I am often asked 'what are the best apps for learning English?' Twenty years ago we were limited to a notebook and pen and there are still many people who prefer traditional methods but nobody can deny the impact that mobile technology has had on the way we work and learn. My notebook and pen is now an app on my iPad called Noteshelf. I use it for my own learning and for training others too as it is a great interactive whiteboard when plugged into a projector.
Lets not forget that there are 2 basic steps to learning; 1. understand and 2. practice, so time spent in private study is just as valuable now as when you were in school, college or university. Therefore, the number one is app probably your favourite internet browser because that gives you access to the whole internet and the content of your choice. If you have a doubt about a point of grammar or want to do some exercises to test yourself then a simple search in Google will give you plenty of options. If you want to practice reading and boosting your vocabulary then read on.
Sometimes a useful website has it's own app. I like www.dict.cc as a website but I also have the app in my phone, as I do for www.dictionary.com which also has a thesaurus feature for finding connected words with similar meanings. www.urbandictionary.com is great for slang terms and has its own app too. With these three, you can understand the meanings of words and phrases by getting definitions in English and translations.
In my experience, simply understanding the meaning of a word or phrase isn't enough. I wish I had 1€ for every time I have checked a meaning, understood and continued reading, only to find the same word in the text again a few minutes later and not remember the meaning. We need to practice too: repeat, repeat, repeat.
Having a system for studying and learning is really helpful but as we are all individuals we need to take a bit of time to develop, test and adapt these systems so that they work for us. Think back to your school or university days. What did you do when you had to study for an exam? The benefit of mobile technology and apps is that we can now expand this model in terms of location and build in some flexibility that we didn't have 20 years ago. Of course, if your system involves sitting in your favourite chair and creating the perfect learning environment then great - you can still use your favourite apps too.
I recommend that your system works on the different language elements - reading, writing, speaking and listening - which will also work with your ears, eyes, mouth and hands. The complete 'learning by doing' package. One app that does all of that is Flashcards Deluxe. As you may have guessed from the name, this app gives you a flashcard system in your pocket without the need for pen, paper or card and a set of boxes. Even better, these cards have 4 sides! You can input the material to be learned in various ways, add photos, record your own voice or download a surprisingly good automated voice via a 'text to sound' (TTS) function. The app allows you to flip through the cards yourself or watch a slideshow in order to introduce the content to your memory. You can then change the settings to provide you with various learning and testing options to repeat the content at regular intervals - with correct response statistics to monitor your progress.
If you want to focus on speaking, maybe improving your pronunciation, then look no further than the voice recorder app your mobile phone. If it isn't a standard app on your model then get a free download. Simply record yourself speaking the word or phrase you want to practice and listen to yourself. Then ask yourself if you can improve. Is that the sound you want? Compare your pronunciation with the TTS version (which may sound like a robot if the phrase is a long one). If you are not sure how to pronounce a word then most online dictionaries and dictionary apps have a sound function too, so you can listen to the word and check intonation.
For Business English content we have plenty of opportunities for finding something relevant. For a start, take a look at your company website. Is it in English? Do you understand it? Try going through it and picking out words and phrases that you don't know and would like to incorporate into your active vocabulary. Look at the products, services, terms and conditions and even your colleagues names. If you need to call Siobhan O'Flaherty or Niamh Mclaughlin in your Dublin branch office next week you might want to work on practicing saying their names.
Business news is a great source of material, especially expressions which you may not be familiar with. Journalistic style is often more 'colourful' than your average corporate website. For this I recommend the Flipboard app which is now also available as a website, www.flipboard.com. You need to create an account and then choose which publications you wish to follow. You can then save articles of interest in your own 'magazine'; here is my magazine Let's Talk Business English as an example.
Another great source is, of course, business literature; books. However, for many, the challenge of reading a whole book is too much and simply takes too long. Motivation to continue can be lost before reaching the end of the first chapter, or even page. This is where getAbstract comes to the rescue. Again this is a website and an app so you can read on your computer or on the move. You can select summaries of books from various categories and read the whole thing condensed into a 'couple of pages'. In many cases you can even listen to summary, or listen and read at the same time to stimulate your brain with sight and sound; a great learning technique.
Should you decide that you would like to read the whole book, or a different book, then consider getting a digital copy via the Kindle app, iBooks or something similar. I have both on my iPad and I take advantage of dictionary, highlighting and note taking features within the apps which allow me to translate words and check meanings without leaving the page and to annotate important parts of the text, providing me with a list of bookmarks in the process. I have never liked writing in real books but somehow this feels different; I suppose because I can delete it if I want to.
Finally, a special mention for TED. A wonderful website with videos of fascinating speeches from people around the world on a wide range of topics. TED also has an app for watching the videos on mobile devices. If you are not familiar with TED then I strongly recommend it for its own sake, as well as a language learning source. When looking at the site on a computer it is possible to see the complete text of the presentation and use it as an aid to listening and a source of vocabulary and phrases to learn. As it is video, you can pause, go back, play again and listen as many times as you like.
As you use these apps to find the material that you want to learn it is important to feed it into your learning system and repeat it as part of your study routine. You might want to use a 'ToDo List' app like Wunderlist to remind you.