Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

Have you ever used a language app to try to help you to really master a language?

Have they been effective for you or fallen short?

When can language apps help you and when can they hold you back?

We’re going to look at what language apps can do to help, and also where they can fall short.

Though they may be a useful tool, they may also have some significant limitations.

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Understanding The Way They Work

What can you use these for?

Where do they stop in their usage?

Why do apps drop off at a certain point?

It’s important to take a look at the way that these things work, and what they can do and also what they can’t do.

You may feel as if you are just memorizing things, and you don’t really understand what anything truly means.

You may see the message on the screen, but you don’t really know how to use it in context.

It can feel like a game at first, but the actual information or comprehension you are getting may be limited.

Then if you go back and try to revisit it later on, you may not necessarily remember it or know what each word meant in a phrase for example.

What may be missing is the clear comprehension of a phrase, as it’s just memorizing things.

You need to understand the word in context, and that can be really limited since there’s no flexibility.

You don’t get any real conversation skills or get to be creative in using words or phrases.

There can be too much missing from these apps, and that limits them quite a bit.

The apps can be good for understanding words, so that’s a positive.

They can however be very limited with usage, and that’s a big piece missing that you need for everyday conversations.

Where Do These Apps Go Wrong?

You have probably downloaded and used some of these apps, and you may have dropped off after a while.

Have you ever wondered why that is?

There are a number of reasons why apps lose their appeal or have limited ability after awhile.

One of the biggest complaints with these apps is that they don’t help you to really make or keep connections.

What can you do to get to that level of connection?

The best thing about these apps is to have them on your phone a couple of weeks before you travel.

It can give you words or phrases to use, but that’s about it.

You can get vocabulary, but not in context which you want to use it.

All Ears English gives you ways to use these words in conversation and therefore you get that context–many of the language apps don’t give you that.

It’s Often More Than Just The Words

The apps won’t show you situation or context or feelings, it’s just focused on vocabulary.

This is where the apps may fail or fall short because they don’t give you the feelings or the ways in which to use these in conversation.

You might use the app for awhile and get some words to use, but then they may show just how limited they can be.

You may get some good words out of it and you even get a badge when you get to a certain level through the app.

This is great if you are looking to pick up words and broaden your vocabulary.

The Conversation Aspect Is So Important

The limitation is to figure out the best ways to use these in conversation and how they can all connect together to form daily conversations.

You want to understand what a word means in context.

You also want to understand how each word works together in a phrase and how they all come together to form sentences.

You need to understand the deeper meaning of the words, and not just go through the motions.

You need to know how to make connections and how to have deeper conversations.

The apps can help you to have phrases such as “where is the bathroom” but that doesn’t help you to have deeper and more meaningful conversations.

You want to be able to relate to people, and that comes from how you use words and phrases in everyday conversations.

You want to humanize the language and understand the way that these words and phrases help you to connect with others.

It’s All About Making The Words Human

All Ears English is a podcast that helps you to see and understand words and phrases that are a part of everyday conversations, and that help you to really humanize the language in a really wonderful way.

You won’t be limited with conversations if you can use these words and phrases in a way that helps you to connect with others.

Apps can be good if you are just learning the language, and they do have good uses in certain capacities.

You have to know when you are at the point when an app is not serving your needs.

The unspoken aspects to the language are a perfect example of how an app may not help you enough.

You want to see how native speakers are communicating with each other, because that’s huge.

Though these apps may help to a certain extent with vocabulary, they don’t help to make them human–and conversation is what it’s all about in the long term!

Takeaway

If you are planning to travel and you want to understand basic vocabulary then these language apps may be quite useful.

If you want to understand how to use these words in conversation, then they may be quite limited.

Try to use the language apps out there just before a trip if you want to get a handle on a few key phrases.

If you want to understand how to use words in conversation or really add a human element to the language, then these apps will fall short.

Find what is right for you and go in with realistic expectations about how these apps can help you.

It’s all about making connections, and that’s why you may need more than just these apps.

If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.

We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

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