Customer Reviews

KidSpeak French

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My daughter, age 8, LOVES this program. She thinks of it as a game. The little animations interspersed throughout keep it engaging. I love that she's learning correct pronunciation from native speakers. The audio is clear and high-quality. Even though this program doesn't teach a lot of French in terms of quantity(a few hundred vocabulary words, letters, and numbers) she's gaining valuable exposure to the sounds of French at the age when she's able to absorb and reproduce them. That will be invaluable to her later study of the language. I also appreciate that there's no English or translation involved in the interface unless you click on the "help" button--the program provides a mini-immersion experience.

For better or for worse. My kid cannot stay away from the program which he think is just plain fun! It may not make him a fluent French speaker, but sure get him started.

Anticipating a "fun" way for kids to learn French, we are a bit disappointed as it is difficult to understand what to do in each section, and it is basic memorization. Other language programs we have used in the past for Spanish were set up like a game and they wanted to play them, however this is more of a chore. However, it is better than simply an audio CD.

I bought this program for my 6-year-old to play by herself while I finished out my workday at home after she returns from school. I suppose I can't complain because the program states it uses the immersion method, but I thought it would give more cues (like a picture of a butterfly, and someone saying in French "A butterfly. There is a butterfly.") Instead, it just launches into full French with very little context or vocabulary practice to help understand what is being said. My daughter knows some French, but she was quickly annoyed because she had no idea what was being said or how to play other than randomly clicking icons. The only way the program is useful is if I sit with her and explain everything, which was not I had hoped for. Graphics and games are also very basic.