App Reviews - Jason Mallet

My experience has been as an ESL teacher in both secondary school and higher education, and I plan to return to that work after graduating. One of the most important aspects of language acquisition in the culture in which I worked (and plan to return to) is acquisition of a large number of English vocabulary words. This can be a challenge when students do not use English often (due to living in a non-English country), and so a lack of repetition of use and study causes them to easily forget certain words. In addition, it can be a challenge with English especially (given that it is a child of five different languages), as one word can mean many, many different things, words can sound the same but be spelled differently, words can be spelled the same but be pronounced differently, and so on. Finding good apps to help rectify this is essential to teaching ESL.

Common Core CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.4 states: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11-12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Below I will show three apps that I feel meet this standard:

• Knowji
• Third party review: https://www.teachthought.com/literacy/12-best-vocabulary-apps-middle-high-school-students/
• What the app does:  Knowji introduces vocabulary words used on common school and university exams (SAT, GRE, etc.) that are also commonly used in texts that an average person would expect to see every day (newspapers, TV shows, etc.). It uses spaced repetition so that words which the student struggles with more and reviewed at shorter intervals, and words that students remember easily are spaced out more.
• Cost:  $0
• Intended age group:  5+. Within the app one selects their age/education level, and the app introduces appropriate words from there. It goes from kindergarten to adult learners.
• Platform/device compatibility:  iOS/Android phone/tablet
• Why review source is credible:  Teach Thought focuses on technology in the classroom as a tool to expand opportunities for both teachers and students.  It has been around for 8 years and was founded by a former educator, which lends itself to credibility.
• SAT Word Slam
• Third party review:  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/sat-word-slam
• What the app does:  Students learn vocabulary words using mnemonic devices from the app. The students themselves assign a difficulty level to the words instead of the app doing so for them. The app uses storytelling and scenarios to aid in the acquisition of vocabulary.
• Cost: $0
• Intended age group:  14+
• Platform/device compatibility:  iOS/Android phone/tablet
• Why review source is credible:  Common Sense has a wide range of programs related to education to help parents with the educational aspects of their children's lives, with a focus on technological solutions for education.  They have been around since 2003 and currently have millions of users.
• Vocabador
• Third party review:  https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/vocabador
• What the app does:  The app is designed to appear as a Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling match. Students pick a "weight class" for their vocabulary level. Once learning words, they then "fight" opponents in all three weight classes before going against the boss, Vocabador.
• Cost:  $1.99
• Intended age group:  14 - 17
• Platform/device compatibility:  iOS phone/tablet
• Why review source is credible:  Common Sense has a wide range of programs related to education to help parents with the educational aspects of their children's lives, with a focus on technological solutions for education.  They have been around since 2003 and currently have millions of users.

In my opinion, SAT Word Slam is the best of these.  Knowji probably ranks second, and Vocabador a very distant third.  However, SAT Word Slam's many reviews show it to be extremely fun for students.  Knowji is excellent as a tool, especially as it works for students of all ages, but it lacks the fun factor that SAT Word Slam has, despite the app being for a more limited range of students.