16 Incredible iPad Apps for ESL Learners

English’s bizarre turns of phrases and seemingly boundless tendency toward exceptions to rules intimidates even native speakers, so one must hold sympathy for those learning it in a secondary or tertiary situation. Those with access to an iPad enjoy some seriously cool lesson supplements harnessing digital age technology in the service of their educations. Whether students only have a few minutes to scan a dictionary listing or an hour or so to sit and intently study mouth formations and pronunciations, an application exists to meet the needs of all ages and skill levels. Download the following when hoping to receive a relatively comprehensive look at one of the world’s most widely-spoken tongues.

1. Intro to Letters, by Montessoreum

   Appropriate for ESL children, this application runs through all the letters of the English alphabet, introducing them to the structure and pronunciation through tracing, audio, digital flashcards, and phonogram puzzles.

2. Sounds Right, by British Council

   It’s a simple chart with great big resonance; when learning British English, refer to Sounds Right for proper pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs, with the former listed by mouth shape.

3. Sentence Builder for iPad, by Mobile Education Tools

   The winner of IEAR’s 2010 Language App of the Year distinction targets elementary school students and challenges them to construct simple, grammatically correct sentences around provided pictures and videos.

4. Speech Tutor, by Synapse Apps

   iPad-enabled ESL adults who need to work on their (American) accent or require a refresher in pronouncing specific letters and phonemes might want to consider this incredibly detailed app, which features animations of the sides and fronts of mouths illustrating proper tongue and lip formations.

5. iDaily Pro HD, by Frontier One

   Frontier One’s innovative app turns English language news into valuable lessons in grammar and sentence structure with its super amazing custom dictionary allowing users to save words and phrases that need clarifying.

6. Hello-Hello English, by Hello-Hello

   This joint effort between developers Hello-Hello and The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages helps users with their conversational English, providing lessons culled from real-life scenarios, flash cards, note-taking exercises, and more. The app itself is free, but they charge $1.99 per course, or $14.99 for all 30.

7. Basic Pronunciation: Clear Speech from the Start, by Cambridge University Press

   ESL students between the beginner and intermediate level use Basic Pronunciation’s series of fun games as supplements to more formalized lessons in proper speaking.

8. WordBook XL – English Dictionary & Thesaurus for iPad, by TranCreative Software

   One of the most detailed dictionaries and thesauri available through the iTunes store partners all of its entries with audio, etymologies, synonyms and antonyms, anagrams, and the ability to bookmark for future reference.
   
   
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