I took a French course just about every year of my education, from second grade to my senior year at Sarah Lawrence College. I’d like to imagine that I’ve been exposed to a lot of strategies of teaching French, many of which are less exciting than others. I was recently sent two apps that aim to help students learn aspects of the French language from Erasmos: French Gender and French Numbers. I would have benefited greatly from these tools.

Even as an advanced speaker of French-as-a-second language, I know that gender is something I still struggle with using correctly. During the year I spend studying in Paris, I used my dictionary to look up the gender of words constantly. The French Gender app for iPhone comes with an impressive reference section that includes 66 word-ending possibilities, color-coded by gender. Click into each ending to find a list of examples and a list of exceptions, each accompanied by its English translation. You can also click each word to hear it pronounced. There’s a section to practice your ability to apply these rules. For those who want to give the app a test-run before purchasing, you can try the free version which only includes six word-endings.

Read the rest of this entry »