Learn Foreign Languages on your iPad with Doki

Learn a foreign language on your iPad with Doki

When I first went to visit Europe many years ago I took along a huge bag of books of common phrases for different languages of the countries I was visiting.  Now that we are in the information age, I have a new tool to complete the same task – Doki.

The Doki apps are a fun way to learn how to speak necessary phrases for French, Spanish (Iberian and Latin American), English, and German.  The Doki city animations made it easy to find the phases I was looking for, and easy to understand and learn.  Hearing the phrases first alone with seeing the actors greatly increased my ability to replicate and pronounce correctly the phrases or words I was looking for.  I found that after one of the chapters on booking flights (in French) that I could understand what was what being said easily and in context.

The application is interesting because you are not looking at words; you are practicing listening which enables you to apply it better in real life.  The immersive technique is easier to understand and apply.   It also, pronounces and has you repeat in normal phrases, which enables you to be easier understood when you repeat.

The more familiar you are with the languages – the easier it is to pick up.  While I have learned some phrases in most of these languages, my husband had a somewhat trickier time, but was able to understand and pronounce the phrases.   My daughter, who is 5, was able to understand aspects and comprehend the lessons as well and pick it up faster than my husband.

The one difficulty with the app is the inability to go back several phrases for better understanding, you can repeat phrases easily, but if you need to hear the phrase again to better understand what is going on once you’ve advanced the lesson; you will have to repeat the whole section.

One of the great features of the application is the ability to keep it interesting, such as the story aspect of the method of learning, and the games to learn how to remember different common vocabulary (such as pronouns).

The learning scenarios combine everyday scenarios with humorous storyline aspects to keep them interesting.  This adds an extra incentive to play them through to completion.  The familiar town setting will also make it easier for those wishing to learn multiple languages.  Once a student has completed the lessons in one language, learning them in a second should go even faster.   You can try out two lessons for free before you are ready to commit and you do not have to buy all the lessons at once.

For links to app the Doki apps for iPhone, iPad, you can visit the Doki website.