The next time you\u2019re walking down the street, in a waiting room, or on public transport in Barcelona take a look around. What do you notice? Smartphones, smartphones, and more smartphones.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not surprising – when people are stuck for something to do they take out their mobile and start chatting with their friends, reading the news, or playing games.<\/p>\n
The thing is, we spend A LOT of time looking at screens. Some people spend up to nine hours a day looking at devices<\/strong><\/em><\/span>. So why not use some of this time to start practising English?<\/p>\n If you download the right apps and games, and visit useful websites, you\u2019ll start to immerse<\/strong><\/em><\/span> yourself in English, practise different skills everyday, and even interact with other English speakers online. You won\u2019t even realise how much your English is improving!<\/p>\n You are probably already familiar with Duolingo<\/a>, Busuu<\/a> and other language learning platforms but here are 5 other popular apps that you can use right now to boost<\/strong><\/em><\/span> your English.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Twitter<\/a> is a popular social media platform that lets people give their opinions, have conversations and share photos and articles. It\u2019s been around since 2006 and with more than 335 million monthly active users<\/strong><\/em><\/span> – there are a lot of opportunities to use English.<\/p>\n So next time you are on Twitter here are some things you can do:<\/p>\n You can download the app for free on Android and iOS and also use it on a computer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Akinator<\/a> AKA \u201cthe web genius\u201d is a fun game you can play online or through an app. Simply think of a famous person or character (dead or alive, real or not) and Akinator will ask you a series of questions and then will guess who you are thinking of.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a novelty, sure, but it offers lots of language practice, and it\u2019s a fun game to play with your friends too. Even better, Akinator nearly always wins!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The BBC<\/a> is one of the world\u2019s most trusted news organisations. It has an excellent app, that sends you the latest \u201cbreaking news\u201d stories right to your phone.<\/p>\n Not only can you keep up with all the latest news around the world, but you\u2019ll find vocabulary you have never heard of and read short, interesting stories. It offers an excellent way to practise and improve your reading skills on a daily basis.<\/p>\n Here is how we recommend using the app:<\/p>\n Netflix<\/a> is one of the most popular online streaming platforms. You can watch endless films, documentaries and television series for a monthly fee<\/strong><\/em><\/span> (less than \u20ac10 a month).<\/p>\n We recommend watching your favourite series and films in English, along with English Subtitles. This will help you get used to different accents, learn new vocabulary and the subtitles will help you when you don\u2019t understand what someone has said.<\/p>\n Also, if you pause<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the screen, you can note down new words and spellings.<\/p>\n One of the benefits of learning English this way is that you see the language being used in \u201creal life\u201d which will help you remember what things mean.<\/p>\n Find out more ways you can use Netflix to practise your English<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n1. Twitter<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
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2. Akinator<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
3. BBC Breaking News<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
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4. Netflix<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
5. Audible<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n