Traveling through work can be stressful at times, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn new cultures and discover beautiful scenes around the world. Global travel is an exciting experience, but chances are that you aren’t going to know the language of your multiple destinations. If you are traveling alone, the idea of staying in a country in which you are unable to communicate is a bit overwhelming, but thanks to modern technology, there is a way around this dilemma. You guessed it, there’s an app for that.
Here we’re focusing on educational apps that are available for your tablet and iPad. We understand that the cost of utilizing a cell phone while overseas can be quite expensive, so have a look at our favorite tablet-friendly language apps.
Image: Gizmodo
Google Translate is considered the top dog of language apps with over 60 languages available for translation of words and phrases. Features include the ability to translate by speaking text rather than typing, which is extremely useful while on the go. In response, your translation will be spoken for you to hear rather than read. If you choose to read translations, full screen mode is available to allow others to view easily. Highlight your favorite translations for quick access when you are offline in addition to acquiring your search history. The following languages are supported:
Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish
For those that are going to one location and have already dived into learning the native language using Rosetta Stone, the company offers an app which allows users to continue learning while on the go. TOTALe Companion is created for use on the iPhone, iTouch, and certain Android devices.
50 Languages is an app offered through Google Play which teaches users to learn to speak short sentences most often needed. The 50 Languages website has over 100 lessons available with free downloadable audio files that you can send straight to your MP3 device. This app combines both audio and text learning with over 40 languages and roughly 1,600 language combination like English to Spanish, Spanish to Chinese, etc.
Multi Lang Dictionary and Translator uses Online Dictionary and Translate Services in addition to their Offline Dictionary Reader to provide accurate translations and definition entries with voice via online and offline text-to-speech. Features include the ability to share definitions via email, word of the day, pronunciation, quickly translate words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs, copy translation paste anywhere, online text to speech, offline text to speech, sorted and filter history.
Babbel only features 11 languages, but it does offer 2,000-3,000 words categorized into a range of topics such as business, relationships, and food. Babbel works with simple tricks like photo matching for easy memorization. Create an online profile and this app will remember your progress as you go. With a simplistic design, Babbel keeps the user focused on the goal – to learn.