My newest gadget Ipad has occupied my free times for weeks now, and I
marvel again at how easily accessible information has become. So for serious
and potential Chinese learners out there, I recommend the following
Chinese-related Ipad apps. All these are survivors from hours and hours of
search and trial. Although they are by no means exhaustive, they are probably
the most functional out there so far.
You can click the
icons or app names to follow the links.
Learning Character apps
- A very comprehensive app and is FREE!
- It includes information as to audio flashcards, stroke orders, quizzes and games.
- The word index can be any index that you can download, also for free.
- iLearnChinese is worth purchasing the full version for. It includes information not just about how to write characters, but about their etymology, uses, and derived characters.
- ChineseWords has attractive page design and can work well with children.
- Writer is a cool game. You have to know the stroke order of characters in order to win!
- 写汉字免费版 has a rather bland interface, but nonetheless provides good space for practice screen writing.
Chinese Reading apps
- You have to make in-app purchases, and the list of books are limited. But it has good dictionary and annotation functions that make it appealing to a Chinese learner.
- In-app purchases can be worth it.
- The cartoon books are illustrated with traditional characters, but they are entertaining and appropriate for all age groups.
- Another cartoon reading app. However, compared with 老夫子精选漫画, the audience of 囧四格 may not include the very young. Yet for the right audience, it can be pretty funny.
Chinese Listening apps
- Free Mandarin and Cantonese radio stations from LA and NYC.
- Radio can play while you do other things with your Ipad.
Chinese Video apps
- These are all from 5Q Channel Chinese Reading apps, some of my favorite apps. Although their difficulty level is relatively high, they are great classroom aids when introducing Chinese culture to students.
- I myself learn a lot about the traditions and legends of each of these festivals from these apps.
- These are all the festivals the provider currently has.
- These are also from 5Q Channel Chinese Reading apps. Again, gorgeous interface. You can easily find an Apple VGA adaptor and show these videos in class.
- The stories are all about Chinese folktales or idioms. Great cultural infusion.
- The video comes with both simplified and traditional characters, picture books, with pinyin and English translation.
- Although you have to pay for each individual story, it is worth it. They are very well done.
- All the stories I have here are relatively easy ones.
Chinese Game apps
These
characteristic Chinese games can subsidize Chinese learning with a taste of
Chinese culture.
- Chinese Checkers is a great game and it's free. It reminds me of the checkers games I used to play with my dad when I was little, and in Chinese, we call it "jumping chess." What makes this version cool is that instead of having just two players, as I was used to, you can play with as many players as you want (up to six real or virtual players).
- Chinese Chess is another Chinese game that is free. I have a student who loves learning Chinese partially because he enjoys playing Chinese chess. We even play it in class sometime!
- Puzzle Games for Chinese Idiom is a game that tests your familiarity with Chinese idiom. I like it, because I'm more advanced in Chinese. I even got the full paid version for it. The default is in traditional characters, but you can easily change the setting to display simplified characters.
- Love Chinese is a cute game for baby. Lovely interface. They even let you get stickers as a prize! Has a paid version.
- Matching Game for Chinese poetry is quite hard I have to say, but could be a fun activity for more advanced learners. Needs to pay if you want the full version.
Testing apps
- These are test questions based on the HSK Test, the official Chinese level test administered by the Chinese government.
- I thought the full version is not free, but it seems like you can still get a lot of free test questions from the free version of this app.
- It can be a good help to teachers who write new tests so often!
Learning Chinese has
never been so easy and fun. As a teacher, my role is to facilitate learning
with technology, to infuse classroom with digital learning. In specific, I can
request the school purchases a VGA adaptor so I can project my Ipad to a larger
screen. Let students try my apps. They may even be able to download the apps
for their own Ipads or Iphones. Also, I should recommend these apps to my
colleagues and parents so more people can get involved in promoting digital
learning in and beyond school. In addition, I can even request that the school
can provide Ipad carts for classroom use. Technology does not threat the
profession of teachers because teachers mean more than passing on knowledge,
but technology should become more prominent in classroom to expand the capacity
of teaching and learning.
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