Learn Words! Language App

*This post is brought to you in partnership with Academics Choice. While I was compensated for my review, all opinions are 100% my own.

Recently, my oldest child expressed an interest in learning a second language. I’ll admit – I began to feel inadequate. My years of high school Spanish felt VERY far away. I knew I was going to need tools! I heard about the Learn Words! app, and was eager to try it out.

Linguineo is a language-learning network with a goal to make learning a language as effective and easy as possible. In Linguineo’s learning app – Learn Words!, users can choose to work on learning words from LOTS of different languages – making this an ideal app for parents of kids with differing language interests.

While this app is ideally suited for parents and teachers who are at least mildly proficient in another language, there are ways to make it work for those who learned the smallest bit of another language decades ago.

First, you’ll choose the words you’d like to work on. There are several options to add words including typing the words in manually, speaking the words, or even taking a photo of text. I found lists of words using the internet, and typed in a set of Spanish words for my daughter to work on.

Once the words are added, you can add images and sentences to increase understanding. Next, users can choose from several different ways to work on learning the words.

As a parent and teacher, I love that users get to hear the word, see the word, read the word, and practice writing (typing) the word. All those different layers of learning really help cement the words in the learner’s mind!

My daughter was working on a list of Spanish words for places/buildings. We began by using the “Learn Words” activity. In the picture below, she had heard the words and seen the English translation, and was working to test her knowledge. In this exercise, she was asked to either choose the correct translation from a list of choices OR type in the Spanish word for the given English word.

The variety within the exercises help to keep the activity fresh and engaging – rather than being a simple drill and repeat type of experience. Learning a new language should be as fun as possible.

Within the app, you can practice your word list several different ways. You can choose to Learn Words, Practice Words, Practice Listening, Practice Speaking, or Play a Game (a crossword puzzle!) Each type of learning experience helps the learner commit the new words to memory.

This app is rated for users 12+, but my 11 year old was able to learn about 20 Spanish words with a fairly high degree of accuracy in about 20-30 minutes.

This is a great choice for high school students that need extra practice on their foreign language vocabulary lists, kids, tweens, or teens who are interested in learning another language, or even adults who want a refresher.

The app is available in the iTunes store and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.*Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Check out the Learn Words! app from Linguineo BVBA in the iTunes store.