[From Chris Chiu, China] As someone who is in a situation where three languages are being used daily and where I'm learning one of the three languages, I've found that there are several ways to learn to "speak in tongues" on a Palm device. A short list of some language tools includes:
-Abridged and Unabridged dictionaries; some with speech ability
-eBooks (i.e., grammar texts, travel guides, etc.)
-Flash cards (many programs available; several free)
-Voice recording (unfortunately, not available on all Palm devices)
-Note-taking (most valuable for non-latin language note-taking)
-mp3 recordings of native speakers
-Database programs to store vocabulary (many ready-made databases are available free with some commercial database programs) -pdf files--one can create one's own pdf files to view on the Palm with a pdf reader (I have found the free PalmPDF program to work very well, albeit slow at times).
ADVANTAGES
1. Portability. This is the biggest advantage for a PDA over carrying a large number of paper texts and a recording device. You can also customize what you find useful to carry with your PDA. For those with wireless devices (such as the Treo), there also is the ability to look up things on the Web while on the go.
2. Availability. If you're like me, you like to have all your notes in one place, otherwise, you may not find them. Having all or most of the important language tools in one place makes it easier to find what you need to know or learn.
3. Special Language Learning tools. I haven't used them, but the various talking phrasebooks (such as the ones from Beiks) make a multimedia language tool available in your PDA. Some dictionaries, (such as AbsoluteWord's RoadLingua) provide free software to make your own dictionary. iSilo provides a free program, iSiloX, which allows you to convert documents from html format into something that can be read on the Palm. For most others, converting relevant texts to pdf and reading in PalmPDF works well enough. One special program for learning deserves mention: Supermemo. There are various incarnations of this program, but one of the newest runs on the Palm OS. Supermemo purports to use a special algorithm to maximize your ability to memorize things; in other words, a kind of "super" flashcard system. One disadvantage (for me) with Supermemo is that the easiest way to create Supermemo databases requires a piece of Windows software and I use a Mac. (There also is a Windows-only version of Supermemo which allows insertion of pictures as well as text). For Chinese learners, the PlecoDict Chinese dictionary offers several great features including a built-in flashcard system (with several ready-made ones for free) and a Chinese character recognition system so that you can "draw" a character and look it up in a dictionary. This dictionary can be a little pricey for some, however.
DISADVANTAGES
1. Fonts. Although you can use various localization programs (there are ones available in several non-latin languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Greek, Russian, etc.), you can only run one of these at a time. One way around this limitation is to use different programs that can display other fonts. For example, my Palm (a Zodiac) has a Chinese localization program installed, but I also need to display a modified arabic script. For the latter, I can use PalmPDF to display the right-to-left non-latin text, but readibility is not great. Other programs, BibleReader+ for example, allow you to display some texts with other fonts such as Greek and Hebrew.
2. Speed and Multi-tasking. Although some can use their Palm with great speed, for others, using a pocket phrasebook or recorder is faster than waiting for an eBook or recording program to open on their Palm. Also, some switching between programs is awkward on the Palm. This can make it harder to go through several different language tools at once. Some software tools such as McPhling or software that remaps the hardware buttons (such as ZLauncher) can be used to get around this limitation.
3. Speech. Not all Palm devices can record speech (my Zodiac, for example, cannot record audio). There is software (at least one that is free) that allows your Palm to "read" text aloud, but it does not work in all applications. Pocket PCs are probably more advanced than Palm devices in this regard. On the other hand, Palm devices, I believe, are not inferior to Pocket PCs in playing back multimedia files such as MP3's. The Core TCPMP player is free and works very well for this, but does not allow multiple playlists.
4. Small screen. 160 x 160 and 320 x 320 screens are not as easy to read as even most portable phrasebooks. That is why I prefer my 320 x 480 Zodiac despite its larger size. At times, the glare on my screen protector makes it almost impossible to read text in direct light.
5. Battery. Paper texts don't need to recharge. If I had one request to upgrade my Palm device (other than for an audio recorder), it would be to have a replaceable battery such as the Treo has.
6. Text entry. Although the stylus makes it easy to jot short notes, it is not good for taking long memos in a classroom. For this, you may need to pay for an external keyboard.
7. Luxury. In most of the world, carrying a Palm device will mark you as wealthy (in comparison with locals). Where I now live, I hesitate to bring out my Palm in public for fear of what locals will infer.
8. Other. Although my experience with Pocket PC devices is limited, I don't think they are much superior to Palm devices when it comes to language-learning software--despite the availability of StyleTap which allows one to run Palm software on a Pocket PC. However, I have heard that IBM created software for the Pocket PC that allows one to take a digital picture of a sign from one language and translate the sign into English. Finally, there's cost. A PDA is more expensive than most phrasebooks or language dictionaries--and most language students will want to have print versions around anyway. Losing a PDA is a greater problem than losing a pocket book.
Despite the disadvantages , overall, I find my Palm device indispensible for language learning. It's not as important a tool as my notebook computer (a Mac), but, for review and reference on the go, it is irreplaceable.
