LDT 505 – Lesson 5, App 1

Reviewed by Tara Ondra

Details: founded in 2017, available on Android and iOS

Cost: Free (limited content) or Premium (unlimited content at $19.99 per year)

Review:

Beelingua is a story based language learning application that utilizes the parallel text method to promote reading, listening, and vocabulary building skills. Beelingua is available in 14 different languages. Learners can personalize and tailor their experience at a tool and activity level by selecting readings from a variety of different genres, adjusting audio speed to accommodate language level, and modifying reading format (Kearney et al., 2012). Beelingua is designed exclusively as a self-learning and self-monitoring application lacking mechanisms for instructor monitoring or interaction.  Another serious limitation of Beelingua is accessibility to free content. For a more robust and truly customizable learning experience, learners should subscribe to the premium service. Unlike many applications that also have a desktop or laptop format, Beelingua is only available as a mobile application.

Reference:

Kearney, M., Schuck, S., Burden, K., & Aubusson, P. (2012). Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective. Research in Learning Technology, 20(1), 1–17.