A Is For Apple, B Is For Bike...
A Review of Alphabet Soup
Rich Cunningham
The most basic building blocks of any language are the letters that make up the words and phrases of said language. It would be hard to communicate otherwise. So when it comes to the beginning education of a child, or an adult learning a foreign language, the alphabet should be among the first thing to be learned.
Learning the English language is very difficult. There are a lot of subtle meanings to words, the same word can have many different meanings, the list goes on and on. So a basic grasp of the alphabet is critical, especially at first. With the help of the newest program/game from Sequoia International and Red Brick Productions, this learning process has been made easier, and more fun.
In this program, the player meets Marty the Meatball, and Sip the Spoon, along with their 26 friends (cleverly called "The Alphabets"). The purpose of the game is to acquaint the user with the letters of the alphabet, their order in it, and the way they sound. This is accomplished by having a board with the letters on it. The user clicks on the letter, and a mini-animation is displayed, using the letter in a word, and the word in a sentence. After the mini-movie, the player can click on objects to make fun things happen, and also the red letters (but I will leave that for the players to discover - no use giving everything away). This may seem boring, but for someone just starting the learning process it is very helpful to have this simple and repetitious method of learning the alphabet. There is also no score keeping or competition in the game, which I feel is good. I think it helps to increase the emphasis on learning and not game playing. An enjoyable respite from the learning is accomplished by clicking the musical note after the letter "z". There is a very pleasant surprise, one which I won't reveal here.
While this program is aimed for the kindergarten/first grade age group, it would also be useful in a pre-school setting, or for use with the learning challenged. Adults learning English as a second language would also benefit from it, but they may find it childish to use. The program is a very easy one to operate as it is 100% point-and-click which requires not keyboard input from the user. It is very simple to install, but must be played from the CD. There is no Macintosh version available, which is sad, since most schools (at least in my geographic area) are heavily populated with that computer system. The cost of this program is also attractive. It lists for seven dollars, and will most likely have a lower street price. All in all, a very good bang for the buck. This program would be a nice addition to a family computer library with a little one in the house.
School House Scorecard
| Product: |
Alphabet Soup |
| Company: |
Sequoia International
|
| Cost: |
$7.00 |
System Requirements:
IBM: 486 or greater; 4mb ram minimum (8mb recommended); Windows 3.1/DOS 3.3 minimum or Windows 95; SVGA display 640x480x256; SoundBlaster or compatible sound card; 2X CD ROM; mouse
Macintosh: not available
Breakdown:
Ease of Use 5
Learning Value 3
Entertainment Value 3
Graphics 4
Sound 4
Overall Score:
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