Cat Academy

Have you heard of the icanhazcheezburger cats? If so, and you think they're fun, this app is for you!  This app is $1.99 but worth it for the cuteness factor alone! Learn phrases and vocabulary with cat memes! I have downloaded for my students to do to reinforce our classroom learning. Students progress through recognition, listening and speaking activities to earn the badge for that level. Further levels recycle previous words/phrases. It's fun. And cute. What more could you want???

Duolingo

This is an extremely well produced app. Students can select Spanish or French and then they compete for mastery of each level. Levels are progressively harder. The possibility exists for a student to master a level without competing- effectively allowing them to "test out" of levels and move directly to challenging ones. It is set up as a game and students try to keep their hearts. Their progress is recorded and available to review. It is a very individual activity so I assign when students have a few minutes of down time at the end of a test or other activity. Students can toggle the language themselves so keep an eye out- I had one student who decided she'd rather do it in French, which is great but not in Spanish class. ;)

Learning Games

These apps are all by the same developer and have a similar look and feel.  They are listed as 99 cents each but you can get all of them for $1.99.  They are really basic, testing the sounds of the animals, for instance, but they are pretty intuitive and don't require a lot of knowledge of Spanish to use.  I like to have students complete these when they have a few minutes free while they are waiting for the class to finish a test or if they come early...  My favorite part is that each app has an interactive alphabet that you click on the letters and it gives you the sounds in Spanish, said by a native speaker (Castillian accent)-great for extra practice at the beginning of the year!

Ahorcado is a fun game for students to test their vocab knowledge.  Students select from word categories and can get hints.  The best part about this app is that if you pick the 2 player option, the players can choose their own words and it sets them up in a game of hangman! This app is free.