Language Learning on the iPad

I'm always on the lookout for language learning resources, and have tried just about every program I can find to make my Arabic learning more efficient.  Here are some of my favorite apps to derive maximum benefit from an iPad or smartphone.

1) TuneIn Radio Pro.  This app lets you listen to radio stations all over the world, in virtually any language.  I've logged countless hours on BBC Arabic, and enjoy listening to Arabic music from across the region.  If you pay for the Pro version, you can even record and playback.  This is perfect for language learning, when repetition is necessary to build comprehension.

2) Franker.   I am a big fan of translation plugins for web browsers, which let you translate individual words or sentences.  Once you have the comprehension to understand the majority of an article, these plugins let you quickly identify the words or phrases you don't know.  Instead of trolling through a dictionary, you can spend the majority of your time actually reading in the native language.  Look-ups are instantaneous.  Unfortunately the closed nature of iPad apps means that translation plugins don't and can't really exist.  However, Franker is the next best thing I've out.  The app has a self-contained web browser, in which you can highlight text and get an instant translation.  My only gripe is that the formatting for right-to-left languages gets messed up, although it is still intelligible.

3) Tap Translate.  This isn't really an app; it is a pricey means of installing a bookmarklet in Safari, which then lets you translate a single word instantaneously by clicking on it.  It does more or less what I described above, but only for single words.  The advantage is that works seamlessly with Safari.

4) Vocabulary management.  I have spent years looking for a vocabulary app that I actually like, and have yet to find it.  There are some very powerful tools out there, but each one has a critical weakness, which is why I've spent years trying to write my own.  Unfortunately I don't have the time to finish it, so I'm stuck using the imperfect tools already in existence.  Here are a few of the best ones:

4a) Byki.  Byki is the civilian version of RapidRote, which is the vocabulary software that the DOD utilizes.  It is an atrocious piece of software, suffering from all the bloat and the lack of innovation that you would expect from a company with a lucrative government contract.  It is slow and cumbersome, does not sync between devices, has no spaced repetition system (SRS) for reviewing past vocabulary, and forces you to pay for a separate copy of the software for each language you want to learn.  However, it has the best algorithm I've encountered for learning new lists of words.  As much as I despise RapidRote/Byki, I've never found a better solution for learning vocab.  Also, military members can download vast amounts of vocabulary lists for free from the company website (which you can access from Joint Language University).  Unfortunately, it is expensive and time-consuming if you want to get this vocabulary onto your mobile device.  You must buy Byki Deluxe (the expensive civilian version of RapidRote), go through a cumbersome browser-based process to upload each list to Byki's servers, then re-download them onto your mobile device.  I still use Byki to learn new wordlists and study new languages.

4b) Mental Case.  Mental Case is an elegant program for Mac OS/iPhone/iPad that hints at what Byki/RapidRote should be.  Syncing could be improved, but is far better than with Byki.  The interface is attractive and inputting new words is easy.  My complaint is that the scheduling and quizzing of words is confusing, and is designed to fit the programmer's very specific vision for how his software should be used.  I don't particularly like the quizzing interface or algorithm.

4c) Anki.  Most hard-core polyglots who use vocabulary software seem to prefer Anki.  Instead of teaching you individual lists of words like Byki, it is designed to manage enormous, constantly-growing vocabulary sets using a spaced repetition system.  It has versions for almost any hardware platform you can imagine, and the syncing works well once you set it up with Dropbox.  The software seems extremely powerful, but I've never felt comfortable with it for two reasons: (1) the interface was designed by an engineer and feels like a complicated machine, not an elegant piece of software and (2) although its algorithm is excellent for retaining words, it is poor for learning new words.  Most people who use Anki for retention use a different solution for learning new words.

4d) Numbers.  I've gotten so frustrated fiddling with SRS software that I've just started logging new vocabulary in Numbers, the spreadsheet app that is part of Apple's iWork suite.  It is a simple and elegant app, syncs seamlessly with iCloud, and makes it easy to export vocabulary into SRS software later.

5) Easy YouTube Video Downloader.  This isn't an iPad app, but a Firefox plugin for your computer.  It adds a "Download" button to every YouTube video, which allows you to save the video in an .MP4 format that you can save onto our iPad.  I have built up a large collection of Arabic clips this way.

6) GoodReader.  This is one of the best PDF readers out there, and is perfect for reading foreign texts or parallel texts.  

7) iQuran HD.  This is a great app for Arabic, because it lets you view multiple English translations of the Quran parallel to the Arabic text.  It also allows you to hear various various recitations.