Babbel.com is a website devoted to helping people learn languages online. The company has recently added a host of iPad apps that will let you do the same thing, on the go, right on your iPad. The apps are free to download, but charge a monthly subscription rate for access to the lessons. You can choose from French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Indonesian and English languages to learn.

The new Babbel apps offer a great way to learn a new language quickly in the New Year—while having fun in the process. Compared to previous apps, these include not just vocabulary training, but also courses for beginners and continuing learners, grammar and refresher training, as well as classic lessons such as Idioms or Tongue-Twisters. The review manager keeps track of words that have been learned as well as the learner’s progress, and synchronizes them to coincide with the web-app. Lessons and exercises are set up in a casual and playful way, using interactive touch capabilities (for example drag-and-drop exercises), thereby corresponding to Babbel’s didactic methods. A customized design for the iPad, an improved speech-recognition system and intuitive navigation fulfills the tablet’s claim to being an exemplary vehicle for learning.