In an earlier post, I wrote about my favorite French language education App, “7 Jours Sur La Planète” from TV5 Monde. While I probably do play this one most often, it only updates new material on Friday nights, so I have a few other Apps in reserve to help in my never-ending quest to learn to speak French fluently and make use of my time on the subway.
French Gender– This game is so completely simple, but covers one of the most difficult to grasp components of the French language for native English speakers – word genders. Obviously, it’s mostly just pure memorization, but as this game points out, there are actually some patterns (which all have exceptions, of course – I mean, it is French!). You are given groups of words based on their endings – as you master each ending, that category will turn green so that you can keep up with your progress. This App is great, because there really is no beginning or end, you’re not being timed – you can start and stop whenever. Your progress is monitored over your cumulative playing time, so if you have a twenty minute subway ride, a half-hour wait in the dentist’s office or 
five minutes waiting for a friend at Starbucks – this App is a great way to make good use of odd moments of spare time in your day! This App is free, which makes it even more Appealing – so, predictably, there are occasional glitches. However, the benefits outweigh the inconveniences by a long shot.
Busuu French – This App was suggested to me on iTunes and it is really fantastic. Busuu also has online lessons in French, as well as many other languages. One of my favorite aspects of the Busuu App is that you can start for free, and you get several trial lessons in each level. That way, when you determine your specific level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), you can purchase the extended section for ninety-nine cents. So if you’re an intermediate, you won’t have to buy an entire App with beginner sections that you don’t need, etc. You can also sync your App to Busuu’s website. I haven’t quite figured out the “Busuu berries” rewards that you get when you pass a section of games – if anyone finds out, and there’s some cool prize that you can cash them in for, please let me know!
Price: free trial, then ninety-nine cents for each level.
I am a devoted Apple person, so I have these on an iPhone – but they’re available for Droids and other smartphones as well. I’ve had both of these Apps for over a year and still enjoy them. And really, if you’re over twenty, isn’t this a better way to pass your small bits of spare time than playing Angry Birds?
By Jackie Sanders
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