Fluency21- Committed Sardine Blog got me thinking this week. Their post was titled “Smartphones in the classroom? Sure, with these top apps…”
Here’s what they posted…
Whether teachers like it or not, students are going to use cell phones in their classrooms. A University of New Hampshire studyrevealed that 65 percent of surveyed students said that they send 1-10 text messages in a typical class. Another 15 percent admitted to sending 11 or more per class on average. Some teachers remain steadfast in their efforts to snatch smartphones, but others have embraced the new technology.
News flash – Students want to be able to use their phones! If we can show them ways to use their phone to learn the language, they might even use it for that reason outside of our classes. So here are a few apps that my students and I would recommend – we feel they are worth the download!
1.) SpanishDict (FREE)
Besides the obvious fact that this is a spanish-english dictionary that goes with them everywhere, I like that it sends a notification for a word of the day. It’s an easy way to pick up a little new vocab outside of class. Also, the word game on this app is fun to play and students can figure out the first few levels right away. It’s not just for beginners though. It goes up to level 15 – all for free!
2.) Spanish Numbers (FREE)
Quick and easy way to practice numbers! No bingo necessary!
3.) TuneIn Radio (FREE)
This app rocks! It allows you to connect up and listen to REAL radio programs around the world. You can choose the genre of music or news and then search the map for any city you want! I love hearing the DJ’s chat between songs! It helps me see what is popular in different parts of the world!
4.) Salsa Language (FREE)
This cute little thing gives a bunch of jumbled magnetic words in Spanish and you have to put them together to match a phrase/sentence that is in English at the bottom. There are about 15 different topic categories to practice. Great for learning order differences in a new language!
5.) 4 Fotos Mas
This is definitely better suited for upper level language learners because they need a bigger vocabulary. The English version app is really popular with students – now they can play in Spanish. It shows four different pictures that represent one word. You have to figure out the correct word using the letters on the bottom. It really makes you think! Can you figure these next ones out?
Well, there you have it! Sorry I couldn’t recommend any apps for other languages. Next, I’ll post a few apps for YOU (the teacher) to use in class, and then great apps for creating and producing both written and spoken language!
Now the best part… What are your favorite apps for your students??? I can’t wait to get some new ideas from you!
Many apps exist in different languages. Try setting your device to a language you teach and see if your favorite apps will function in Spanish or French, or German, or Japanese… Who knows, may be you already have what you want:)
I’ve also heard the suggestion to set your social media sites in another language if you’re learning a language. Reading all of your settings on Facebook in Spanish may make it seem more natural.
Duolingo is a fun and free language learning app. It is interactive and it even has speaking and listening components!
My students have really enjoyed Duolingo! They like that they can find each other and compete!
Verb2verbe is a great French Verb conjugator – APP is .99
For French, 7 jours sur la planète is an awesome app with new video (actualités) and vocabulary games.
Make that “news” video
Some other good apps for students to practice on that my class uses are Fetch it, Duolingo, MindSnacks, uSpeak and these are all free. Also 360iTours is good for geography in lessons
My high school students and I really like the Mind Snacks Spanish app. It comes in lots of other languages too. It’s free up to a certain level and can then be purchased if you want to go further. It’s fun and can be addictive!
DuoLingo = amazing and comes in several languages. I’m using it as a daily do now activity with my middle school students.
I actually use the quizlet app with my students all the time and they email me their screen shots of them playing scatter and space race with the new vocabulary and they try to compete against other students in the class. They even get points at the end of the week if they are the fastest in the class.:)
Brain Pop in Spanish is a great way to build on what the students already know is science and social studies and at the same time expand their Spanish. Best used with intermediate to upper level classes.
7 palabritas is a great app for upper level students. Decipher the clues to find seven words made up of the letters that appear on the screen. You can play quite a few levels with the free app. Upgrade to the paid version for more puzzles to solve.
Hey guys We have started with “Language Perfect” – a New Zealand App language app that has kids revising the words over from any word list that you get them to create.
Kids play against each other by going French-ENglish or English to French/Spanish to English, Eng to Span (and ANY language that you want the the LP people to set up for you.
Brought in for NZ and Australian schools and it’s going crazy here. Just had a national competition and my kids are begging me, every day – “Can we do Language Perfect ” today to compete against other schools in revising/gaining points for languages.
They love it and never whinge about revising lists any more. Free for the first year, so that you can consider if your school wants to buy it (per child) and even if you do decide it works out about US25 per year. It will be the best investment you ever make for your kids. Works – IPAD and MACS.check out site!
Soz meant to say, it’s not competitions per se, that’s just a fun part…but it’s a revision app that helps them to revise topic words. They compete with each other by revising the word in a short time span and getting points each time they get it right. If they don’t know it, the word is repeated againl, later on. If they get it the following week they get more points, and if they get it again the next month they get more points! So constantly being reinforced but having heaps of fun competing with peers.
Reblogged this on PYP Spanish – Cebu International School.