understand how a language works, one of the biggest challenges is growing your vocabulary then practice, practice, practice. Innovative Language Learning has created a very friendly and simple application with the most essential vocabulary from native expressions, tourist destinations, flirting, food, money, body parts, occupations, etc.
Cons: Although you are able to listen to native speakers and then record your own pronunciation to compare with theirs, the sample sentences given for each word are only three- or four-word sentences. Sometimes it's enough, but in some cases, more examples are needed in order to understand the use of the word. Also, something you might want to think about before purchasing the complete app is that it's nothing more than a word bank. In other words, this app does not explain any grammar or anything else besides vocabulary.
Get it here.
Learn English Through Stories
Cons: Although you are able to listen to native speakers and then record your own pronunciation to compare with theirs, the sample sentences given for each word are only three- or four-word sentences. Sometimes it's enough, but in some cases, more examples are needed in order to understand the use of the word. Also, something you might want to think about before purchasing the complete app is that it's nothing more than a word bank. In other words, this app does not explain any grammar or anything else besides vocabulary.
Get it here.
Learn English Through Stories
by Vu Truong Tanh
- Free
Pros: It's always more fun, and often more effective to learn a language through something entertaining like stories or comics rather than conventional textbook-style dialogues. It reminds us of that funny green monster from the late 80's in the popular English learning videos Follow Muzzy. With Learn English Through Stories you'll be able to listen to different stories and learn vocabulary, as well as its different usages in the real English-speaking world.
Cons: The stories aren't that interesting in the first levels, but they get better once the difficulty increases. The voice on some of the recordings sounds like a robot, which makes the experience a bit dull. Also, as with the apps we previously mentioned, not all the lessons are for free.
Get it here.
EnglishPod on OpenLanguage
Cons: The stories aren't that interesting in the first levels, but they get better once the difficulty increases. The voice on some of the recordings sounds like a robot, which makes the experience a bit dull. Also, as with the apps we previously mentioned, not all the lessons are for free.
Get it here.
EnglishPod on OpenLanguage
by OpenLanguage
- Free
Pros: OpenLanguage has created an amazing platform in which they've merged the contents of some of the most popular language programs on the web like SpanishPod, EnglishPod, and FrenchPod. In one single app and website, you'll be able to study all these different languages (if you purchase the subscriptions). Their Tablet Textbook, using a new generation of language learning apps, provides students with all the basic studying tools in one single interface with sentence-reordering exercises, word-by-word translation, the ability to save vocabulary in the target language, and a "Task" feature, which consists of special exercises you can complete to get feedback from their academic team as well as from the student community. There is even an "accuracy" feature where you can record yourself and get feedback from voice recognition software!
Cons: It all depends on what you need, but we think that it might be a little overpriced if your purpose is to learn English just for fun ($30 monthly subscription, $240 annual subscription). EnglishPod on OpenLanguage is a complete language course, not just a flashcard or a vocabulary app, so before you grab your credit card and get ready to make your purchase, think about it carefully.
Get it here.
Learn English
Cons: It all depends on what you need, but we think that it might be a little overpriced if your purpose is to learn English just for fun ($30 monthly subscription, $240 annual subscription). EnglishPod on OpenLanguage is a complete language course, not just a flashcard or a vocabulary app, so before you grab your credit card and get ready to make your purchase, think about it carefully.
Get it here.
Learn English
by Hello - Hello
- Free
Pros: One of the best features this app has is that it provides a multi-language interface, meaning that regardless of your native tongue, they'll probably have a translation of the app for you, unless you're a Wookiee and speak whatever it was Chewbacca used to speak. Their teaching system is based on videos which explain the complete lesson, including grammar and expressions, and also provide simple yet useful exercises to help the student comprehend what's going on. As a bonus point, we really enjoyed watching the videos; they are cute and funny, but sometimes a bit creepy.
Cons: As always, you need to pay for the full version (about $15 bucks). The multi-language interface is very useful, however, the translations feel forced and sometimes don't make any sense, almost as if they just "Google-translated" the whole thing. The voiceovers feel forced most of the time and, after twenty minutes of continuous study, the videos start to get boring.
Cons: As always, you need to pay for the full version (about $15 bucks). The multi-language interface is very useful, however, the translations feel forced and sometimes don't make any sense, almost as if they just "Google-translated" the whole thing. The voiceovers feel forced most of the time and, after twenty minutes of continuous study, the videos start to get boring.