Autumn is edging closerwinph, and the return to a more regular office schedule looms for many people — and with it, the waiting time for transportation, meetings and appointments. Games, reading, social-media scrolls or just zoning out are common ways to spend these spells, but if you want more mental stimulation, why not boost your brain with brief lessons in subjects that interest you? Here’s a guide to finding Android and iOS apps that turn your 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.

ImageDuolingo, left, and Babbel are among the language-learning apps that offer several ways to practice vocabulary and phrases.Credit...Duolingo; Babbel

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 gamelike with videos and touch-screen exercises; note that Duolingo recently suffered a scrape 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.

ImageThe free Bloomberg Connects app brings hand-held tours of more than 200 art museums around the world in guides that can be downloaded for offline viewing.Credit...Bloomberg Connects; The National Arts Club

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