Bottom Line: If Spanish as a second language for toddlers is on your to-do list, then this app is for you. It builds off of basic vocabulary learned prior to using this app and immerses students into the language in a clear and consistent way.
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iPhone/iPad (FREE w/IAP)
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This app has no ads but does have parent-protected links to the app store for other apps as well as in-app purchases for additional stories.
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This is a well-designed app for expanding a child's budding second language skills with Spanish. Although the app is meant to be a sequel to the app, Gus on the Go: Spanish for Kids (Available for $3.99 >>>HERE<<<) if a child has a small familiarity with Spanish, this app will still be very useful. The free download has two stories, The Tortoise and the Hare and The Lion and the Mouse. Two other stories, The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears are available for purchase for $1.99 each. The app is designed to teach vocabulary with animated pictures, then reinforce that vocabulary with simple tests, then tell the story which expands Spanish vocabulary even further. After each story, there are games where kids are again quizzed on the vocabulary in an entertaining way.
The app opens to a screen of story choices represented by the characters. There is a parent-protected area where adults can learn about the app, other apps available from this developer and share on social media. In the upper right corner is a small child icon where kids can customize an avatar and keep track of "stamps" in their passports that they receive after completing sections of each story. After a child has chosen a story, they are given four choices represented by an owl showing what each choice means: learn, quiz, story and the big award for completing the final test. When children are learning the vocabulary for the story, they are introduced to the characters. For instance, the hare, "el conejo". Then they are introduced to the character with a full sentence, "Este es el conejo.". Then the character is given some verbs like walking, running, dancing and laughing. All of this is done in Spanish and is presented so clearly that there can be no misunderstanding in what is being presented.
The quiz section shows three pictures of the characters doing things from the vocabulary section. With a text and narrator prompt, kids are asked to choose the correct picture to earn a star. Ten questions complete the section and each question can be repeated by clicking the ear icon. Next, kids are prepared for the story. The stories are presented as clearly as the rest of the app. the text is highlighted and narrated as the story progresses and each word can be tapped to hear again. Tapping on characters will also give additional appropriate phrases for the page shown in the story. For instance, tapping the pig will have the pig say that he is a pig, which gives different tenses and ownership with the language. After the story is complete, kids have another game they can complete to get the final stamp on their
passport for that story. Games are all fashioned with descriptive photos and narrator prompts. The games themselves are matching with cards, matching a runner to the correct photo asked for by the narrator, putting a puzzle together and having a character catch appropriate actions on a tray.
I found no bugs or weird design element while playing. In fact, the only thing I would like to see in future updates would be the addition of a glossary at the end of each story because there is a lot of vocabulary introduced that kids will have to infer meaning. Other than that, I think this developer has done a fabulous job of giving kids a good way to learn Spanish that isn't confusing and is desirable to revisit. This is definitely a new Top Pick.
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Cynthia took a bunch of Spanish in school but pretends not to know because folks talk super fast when they think she understands and that hurts her head. *Smart Apps for Kids was paid a priority review fee for this post.
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