Apps

In this page I introduce you 7 apps or website, so that you can use on your mobile phone and/or your personal computer. You can use them to learn and improve the French language.

WordReference

The first one is the dictionnary website WordReference.com. It is a dictionnary which is free. It contains a lot of languages : French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Russian,...So, you could be russian, german, italian, spanish, american,... you are able to find the translation of the word you want in the French language. There are several translation for one word, so you need to find the right one, which is possible because of the examples, the phrases. You are going to find words obviously but also phrases, WordReference provides also examples of phrases with the word you want to translate. It provides as well the different grammatical features of these word, so you can get the information of how to use this word, so you can build sentences on your own.

Memrise

The third one is Memrize. It is easier to use it versus the application Anki. This is the same principle as the Anki app : you create a list of words that you learn, you review them,... You can find different languages : French, Arabic, polish, Chinese, Russian, Icelandic, Slovenian,... you can download it on your mobile phone or use it on your computer.

Anki

The second one is the application Anki. With the application Anki you can create a lot of words or a lot of flashcards. It has his own intelligence, I mean the words that the application Anki shows you when you open it are the words you read the last time you used the app, no matter if you remember those words or if you do not remember those words. One thing which is very nice is that you can find series of words that people already created. So, you do not need to create your list of words, but you can do if you prefer to do it.

Tinycards

The fourth one is Tinycards. We find again the same principle : you can create your flashcards or you can looking for a list of flashcards which are already created. This app is not dedicated just to learning languages. It is very simple to use, it is very well-designed, and it is as well easy to use.

HelloTalk

The seventh one is HelloTalk. Hello Talk makes meet a lot pof people, so you can find a language partner to practice and share what you like in your life but you can do it in your target language.

Duolingo

The fifth one is Duolingo. The app Duolingo is very famous, a lot of people use it. It is a very good app for the beginner, you learn the first words you need to know, the structure of the sentences, the structure of the questions, the structure of the negative sentences,... you developp as well your listening skills because you can listen to each words and phrases. But there is no lessons, you are going to find what are the conjugation rules or the grammar rules. You are just going to learn some sentences. You see them several times, until you know them well, it uses this famous system : the spaced repetition system. It is not boring and it is very user-friendly.

Drops

The sixth one is Drops. With the Drops application you can completely choose what you want to learn. If we compare with Duolingo, with Duolingo you cannot really choose what you want to learn, they give you some propositions from the beginning, then you have to follow a specific path to get to a more advanced level, etc,... With Drops you can choose the subject you want whenever you want :

  • words for travellers (Un passeport → a passport / Une valise → a suitcase / Un coffre → a trunk / Un sac à dos → a bagpack / Un sac → a bag / Un billet → a ticket / Une réservation → a reservation / Un aller-retour → a round trip ticket / Un aller simple → a one-way ticket / Un siège → a seat / Une gare → a train station / Un vol → a flight / Un aéroport → an airport / J’aimerais prendre le vol de sept heures → I would like to take the 7 :00 flight / Je voudrais acheter deux billets pour Paris → I would like to purchase  two tickets to Paris)
  • words for going to eat at the restaurant (Pour manger → to eat / Pour boire → to drink / Pour le petit-déjeuner → to eat breakfast / Pour déjeuner → to lunch / Pour dîner → to eat dinner / Les fromages → cheeses / Les boissons → drinks / Les plats → main courses)
  • words for greetings (Bonjour, comment allez-vous ?Comment tu vas ? – Comment ça va ? → Hi, how are you ? / Bonjour – Coucou - Salut → Hi / Quoi de neuf ? → What’s up ? / Au revoir → Goodbye / Je suis désolé(e) mais je dois y aller → I am sorry but I have to go / A plus tard – A plus → See you later / Désolé(e) mais je dois filer → Sorry but I have to run / Enchanté(e) → Nice to meet you / Bonsoir → Good evening / Tu vas bien ? → How are you doing ? / A demain → See you tomorrow / Je vais bien, merci → I am fine, thank you / Je vais très bien → I am very well / Je ne vais pas très bien → I am not doing very well / Je vais comme-ci comme-ça → I am so-so / A la semaine prochaine → See you next week / A lundi → See you on Monday / Bonne journée → Have a good day / Bonne chance → Good luck / Bonne nuit → Good night / Un bon après-midi → Good afternoon / Excusez-moi → excuse me / ça roule ? → How is it going ?