Learning English bridges many gaps for foreign-born people. It’s necessary for communication with employers, neighbors, children’s teachers, doctors, landlords and others with whom they must communicate. It is also key to passing the U.S. citizenship exam and the ability to vote.
The U.S. foreign-born population more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, urban.org reports. Consequently, the number of adults enrolled in English as a Second Language classes (ESL) has increased dramatically.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of ESL students enrolled in federally funded programs increased from 1.1 million to 1.2 million just between 2002 and 2003. In the 2007-2008 school year, more than 5.3 million children were enrolled in ESL classes, migrationinformation.org reports; by 2015, that number will reach 10 million.
There are a variety of ESL apps and tools that make the learning process easier for the ESL student. Let’s take a look at some of the most Popular iOS and Android Apps to Learn English Language:
This simple app takes you through every letter in the English alphabet. Students can tap a letter they want to learn about, and the app will tell them what the letter means, examples of how it is used and what it sounds like in different words. Then you can do exercises, flashcards and puzzles with each letter. To help students write the letters, the app offers a tracing program for practice.
2. Mondly
Rating: ★★★★☆
Mondly is a good app for learning new languages. It’s easy to use and has lots of languages to pick from. It’s fun and helps you talk better. It’s a good choice for people who want to learn a new language.
- Lots of Languages: You can choose from popular ones like Spanish or French, or even less common ones like Hawaiian. There are lots of choices!
- Fun Lessons: You can play games and do short lessons. They have pictures and sounds to help you understand better.
- Talking Practice: Mondly helps you talk like a native speaker. You can talk to your phone, and it tells you if you’re saying things right.
- Games and Challenges: You can do fun challenges every day. You earn points and can compete with friends.
- Other Cool Stuff: Mondly has extra things like a verb helper and lessons you can use without the internet. That means you can learn anytime, anywhere.
- Could Be Better: Mondly is good, but sometimes it doesn’t sound like a real person when you talk to it. Also, to get all the good stuff, you need to pay for it.
Hello-Hello English was built in part by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. It uses a teaching method called Mobile Immersion to create a virtual environment that guides learners visually to develop functional language skills. It comes with 30 conversational lessons based on real-life situations. Animated lessons, games and exercises allow students to practice speaking, writing, reading and listening skills. You will find the app for Android here.
Recommended for you:
6 Excellent English Grammar Apps for Android
ESL Apps: 15 English Language Learning Apps for iPhone
SpeakingPal English Tutor is an interactive app that uses a mobile phone’s speech recognition capability. It features a series of 5-minute mini-lessons, dialogs, interactive exercises, role-playing and language activities. Using the speech recognition technology, this app provides instant feedback on the students speaking performance and a review mode for later. It is available on iPhone and Android for free.
This app features 20 lessons, each with video dialog, conversation listening and reading, comprehension, vocabulary and sentence completion. The app follows an ongoing storyline about a group of friends and their relationships. By following the story, students learn English idioms, expressions and vocabulary. This is a great app for students who wish to practice more conversational English. It’s available for download on iTunes.
Recommended for you:
9 English Grammar Apps for iPhone and iPad
Apps to learn Phrasal Verbs
6. Supiki English Conversation Speaking Practice app
My absolute favorite iOS app to improve your conversational skills. Supiki is the smart app that actually talks with you. Supiki provides the topic and starts the conversation. Based on what you say, Supiki will respond differently. Your spoken English will improve because you are practicing real conversations.
7. Busuu
Through comprehensive vocabulary, dialogue and interactive tests, students will learn more than 3,000 words and expressions. It covers 150 topics using day-to-day situations. This app is suitable for both beginning and advanced students. It is available for download on iPhone (including iOS 4, optimized for retina display), iPad, iPod touch and Android. It comes with 20 free learning units, with full content available for purchase.
Recommended for you:
7 Special Apps To Quickly Improve Your Typing Speed
10 Cool ESL Games to Learn English On the Net
8. English as a Second Language (ESL) Podcast
For beginning to advanced English learners, this app features a podcast for ESL students. Each podcast episode can be translated to native language and comes with a detailed learning guide. You can socialize and comment with other students to discuss the episodes.
This iPad application is one of the most popular ESL apps for younger students, according to Edudemic.com. It provides vivid images and videos, then shows various words and phrases you can piece together to form the right English sentence to go with the image.
Recommended for you:
18 Powerful Websites to Improve Your Writing Skills in English
The Top 7 Education Apps for Your iPhone and iPad
10. Voxy
Voxy is suited for both the beginner and advanced learner. It creates personalized lessons which adapt based on the student’s level, interests and goals. It features skill-based lessons based on specific goals. Students can take private lessons with a certified, native English-speaking tutor to improve their speaking skills. Tutors provide detailed feedback on student performance. Tests focus on the words and phrases students are exposed to throughout the course and if they pass, they get an award. It can be downloaded for free on iPhone and Android.
Do you know other useful apps? Share them with us in the comments below! We would like to hear from you!