Language apps

What is a language application?

To learn a foreign language before, you needed to take courses or hire a teacher, to buy a set of textbooks and dictionaries, and select special audio and video materials. Today, all of these tools can be replaced or supplemented with mobile applications you have on your phone. They will provide you with reasonable explanations, examples, texts, tests and pronunciation exercises. Considering many of these programs are free, you have no reasons not to pay close attention to them. The only question left is how to create a competitive and efficient language development app for iOS and Android.

Functions of language apps

• Dictionary. A language learning application must be an effective tool for learning and memorizing new words.
• For beginners there should be designed exercises that develop writing and reading skills. For example, exercises with a word translation to choose, gaps to fill in, and words to connect in the right order.
• For advanced users, as a rule, complex quizzes for word memorizing are designed. For example, with the choice of the correct synonym or antonym of the word.
• Listening exercises. When people communicate with each other, they usually spend 40-50% of their time in the listening process. This is why it is important to provide users with audio information. This will develop the foreign speech understanding skills.
• Pronunciation checker. It is quite possible to check the correctness of pronunciation integrating the speech recognition technology. To improve pronunciation, it is recommended to add sound clips or dialogs from movies to the application.

What possibilities should language development apps provide?

• Determination of the user’s knowledge level by means of test.
• Division of lessons by difficulty level.
• Automatic lesson reminder.
• Automatic compilation of a personal dictionary.
• Different game modes.
• Personal user statistics.
• Proper writing lessons.
• Tasks for both individual and group work.
• Systems of tips and explanations.

Introducing gamification to language applications

The idea of gamification is to make teaching and learning more entertaining using the gaming approach. It is in games you gain the necessary experience within safe boundaries, where you can explore phenomena without fear of making mistakes, because you always can win the next game. A game is an ideal learning environment, which allows you to make mistakes. The purpose of gamification is to make gaming process contribute to the creation of a meaningful learning experience. This is what makes language development apps for Android and iOS so popular.

Language development app companies use these elements for gamification of the learning process:

1. competition: any games between two or more players, leader boards, etc.;
2. experience points, which show the user’s progress in learning. They can be given for certain actions, levels, etc.;
3. rewards, which are issued if the user completes certain application elements.

Features of the applications for online communication with native speakers

The applications for online communication with native speakers are worth a separate mention. A half-hour online conversation can be the key to enhancing the user’s speaking skills. For example, if you want to improve your English speaking skills, you should communicate with native speakers using English language development apps.

Such applications allow to:

1. Find a teacher for full lessons with homework and regular online meetings.
2. Practice speaking and listening with a help of native speaker.
3. Create a convenient schedule and reminders about your lessons on e-mail and through the mobile application.
4. Keep a diary with comments and the opportunity to ask questions and receive corrections, as well as help other people.
5. Record voice messages in your native language and have them translated by the system into the language of the interlocutor.
6. Check your messages before sending to the interlocutor.
7. Save and rehearse individual phrases.
8. Use built-in translators and phrasebooks by topic.

Language application development from KATASIS

An application for learning a language should provide the necessary functions for learning the basics of speech: writing, listening, pronunciation and reading. All of these must be accompanied by gaming elements to motivate and entertain users.
If you want to develop an application for learning different languages based on these functions, order the language development app services from KATASIS.

Stages of language application development

1. Analysis. At the first stage of work, our Internet marketers analyze competitors, search queries, the audience on the Internet and its experience in interacting with mobile applications. The customer receives a documented analysis and formed tasks.
2. Prototyping. Understanding what users expect from the application, we begin the process of prototyping, or creating flowcharts. Well-built interface guarantees that users will quickly orient. This stage is most important when developing language applications. The customer gets the opportunity to see the future program’s functions without the program part.
3. Design. We make sure our graphic decisions are clear and convenient. You get a design that sets you apart from the competition.
4. Development and testing. The application is being created by our web engineers that have experience of working on complex projects.
5. Maintenance and achievement of results. We not only develop applications, but also promote them. We are responsible for all stages of work: from the first button to the application launch and grateful reviews.