Study on the go! Turn your smartphone into a pocket tutor
smartphone into a traveling pocket tutor.
Learn a Language
Web-based academic courses and music lessons have boomed in the past few years, especially as remote learning became a part of pandemic life. Although Apple and Google have their own free translation apps, some people also found online language lessons useful. No one wants to hear you practice your French pronunciation on a commuter train, but several language-instruction apps offer free or inexpensive tutorials in vocabulary and grammar that you can do quietly or while wearing headphones.
Babbel, Duolingo, Memrise and Rosetta Stone are among those that offer short lessons for a wide choice of languages. Each app requires a user account that you must set up for lessons to track your progress. Duolingo and Memrise both have free plans along with paid options, and tend to make learning more game-like with videos and touch-screen exercises; note that Duolingo recently suffered a breach of user data. Babbel and Rosetta Stone are more focused on conversational skills and ask you to subscribe to continue your studies; prices vary, but expect to pay less than $100 a year for full access.
Explore Global Culture
If you'd like to pretend you're not trapped in a bus seat for 45 minutes each way, you can visit the great museums of the world virtually through apps like Bloomberg Connects and the Google Arts & Culture app for Android and iOS. Both apps are free.
Bloomberg Connects has more than 200 guides so far, with videos and collection highlights from art museums around the world and other cultural sites. These portable museum tours mix video with text and images, and can be downloaded for times when you are without internet access.
Google Arts & Culture has content from
