EazySpeak Spanish
© 2004 Kutoka Interactive
This clever immersion-style program teaches 800 Spanish vocabulary words and basic conversation skills. The action takes place in Doki, an edgy cartoon world to explore. In each location, like the hospital, bar, supermarket, travel agency, etc., there are activities to complete that require listening and speaking. In the hospital you'll restore a body to its pre-skeletal state by correctly identifying requested body parts. In the bar, you'll practice ordering drinks (including wine), and at the supermarket, you'll do a little shopping. The format is engaging and non-linear. The latter quality means that it's easy to miss some things, but it's nice to be able to explore the program freely. Because of the all-Spanish, immersion approach and some nonintuitive icons, navigation can be tricky, especially when working with the voice recording feature. A tutorial video and help panel are available when you get stuck. A built-in chat feature lets you talk with other Doki players on the Web. One big drawback is that there are no record-keeping or sign in features. Still, this is a very well-done program, with a variety of interesting activities-- even teens will want to play. A French version is also available.
$24.99, Win 98, 2000, ME, Win XP, Mac OSX
Teaches: Spanish, 800 basic vacabulary words