While I strictly discourage "screen time" when talking to adoptive parents about adjustment and attachment, there are always a few exceptions. Children learn more through relationship, so shows and apps really are not helping them learn English nearly as quickly as or well as they will by interacting with you. One of the exceptions that I make is for the long trip home. Proximity, touch, and interaction are so important for building attachment; however the extreme proximity of an international flight can push many adults to the edge let alone children with less developed coping skills. While parents should take advantage of the forced proximity and time for interaction on flights, they also need to pay attention to signs of overstimulation, stress, and children feeling trapped. Since you cannot predict how this child you are still getting to know will respond to flying likely for the first time, parents need to be prepared for a variety of different in flight situations. 
I travel fairly frequently and rarely to locations that include bellhops. I prefer to pack light, and cannot remember the last time that I intentionally checked a bag. Child-friendly apps and ebooks seem like a great way for me to prepare for several possibilities without having to carry "the kitchen sink". An iPad or iPod touch would allow a child to read, watch, learn, see pictures, listen to stories, draw, and play games. Children can see pictures of new friends and family members waititng to meet them and photos of their new home and bedroom. Parents can even prepare videos for them. A digital lifebook can be read right on the device.
Chungaboo is a family-run company that focuses on creating unique educational iBooks and apps for kids to use on all of your Apple devices. Their language development series can be great for adoptive families. Many of their books come in multiple languages and allow children to learn in an intuitive manner. It was engaging for even my 14 month old nephew. Many of their iBooks are Free or just $.99. You will certainly pay more for a first words book, and iBooks just don’t feel quite as toddler-focused as board books do.
I really like the new Lingo Slingo app from Chungaboo that works as both an iBook and a game that teaches language. It comes with English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese loaded already. I am hoping that even more languages (like Samoan or Russian) can be added in the future. The app has ebooks built into the interface, and you can add more ebooks, making it very easy for children to use. Even better, Chungaboo would like to give two MLJ Adoptions readers a promo code to download Lingo Slingo for free! Just use the easy Rafflecopter widget below to enter.
I was provided a promo code to review the app. Opinions (and additional downloads) are my own.