3 Mobile Applications to Have Fun With AND Improve Your English!

Hello everyone! It’s Miss Elysia, an English teacher at Lil’ but Mighty. Now that the holidays have started, I thought it would be a good idea to share some mobile apps that can help you improve your English! Now, you might be wondering… Are you sure? Playing games and using the phone will help to improve my English? The answer is a resounding yes! Revision and learning do not have to be boring by any standards. Just like how you mix up your revision practices while revising, as recommended in our HIIT English revision post, you can also throw some games into the mix to help you learn better!

1. Wordscape — A Spelling Game

The objective of Wordscape is to spell as many words as you can with the letters provided. Wordscape starts simple, with three letters. Slowly, they increase the number of letters provided so that you can spell more and more challenging words. The great thing about Wordscape is the way the answers are arranged into crosswords, which allow you to create hints for yourself with every correct answer guessed. This is especially helpful in motivating students to guess new and unfamiliar words!

How does it help to improve your English?

If you guess a new and unfamiliar word and realise that it is the correct answer, click on the little “Aa” icon on the top left of the screen! This will allow you to scroll through the meaning of all the words you have guessed so far. By playing this game, you are able to both test your spelling as well as learn new words via gameplay! Doesn’t that kill two birds with one stone?

Download Wordscape via: Android / Apple

2. Crossword Explorer — A Crossword Game

• Who is Beauty’s partner in a fairy tale?

• Pentagons have five _____?

• What’s a house made from snow blocks?

If the above questions sound fun to you, then you will probably enjoy the crossword game, Crossword Explorer! In this game, you will attempt to fill in the empty boxes with a suitable word, derived from clues that the game provides.

How does it help to improve your English?

This game allows you to revise the definition of words you already know by forcing you to actively recall them based on their definition. This is basically what you do when you answer vocabulary questions in the exam papers — only much more fun!

Not only that, it encourages you to use contextual clues to guess at the correct answer, just like how you would when answering vocabulary questions. For example, in the question “What’s a house made from snow blocks?”, the phrase “snow block” tells you that it is a type of housing found only in winter countries. From there, you can start to list various housing types, such as yurt, igloo or tent. Then, based on the context, you will probably select the word “igloo”, which is indeed the name for a house made from snow blocks!

Download Crossword Explorer via: Android / (Not available on Apple yet)

3. Libby — Going to the Library

Libby is an application that allows you to link your existing library card from the National Library Board to create an account on the application itself. From there, you can search for electronic versions of the books that you would like to read. Feeling a little lost as two what to read? Do not fret! Simply click on the “Explore” function and click “Guide: Kids” for some titles suitable for primary school students to read! If you’ve never tried reading an ebook before, Libby is the perfect place to start. You can use it on most mobile devices, which means that instead of watching endless hours of videos for entertainment while travelling or while on your upcoming staycation, you can choose to read a book as well!

How does it help to improve your English?

It goes without saying that reading will help to improve anyone’s English by familiarising us with the grammar rules as well as exposing us to new and interesting vocabulary. To that end, Libby’s highlighting function is incredibly helpful. You can highlight words or phrases that you like in whatever colour you desire. This will make reading more enjoyable for you, as well as help to emphasise certain good phrases that you can use in future compositions or stories that you write! The best part? You won’t even need to worry about dirtying any book, because all the highlights are digital and can be removed, should you change your mind and decide that another phrase is better.

In addition, the convenience and wide range of titles at your fingertips will certainly pique your interest.Think of all the books you can borrow and read with just the click of a button. Finally, learning unfamiliar words is as easy as a pie when you can simply press and hold on the unfamiliar word and click “define”. This allows you to power through a story and learn new words without having to flip frantically through a dictionary just to understand what is going on.

Download Libby via: Android / Apple

So, what do you think? Will you be exploring any of these applications in the holidays? If you have any other favourite applications or games to share, feel free to share them in the comments section below!