App$ 2020
App$ 2020
I was immediately enthralled when I read the subtitle, "Learn a New Language No Matter Your Style with These 10 Apps." Just imagine these 10 apps in an ELD classroom with different learning styles, diverse background knowledge, and varying levels of English proficiency. A win-win, right?!
Unfortunately, no. Although Shelly Brown supplies us with "The Best Language Learning Apps of 2020," these apps come at a cost: a cost. Duolingo, a very popular second language learning app, is game-oriented and overall fun, allowing users to partake in conversation and vocabulary drills and to earn streaks toward usage goals. There are even short stories that users can read and check their comprehension. However, if users want to download valuable lessons and fresh practice sessions without being bombarded with ads or the threat of losing lives and streaks, then the Premium membership will cost users each $10 a month.
Another vocabulary-building app is Busuu. This app first assists the user in determining a proficiency level before helping the user set goals for the chosen language acquisition. Similar to tracking points in a prescribed diet, Busuu sets daily goals, but the learner can only track (and reach) these goals if a Premium prescription is bought for roughly $6 per month. Without a plan, however, users can still be sent notifications regarding meaningful vocabulary reminders about "weak" words that are welcomely paired with photos.
There was one app, however, that truly lit my fire. It is Lirica, and it is clearly in its dawning. Lirica uses pop lyrics to help users learn a second language, including grammar. With the language acquisition also comes a newfound awareness of one facet of the particular culture, its music. Currently, Lirica only teaches Spanish through music by "Latin and reggaeton artists." Just imagine how incredibly effective this app would be - especially to secondary second language learners who go nowhere without their AirPods, living and breathing by their music - to current Spanish learners and to other second language learners once it (fingers-crossed) expands in the future. However, once again, there is currently a one-week trial before users have to cough up about $4 a month for access.
It was actually a substitute economics teacher who during a Spanish III class in 1988 informed me and my classmates that "There's no such thing as a free lunch." The same goes for apps. While we as teachers want only the best for our students, the best comes at a cost. Students love fun and engaging apps, and when they're in love with learning, they truly learn. For teachers, the science is to use the trials and free versions in order to evaluate the quality of the app in relation to student learning. If the app proves to be worthy, then money can hopefully be found within a building or even a district budget to fun such a modern and authentic learning tool. The focus should be quality over quantity. In the end, if the app can engage our ELs to willingly pursue a second language with positive attitudes, then the spending is reasonable and necessary.
Now to only find a free trial of an app that will teach me how write grants that will fund my classroom apps.
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-best-language-learning-apps-of-2020/
I was immediately enthralled when I read the subtitle, "Learn a New Language No Matter Your Style with These 10 Apps." Just imagine these 10 apps in an ELD classroom with different learning styles, diverse background knowledge, and varying levels of English proficiency. A win-win, right?!
Unfortunately, no. Although Shelly Brown supplies us with "The Best Language Learning Apps of 2020," these apps come at a cost: a cost. Duolingo, a very popular second language learning app, is game-oriented and overall fun, allowing users to partake in conversation and vocabulary drills and to earn streaks toward usage goals. There are even short stories that users can read and check their comprehension. However, if users want to download valuable lessons and fresh practice sessions without being bombarded with ads or the threat of losing lives and streaks, then the Premium membership will cost users each $10 a month.
Another vocabulary-building app is Busuu. This app first assists the user in determining a proficiency level before helping the user set goals for the chosen language acquisition. Similar to tracking points in a prescribed diet, Busuu sets daily goals, but the learner can only track (and reach) these goals if a Premium prescription is bought for roughly $6 per month. Without a plan, however, users can still be sent notifications regarding meaningful vocabulary reminders about "weak" words that are welcomely paired with photos.
There was one app, however, that truly lit my fire. It is Lirica, and it is clearly in its dawning. Lirica uses pop lyrics to help users learn a second language, including grammar. With the language acquisition also comes a newfound awareness of one facet of the particular culture, its music. Currently, Lirica only teaches Spanish through music by "Latin and reggaeton artists." Just imagine how incredibly effective this app would be - especially to secondary second language learners who go nowhere without their AirPods, living and breathing by their music - to current Spanish learners and to other second language learners once it (fingers-crossed) expands in the future. However, once again, there is currently a one-week trial before users have to cough up about $4 a month for access.
It was actually a substitute economics teacher who during a Spanish III class in 1988 informed me and my classmates that "There's no such thing as a free lunch." The same goes for apps. While we as teachers want only the best for our students, the best comes at a cost. Students love fun and engaging apps, and when they're in love with learning, they truly learn. For teachers, the science is to use the trials and free versions in order to evaluate the quality of the app in relation to student learning. If the app proves to be worthy, then money can hopefully be found within a building or even a district budget to fun such a modern and authentic learning tool. The focus should be quality over quantity. In the end, if the app can engage our ELs to willingly pursue a second language with positive attitudes, then the spending is reasonable and necessary.
Now to only find a free trial of an app that will teach me how write grants that will fund my classroom apps.
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-best-language-learning-apps-of-2020/
Oh! Lirica sounds like an interesting app! I wish I would have known about it when I was teaching High School!
ReplyDeleteI do love using music in the classroom. I recently utilized a popular Spanish song (Soy Yo by Bomba Estera) with my fourth graders to introduce our new unit about adjectives. My students loved it because it was upbeat and catchy. They may not have understood what they song was saying but by utilizing the images could determine the gist and purpose of the song. We then took what we thought the song was about and the translation of Soy Yo to discuss the grammar and structure of creating sentences to describe ourselves.
I will have to check out Lirica to see what format it uses and see if I can somehow incorporate it with my students :)
Thanks for sharing!
Lirica sounds great! I find that so many students are able to memorize lines and lines of their favorite songs and learn through what they love but have a hard time when it is presented in an academic matter. It is a shame that all of these apps cost money though. Sometimes that is a barrier for ESL students who may just be starting out in a new area. Thanks for sharing! Hopefully lirica grows and expands from spanish to other languages.
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