Those of us who have kids are on never ending pursuit to find the best educational tools for them. Few days ago I was searching for a suitable Spanish learning educational application that would help my little one learn Spanish. My search was finally over when I found JumpStart Spanish.
Software was bought and downloaded without problems. Installation was also uneventful. If you have ever tried other Spanish learning educational software, you will soon find out what makes JumpStart Spanish so different.
JumpStart Spanish is characterized by bright and lively GUI. It helps children stop thinking about learning as a chore, and convinces them that language learning is just another way of playing. Developers have implemented a continual rewarding system into application. That means that kids receive rewards for every correct choice they make in quizzes. Rewards are in the form of cute little animations.
The other form of rewards are stars, that are given for each completed section. Stars can than be used to put fish in an personalized aquarium. In case they give the wrong answer, program will gently report that to them, and in a case or repeated failure, program will highlight the right answer. This feature builds kids’ confidence and they are unlikely to stop their Spanish language learning process due to harsh treatment from an educational application. Kids will continue to play and learn using JumpStart Spanish without frustration and negativity.
The downside of this software is that it only teaches nouns. Kids learn days of the week, parts of body, things in house and around neighborhood. There is no module to teach them grammar or sentences, even tough they might pick up some phrases that are being used through the application.
Another disadvantage of this application is that it doesn’t provide enough challenge for gifted kids. I would like to see more material included with JumpStart Spanish, however I also understand that developers are probably working on JumpStart Spanish 2 that will provide users with so much needed content.
At the end of the day, if your kids like using computers to learn and play, they will definitely like to learn Spanish by using JumpStart Spanish.