Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Wilkey Oh
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Audio, visual prompts help boost kids' communication skills.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
LanguageBuilderDeluxe
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Parents can set up profiles for multiple kids and adjust the hint difficulty level and photo theme. During app play, kids see a picture and hear the prompt "Make a sentence about the picture." If hints are turned on, kids can tap a hint button. For Level 1 hints, kids see a sentence with a couple of blanks to fill in. Level 2 hints are open-ended sentence starters such as "The boys..." For Level 3 hints, kids hear suggested vocabulary words to use. Kids record their sentence and must play it back before moving to the next picture.
Is It Any Good?
LANGUAGEBUILDERDELUXE is a solid learning tool for kids who need to improve receptive and expressive language skills. The audio and visual prompts along with the three levels of hints give kids appropriate support as they learn to build and produce sentences. In addition, the ability to playback and re-record sentences helps kids reflect on and revise their language.
The photographs are high quality and depict a range of settings and themes appropriate for young kids. Unfortunately, the photos lack diversity -- nearly all of the kids and adults in the photos are white. And for the price, it would be nice if the app provided parents with some guidance to help kids get the most out of this app. A parent/teacher center with suggestions for supporting language development and ideas for extension activities would be a nice addition.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Provide support for your kids as they use the app. If they struggle with reading, read the hints aloud. Listen to the sentences your child records. Adjust hints level as needed.
Try to consciously model language expression for your kids. Use complete sentences to explain to them what you are doing. Encourage them to ask you questions.
App Details
- Device : iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : speaking
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : analyzing evidence , applying information , Communication : conveying messages effectively , listening , speaking
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : August 9, 2012
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Mobile Education Store LLC
- Version : 1.1
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.1 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
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