An Excellent Italian<>English Android Dictionary App

I have found a nice Italian<>English Android dictionary app. It is not on the level of the Larousse French<>English dictionary app I use or the Kabuto Japanese<>English app, but it appears to be the nicest of the Android Italian<>English dictionaries. It is the Berlitz Standard Italian<>English Dictionary by Langenscheidt KG and Paragon Software. It costs $29.95. (There is another Berlitz Italian<>English Android Dictionary app that is less expensive and not as good.)

This app allows you to search for a word by typing or by speaking. It also has the audio pronunciation of the words. It is very easy to use. I have it loaded onto both my Samsung Galaxy S II phone and my Archos G9 80 tablet.

An Incredible, Free Japanese<>English Android Dictionary App

I have a number of Japanese<>English dictionaries in book form and separate electronic dictionaries. However, the best one I've ever used by far is an android app, and it's free. It's called Kabuto and it's produced by Gakusoft. I have it loaded onto both my Samsung Galaxy S II and my Archos G9 80 tablet. It works perfectly on both, but is nicer on the larger tablet.

Not only is it an extensive dictionary, but it allows the user to search for words in many ways - by:
1. Typing in the Japanese word
2. Typing in the English word
3. The Kanji radicals
4. The number of Kanji strokes

(Kanji are the Chinese-style characters which Japan adopted from China centuries ago. The Japanese use thousands of them. They are constructed from building blocks called "radicals.")

I previously used this dictionary on my Windows Pocket PC phone. That version cost $24.95. This free version is superior because it is much easier to read.

Foreign Language Podcasts; Italian Podcasts

One great and free tool for language learning is foreign language podcasts. There are many that specifically focus on language learning. Additionally, there are many others that are intended for the speakers of a particular language, but that are very helpful for learning about another culture or society.

To find lots of free language learning podcasts on iTunes:
1. Go to the iTunes Store
2. Click on Podcasts
3. On the lower right hand side of the page, under featured collections, click on Language Learning
4. Click on the language category that interests you.

One source of Italian podcasts that I love is Radio il Sole 24 Ore (Radio 24 Hours of Sun), from an Italian radio station by that name. These podcasts cover a wide variety of topics and can easily be downloaded through iTunes and loaded onto any smartphone - iPhone, Android, or Windows phone. Additionally, the podcasts can be listned to through iGoogle.

The programs used to create these podcasts can also be listened to live through smart phone programs like the Android TuneIn app.

The 52 or so Radio il Sole 24 Ore podcast series (http://www.radio24.ilsole24ore.com/listaprog.php?podcast=1)  include the following series and many others:
1. Il Gastronauta (The Gastronaut) - this one covers many, many topics on food and wine. I love it.
2. Focus Economia (Focus on Economy) - this one covers every aspect of the Italian economy. It's very interesting.
3. 2024 - the way technology changes life
4. A Tempo di Sport (Sport Time) - Soccer on Monday through Thursday, baskeball on Friday, and all sports on the weekend.
5. America 24 - a variety of themes and opinions about the U.S.

I only listen to the first two. In each of those two, there is a host who solicits the opinions of experts, and who invites listeners to call in or send text messages. Both hosts do a superb job.

The fluency level needed to deal with those two ranges from intermediate to advanced, depending on the speaker and the topic.

Larousse French<>English Android Dictionary App - Fantastic!

For years, I have used and loved the Franklin-Larousse electronic French<>English & French<>French dictionaries. The electronic dictionary was superb, but I had hoped that someday, I would have a version on my phone so that I would have one less thing to carry around in my pocket on my visits to France. Now I have it on my Android phone and I love it.

It has 250,000 words and phrases and 400,000 translations. It also has a verb conjugator and pronunciations, and it only costs $6.99 (far cheaper than the $50 - $100 I’ve paid for the separate electronic versions).  This version does not have the French<>French dictionary.

For French dictionaries, pronunciations are very important because French, like English, uses an ambiguous writing system. (The pronunciations are only available when there is Internet access.)

