Bottom line: Designed to teach English to kids who are non-native English speakers, this app will also entertain preschool and kindergarten native speakers who are just learning these concepts for the first time.
If you would like to download Fun English (iPad/iPhone, $9.99), please support Smart Apps For Kids by using this link:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
External links behind a locked parent gate. _________________________________________________________________________________________
I am a grammar nerd. My co-workers here at SAFK would tell you I am a grammar nazi. So of course I wanted to review an app with a title like Fun English. Designed for kids ages 3-10 who are non-native English speakers, it features nine different lessons, all focusing on a different aspect of the English language — “to be” verbs, singular vs. plural, adjectives, comparatives — you get the picture. It’s useful for native speakers as well, and will certainly benefit little ones who are just learning these grammar concepts for the first time.
Fun English, by Studycat, has cute graphics that remind me of Mr. Potato Head and friends. They’re bright and colorful and appealing to kids, even if they’re not terribly sophisticated. The app also contains original songs, which is always a bonus. The games aren’t groundbreaking, but neither are they offensive. They’re just your average stuff, and the same types of games appear in every lesson: memory games, spelling, matching pairs, coloring, whack-a-mole (or mouse or cat or whatever), and a couple of “feed the animals” games. There’s lots of verbal repetition of words, which is very necessary for kids who are learning English, and plenty of opportunities to see the words they’re hearing in written form — also important.
It's important to note that this is in no way, shape or form an English-language course. It’s useful practice for kids who are learning English as well as native speakers, but it’s hardly Rosetta Stone software. Yes, some solid English-language concepts are taught, but that’s not enough to call this a language course. No one is going to learn English from the ground up by using this app. Mostly it's a collection of cute grammar games, and for that, it's priced far too high at $9.99.
One issue some parents may have is that directions are in pretty short supply here. Obviously, we’re dealing with users who may not have a great grasp of English, so I understand that directions have to be simple. But that means kids are often left to figure things out for themselves. That's fine for me as an adult, but I’m not sure how a kindergartener is going to handle it if the goal of the game isn’t readily apparent.
The app is a bit glitchy. Most annoyingly, the screen orientation isn’t consistent. The menu is in landscape mode and will not reorient itself even if you’re holding the iPad in portrait position. About half the games, however, are in portrait mode, and they won’t reorient either, no matter how you’re holding the iPad. The constant switching was really irritating.
The other frustrating feature turned up in the “feed the animals” games. In both the ones I played, the game seemed to have forgotten the directions it gave me. For example, when I was feeding the hippo in the food lesson, the hippo informed me in Level 2 that she wanted eggs, but no noodles. OK, fine. When eggs and noodles begin to fall from the sky, I direct the eggs to the hippo’s mouth, and the noodles off the screen. Easy enough, right? But before I had filled the hippo’s quota of nine eggs, the eggs stopped falling. All I was getting was noodles and hot dogs. Hmm. I tried giving the hippo some hot dogs, which she'd asked for in Level 1, and lo and behold, it worked. I was able to fill up the rest of the quota with something besides eggs. This business of changing the rules mid-game, or expecting a preschooler to remember the rules from previous levels, seems poorly thought-out to me. A kid in this scenario is likely to sit there waiting for more eggs, and is going to get grumpy when they fail to materialize.
My final take on this app: cute games, good practice on English concepts, but too expensive.
***
Emilie judges you when you use poor grammar. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee for this review.
Comments