Bonjour folks :) I'm back today with a little review of the MindSnacks French app for the iPhone (or iPod Touch). MindSnacks as a company were recommended to me by Natalie, a student I exchanged a few emails with a while back, but when I first downloaded the 'free' app (more on that later), I wasn't overly keen.
It cannot be denied that the loading screen is ridiculously cute - the little 'bean' character appears on all of the language apps in seemingly traditional dress (my favourite is the Spanish bean). As a loading screen goes, this is by far my favourite - so many language apps are stuffed full of advertisements or the loading screens don't work properly. I'm pleased to report that this one, thankfully, works.
The next screen you'll see is this screen (I think, it's a while since mine was new). To begin with, you only have one or two games, but you can unlock more as your language skills progress and improve. Basically, the more words learnt, the more games unlocked.
I love the fact that this app actually uses games. So many apps claim to use games when, in actual fact, they're just not, so it's great that MindSnacks have created genuine mini games to help you learn the vocab. In fact, speaking of the vocab... The review screen allows you to, well, review the vocab. Oddly, it took me a while to find this. I'd perhaps have preferred this screen to come before the games screen, but it's no big deal. Here, you can also see how far you have progressed with each word, if the purple bar reaches the star, it goes yellow and you've learned the word (in terms of the game app, of course).
Finally, Mystery Crate is a game where you have to tap the 'crates' with incorrect spellings written on them. I suppose this one also helps with spelling and writing skills, as well as recognition skills as this game also speeds up with more words the further into it you get.
In terms of actually learning the words, I think Word Birds is my favourite. My main language strength is writing, so I think I'm used to learning in this way a lot. Plus, here you actually have to think about what you're learning rather than just recognising the correct word.
The game also provides you with an overview of your progress so far, a list of completed and/or outstanding challenges that the app itself will set you throughout your learning, and a community screen that contains features such as ''More MindSnacks Apps''. I love the fact that this is contained within one screen/tab on the app - again, over-promotion of other products is all too common with apps, and when its function is educational it really annoys me.
The app is initially free to download (I told you I'd get back to this...), however only comes with a numbers level. If you want more levels, you can download them from within the app for £2.99. I was initially very reluctant to pay this, and the fact that the app only gave me numbers to begin with did put me off. I just thought that out of all of the categories, there were many that were much more interesting than numbers. However, I decided to give the app a proper try and I'm glad to say that I've really been enjoying using it. If I have a spare moment, I have found myself opening it up and playing a game - to me, that speaks volumes about how good it is, not just as a language app but also as an app that can be lightly enjoyed.
In addition to French, the app is also available in German, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, English (presumably American, as the US flag appears behind it), and SAT Vocab. If your desired language is currently unavailable, you can also 'cast your vote' for which subject should be built next (http://www.mindsnacks.com/vote/). Apparently, Japanese is currently being built. I'd be very interested to try the Russian (161 votes to go) app, I've never found an app that works for me with languages that don't have Latin alphabets.
Anyway, I think I've rambled enough. In short: great concept, variety of learning techniques within the games, although the paying/downloading system is a little annoying, you can see that the money is spent developing a well thought out application.
What do you think to the MindSnacks apps? Have you ever tried them? Leave a comment below :)
Merci beaucoup for reading! :)
Life seems to have stalled at the moment, so reviews and languages are definitely the way forward. Today, I'm reviewing World Nomads Spanish Language Guide - which is an app that I have on my iPod.
World Nomads is a company that, primarily, isn't a phrasebook/language software company. They are, primarily, a travel insurance company - their tag line being ''Keep Travelling Safely". So, bearing that in mind, my first question is 'how does this app help me to travel safely?'
Arguably, it is hard for an iPhone/iPod/phone app to keep you safe, especially when it is a phrasebook/language guide. The 'travel safety' and 'travel health' sections of the app are fairly thorough, especially in comparison to other apps of a similar nature. Admittedly, I do find those sections in the Spanish phrasebook by lastminute.com slightly more thorough - especially the health section. In this respect, they do stick to their motto of ''keep travelling safely'', although I hope they're not using this as their main hook.
Moving onto the other sections, unlike with some of their other language guides, every section has audio alongside the written text if you tap the little box the word is in. With some apps, I find it incredibly frustrating how audio is only available on some phrases - especially because a pronunciation section is incredibly rare with a phrasebook/language guide style app.
The sections are as follows: basics, instructions, directions, transport, places to stay, travel safety, travel health, food and eating, numbers, times and dates, and flirting. There is also the option to upgrade to the Language Guide Plus.
The title 'Language Guide' is perhaps a little misleading - this app is absolutely a phrasebook. I assume the 'Language Guide' comes from the fact that you can opt to take a 'Language Lesson' in which you will hear an Australian pretend to be foreign (the Croatian one is incredibly cringeworthy) and another Australian receive a lesson in the language while in a random situation (Croatian was someone had hurt their leg).
As with all phrasebooks apps, this one is not going to match up to if you were to go out and purchase a whole phrasebook. Luckily, this version of the app is free. The Language Guide Plus version costs £1.49, which I have never downloaded because my level of Spanish is way above the level of the app.
Because of my level of Spanish, there are a few things I question - firstly, the app translates 'Internet' to 'Internet/la web' and 'Email' to 'Email'. I have only ever heard Internet as Internet or la Red, and email as un correo electronico. I also don't understand why these are in the basics section - alongside 'yes', 'thank you' etc. Secondly, the app seems to like making use of different tenses and conjugations. For instance, it would be just as easy to say ''Hay habitaciones?", but the app says "Tienen habitaciones?". The travel safety section also has the translation for "Those drugs aren't mine!" - now, maybe it's just me, but if you've been caught with drugs in a foreign country, you're probably not going to be holding it together enough to get our your iPod/phone and look the phrase up... Finally, the flirting section only has two phrases in it, with a third box suggesting you upgrade to the plus version. I find this a little odd, because I can't imagine anyone reaching that part of the app and deciding they want to upgrade for more flirting phrases. There are more free apps (Lingopal lite, for example) that do this.
Overall, it's a pretty good app. I personally wouldn't buy the plus version for reasons already stated (level of Spanish), but the free version is worth a download. If you're downloading one of the less popular languages, audio will probably be missing - even the German app has audio missing...as does the French.
Have you used any of the World Nomads Language Guides? If so, leave us a comment to let us know how you got on with them :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
The next screen you'll see is this screen (I think, it's a while since mine was new). To begin with, you only have one or two games, but you can unlock more as your language skills progress and improve. Basically, the more words learnt, the more games unlocked. 
I love the fact that this app actually uses games. So many apps claim to use games when, in actual fact, they're just not, so it's great that MindSnacks have created genuine mini games to help you learn the vocab. In fact, speaking of the vocab... The review screen allows you to, well, review the vocab. Oddly, it took me a while to find this. I'd perhaps have preferred this screen to come before the games screen, but it's no big deal. Here, you can also see how far you have progressed with each word, if the purple bar reaches the star, it goes yellow and you've learned the word (in terms of the game app, of course). 
