After writing about the iRAE app, I thought it would be good to write more about iPhone/iPod Touch Apps that might be helpful for the Spanish language learner. All of these are free.
El Universal (Mexico) and El País (Spain) both have news articles, videos and other “authentic” 
materials for the Spanish language learner. Radio Nacional de España has five channels with which you can listen to music, news, weather, traffic, sports and more. (internet connection required)
WordReference is definitely a handy little app. You can access English-Spanish dictionaries, Spanish monolingual dictionary, Spanish synonyms dictionary, plus several others. You can also link to the WordReference’s forums via the app which comes in handy. (internet connection required)
SpanishPod has an app where you can look up words in their glossary with sample sentences. The sentences are accompanied by audio. Also, if you’re a premium member, which I’m not, you can also access their flashcard feature. (internet connection required for audio)
Stanza is one of my FAVORITE apps. I love to read and I really love the ability to load many books on my iPod Touch and take them wherever I go. Well, with this app, you can also download many books in Spanish. Right now I’m reading Drácula by Bram Stoker. Other authors represented include: Miguel Cervantes, Pio Baroja, Francisco de Quevedo, Benito Pérez Galdós and many, many others.
To find them within the app go to Online Catalog –> Feedbooks –> Public Domain Books –> Languages –> Español. You can also access Project Gutenberg books using the app as well. (internet connection required to download books)
TuneWiki is a rather unique app which I’m still trying to figure out myself, but still thought it was worth mentioning here. So far, I’ve been able to listen to some of my Spanish language music (from my iPod) and read the lyrics at the same time. Sometimes the lyrics aren’t very accurate, but others are… it’s hit or miss. You can also listen to radio stations from around the world and with some of them you can read the lyrics as the song is playing. Give it a try and let me know what you find. (internet connection required)
Where to go (iTunes links):
Radio Nacional de España
El Universal
El País
WordReference
SpanishPod
Stanza
TuneWiki
What are your favorite apps for learning Spanish?
10 comments:
I heard that SpanishDict is coming out with an iPhone app. They have great Spanish translation and other good, free stuff, so their app should be pretty cool!
Good to know! I enjoy their podcast. Thanks!
Thanks... I just found your blog and you do have some many good resources for Spanish learners.
I'm a Spanish teacher in Norway and will come back to learn more..
Have a great Saturday
Hey Karen,
I love WordReference & was thrilled to find the app. I also like TouchCards. It will work with Quizlet & StudyStack or you can upload your words from a spreadsheet.
SpanishDict just released their app today! If you liked those others, then you will LOVE SpanishDict's. It the only free FULL Spanish-English dictionary that doesn't require an internet connection. Plus it has a phrasebook, word of the day, a word game, and a favorites list. It's really surprising how awesome it is.
I feel there are so many iphone apps out there, it was only a matter of time before one came around like this. I do not have this yet, but I plan on downloading it!
Take a look at Memorize Words for Spanish. It's just a vocabulary builder, but it has 6000 words with recorded pronunciations and a few games for practicing.
The best one I have found (and most comprehensive) app is Maria's Spanish Class or there is free version also called Maria's Spanish Class Lite.
The site is here..
www.pigobo.com
And the App store URL id here..
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/marias-spanish-class/id345599590?mt=8
I liked Maria's Spanish Class...
until I saw them spamming every "how do I learn Spanish" blog and Twitter post that I've seen.
Maria's Spanish Class- Stop spamming! I no longer recommend this app to anyone, as I hate app developers who do nothing but spam.
It is amazing how technology is taking an important role in teaching and learning. We are from "El Blog para Aprender Español" and we have developed an app to learn Spanish; Spanish Learner. It is for free! we hope you enjoy it!
More info: http://www.blogdeespanol.com/?p=2359
Hello everyone from Madrid!
Maria & Raquel
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