Feb

3 Fun Ways to Learn Spanish on Your iPhone or iPod Touch

I had the misfortune of going to a high school that did not provide any foreign language classes. The result is that I’m now faced with four college Spanish classes—or I can learn on my own and try to test out of as many of them as possible. After deciding that was the most cost- and time-efficient route to take, I tried several products. In addition to my books and software, here are some wonderful applications I’ve found for learning (or brushing up on!) your Spanish by using your iPod Touch or iPhone:

Learning Spanish Like Crazy - When a Spanish speaker heard me saying some phrases in Spanish, she asked where I was from (America!) and complimented me on having a good Spanish accent. I credit that to Learning Spanish Like Crazy, a program I absolutely love. Before discovering LSLC, I had heard it described as “like Pimsleur on steroids!” With Pimsleur’s great reputation, I knew I had to check out LSLC. The program is very similar to Pimsleur, with the added benefit that the company will send you the script to accompany each lesson so you’re not spending your time looking up to see how that word you just heard is spelled. The major difference I’ve noticed between Learning Spanish Like Crazy and Pimsleur (besides getting the written support material) is that the pauses in which you are to speak are shorter than Pimsleur. This will take some getting used to and keep you on your toes. Occasionally, you might use the pause button until you get faster. You can go to the LSLC’s web site to download the first two lessons free (they ask for your email) if you want to get a taste of what the program is like. Learning Spanish Like Crazy can be purchased from Audible.com for $10 per lesson (or if you’re not an Audible member, you can use Audible’s introductory offer of $7.49 for the first three months). This is much less expensive than Pimsleur, and I believe you get a superior product.
Spanish Tutor 24/7 - puts out several themed applications for downloading. The beautiful thing is you actually hear native speakers pronouncing the words. The application has flashcards, games, quizzes, and other tools to help you learn. It even prioritizes words that you keep missing in order to help you learn them. Spanish Tutor has a free sample application that you can download from iTunes. After that, each lesson costs $3.99-4.99. The most common complaint that I see in feedback from customers is that they want more words in the lessons. For the price and the quality of the lessons, I think it’s a fair buy. Consider you might be using this while waiting in line or waiting for an appointment (or trying to fall asleep—one of my favorites), and you can imagine all of the ways you’ll be using it. Check out their web site or go straight to the application store to download.
Flashcard Exchange - Flashcard Exchange is such a great product that I’ve used throughout college. When I started studying Spanish, I wanted to stay with the program for my Spanish flashcards. The free version allows you to create and study flashcards (or study from the thousands of cards others have created). Printing, downloading and advanced study require a full membership, which costs only a one-time fee of $19.95. This membership can be purchased directly Flashcard Exchange. To be able to study your cards or anyone else’s cards on your iPhone, you will also need a program downloaded from the application store called Mental Case. Mental Case Lite is free but doesn’t allow downloads to your computer. The full version costs just $7.99. It’s worth noting the abilities of Mental Case far exceed simple use as a flashcard application for your iPod or iPhone. You can use it to write notes and keep yourself organized throughout the day. It’s worth noting that Mental Case is a flashcard program in itself, so if you do not want to go with Flashcard Exchange’s online flashcard format with flashcard exchanges from other members, you could simply use Mental Case for both a downloaded software program and your own flashcards for your iPod or iPhone. Check out Mental Case’s web site for details on how to use their software for both Mac and PC as well as for the iPhone and iPod Touch.