One of the great things about this dictionary is that it has lots of contextual examples.

Some might thing that 250,000 words is an absurd number. However, I’ve found that dictionaries that only have 10,000-20,000 words are inadequate because you often cannot find the words you need once you get beyond the most basic level.

You have to be careful when buying this app because there is another Larousse French<>English dictionary app which sells for the same price, but has 80,000 words.

Tune-in - A Great Android World-Wide Radio App - 50,000 Stations

I love TuneIn Radio, a great streaming audio world-wide Android radio app, which provides access to 50,000 radio stations and 1.2 million programs. You can find stations all over the world - searching by subject, location, or language. It’s extremely easy to use.

I now have a list of preset Italian, French, and Japanese talk-show and music stations that I listen to on my phone as I’m driving. In one of my vehicles, I plug the radio into my sound system. In either case, the audio is excellent.

The app even has a car mode, which lets you speak commands.

There are two versions of TuneIn:

1. TuneIn Radio - the free version, which I use.

2. TuneIn Radio Pro - The ninety-nine cent version, which allows you to record programs.

Rosetta Stone - I Believe It's A Waste of Money

As a person who has seriously studied 10 languages from four different language families, I believe that Rosetta Stone is a waste of money and that there are better options. 

I believe that I am qualified to offer an opinion on this subject because of my experiences in learning foreign languages and knowing many others with similar experiences. I have seriously studied one or more languages every year of my life for more than 5 decades. I have used many methods, including high school classes in four languages, university classes in four languages, intensive government classes in two languages, tutors whom I have hired, audio self-study courses, Internet resources, etc.  While other people count sheep to fall asleep, I recite French or Italian verbs.

My opinions about Rosetta Stone are based on the following:

1. I looked at a free Rosetta Stone demo CD on behalf of a friend who requested my opinion. I was also curious in view of my continued study of languages and Rosetta Stone's ubiquitous advertising. After examining the approach used in the demo CD, I quickly dismissed it. As Rosetta Stone advertises, it approaches language learning from the way children learn language. Adults do not have the luxury of spending thousands of hours learning the way children learn language - constantly being coached and corrected by adults. For example, a young child can quickly learn that adding "ed" to the end of a verb can change the tense of the verb to past tense. However children then try to apply that observation to all verbs; e.g., "teached" instead of "taught," "throwed" instead of "threw," etc. It takes them a long time and a lot of correction to learn irregular verbs.

2. Rosetta Stone advertising suggests that the Rosetta Stone method allows one to learn language without a lot of memorization, drills, etc. Even though I am very experienced at language learning, it requires a lot of work and memorization on my part to learn a language. It is ridiculous to suggest that language learning can be done without a lot of work.

3. I have run across an interesting government study on Rosetta Stone. It was conducted by the Center for the Advanced Study of Language of the University of Maryland. Check it out - http://www.casl.umd.edu/sites/default/files/Nielson08_RosettaStoneFindings.pdf There are also many other unfavorable reviews of Rosetta Stone on the Internet. Don't pay attention to reviews like those found on Amazon. I'm not convinced that the positive ones are genuine. Look instead for very detailed analyses.

4. There are many, many great free language learning resources on the Internet. They teach pronunciation, conversation, reading, writing, etc. One of the many resources is free podcasts. There are many at the iTunes store and they are free.

When I study a language, I like to use a strategy that involves a combination of
- a teacher who is a native speaker who is as close to my age as possible, and preferably the same gender, so I don't sound like someone of a different age or gender. A native teacher also allows me to develop listening comprehension and learn about the culture of the country of interest
- Internet resources like podcast and YouTube. For example, one great practical learning strategy is to listen to YouTube videos of weather broadcasts in the foreign language. Weather vocabulary is limited and weather maps add to comprehension.
- Smart phone resources. The most incredible Japanese dictionary I have ever seen is Kabuto, which I have installed on my phone. The same company also produces the fantastic King Kanji software for learning Japanese Kanji.
- Books

I hope to add more postings on language learning in the future.