Did you know that Busuu is a language learning App (available in App store and Google Play) that is named after an endangered language in Cameroon? The mobile app promotes community learning and offers lessons for English, Spanish, French, Japanese and nine other languages. Busuu is easy to download and can be accessed through a gmail or apple account. The App starts with a short survey and guides you through a manual selection of your level, ranging from beginner to advanced. Users can also take a ten-minute placement test to find the right level to start the learning process. The test includes sentence completion, matching exercises, sentence structure, dictations, vocabulary check with a mix of English and other languages. Each question is timed 1 minute and is graded using an automated service. While Busuu is not a free language learning App, it offers a fourteen-day free trial before the charges of $7.49/mo. The paid version offers conversations with native speakers, grammar and vocabulary lessons, a personalized study plan, and an official certificate at the end of the program.

Busuu helps its users to track their progress, to personalize their learning and to choose their main goal through a set of activities and lessons that can be reviewed after completion. The app promotes autonomous learning as it enables users to set the level they are planning to achieve, to schedule their lessons, and to set weekly reminders for consistency purposes. The social section of the App enables interactions with other people around the world and gives you the possibility to correct their exercises depending on their target language. For example, as an English language teacher learning Spanish, I can correct other users' exercises with their consent and give feedback where appropriate. Because learning a language requires intensive practice, Busuu includes several functions for this purpose. For examples, you can benefit from active listening and practice using the audio materials, the repetition drills, and the recording option to work on your pronunciation.
Based on the description above, Busuu appears as a perfect mobile language learning App for EFL/ESL learners who wish to enhance their proficiency and become fluent speakers of the English language. I have never used Busuu as a language learner or teacher, but the way it is designed would benefit both students and non-native novice teachers as the content also incorporates socio-cultural aspects of the language. For example, the social section creates immersion opportunities through regular interaction with native speakers, which represents a valuable takeaway in terms of cultural knowledge.
While Busuu is a well-designed language learning App, I recommend supplementing students' progress with real-life practice such as practicing with a native speaker of the language, reading materials, or watching TV shows and programs in the target language. The materials in the app are designed to replicate the language classroom with collaborative activities that encourage learners to study anytime anywhere through mobile learning. With the advent of technology-based instruction, mobile apps should be promoted as they encourage autonomous learning in an era where learning is nor longer confined in the vicinity of the traditional classroom.

English 30.000 words with pictures a mobile application that aims at vocabulary building for beginners and advanced learners. With thirty thousand vocab items and pictures, the app has been ranked as one of the most useful in terms of language development. It is organized in different learning topics and each topic contains a wide range of lessons. The pictures are displayed with the related vocabulary plus the correct pronunciation. Users may select American or British English, record their voice to check pronunciation and participate in Quizzes to test their proficiency. Learners can use the application on the go and study anytime, anywhere using their own pace.

Pedagogical benefits

This application can be used to reinforce students' vocabulary as it is well organized in different themes. Teachers may select a topic every week and ask learners to review the related vocabulary before covering a specific lesson or unit in class. In doing so, learners will feel more confident and better prepared to engage in reading activities. The best way to learn new words for beginners is through pictures and flashcards. So this application is the perfect resource for teachers and second language learners. It is user-friendly and easy to download. You can download the application on play Store or find similar apps on Apple store.