Language Explorer
© 1993 Nordic Software, Inc.
As its name implies, this program introduces children to English, French, German or Spanish. Kids click on pictures to hear the spoken word in the clear voice of a native speaker, helping them make associations between the words and pictures. Pull-down menus allow kids to select from 42 sets of nouns or verbs, each related to a common theme such as food, farm animals, directions, clothing and colors. Both reviewers and kid testers found some of the pictures hard to discern (an orange that looks a lot like a grapefruit, for example). The CD's ease of use could have been better— some hints would have facilitated use of the program. A tester reported that "...they said the words, had the pictures, but didn't say where they should go." The program's design could be much stronger in terms of graphics, animation, sound and variation of activities. The relatively dry nature of the program would make it best suited for classroom use.
$57.95, Mac, Mac CD-ROM, Windows
Teaches: 504 words in English, French, German, Spanish