Can understand the accent
La k of practice
Response from developer
Hi. Thanks for the feedback. We offer both spelling test and word search options, as well as a "word of the day" feature and the ability for you to create custom tests with your own audio and own words if you want to. But this is a "spelling test" app and the features within it are very clearly laid out in the app description. The app allows practice and testing, but it doesn't teach children *how* to spell - it lets them practice a given set of words and is intented as a tool to use alongside teaching / school. Nevertheless, if you have any specific requests for features you'd like to see us add in a future update, then we'd love to hear from you. Please e-mail info@keystagefun.co.uk with any specific requests.
Accents
Response from developer
Thanks for your review and feedback. We've had a few US customers mention this. We're a UK company and 90% of our customers are based in the UK, so it's very deliberate that the primary accent we provide within the app is a UK accent. Even here though, we have huge variations in accent between regions. However, the app gives parents the option to record their own voice saying each spelling word - and this was the main way we always intended the app to be used. If you have time to do so, recording your own audio for each word can make it a lot more fun for your child. It means you can give them the exact context for a word (making it part of a funny sentence, or specifically related to them and their interests) and personalised to what you know about how they best learn. This is quick and easy to do via the app. Obviously we're not suggesting a parent record all 10,000 or so of the words we already include within the app in one go! But most children learn in blocks of words - certainly here in the UK the standard approach is to introduce 15-20 new words at a time each week. Recording that number of words once a week isn't going to take long at all, but it's not for everyone, and if that isn't something you have time to do, then I'd recommend looking for an alternative solution that provides words in a US accent that your child is comfortable with. There are plenty of options out there that are more US-centric. At some stage we may add a generic US accent, but I suspect this will only resolve the issue for customers in certain regions, due to the enormous difference in regional accents throughout the USA. Thanks for reaching out, and I hope you find something that works for your child.
Not for American English
Response from developer
Hi there. The app does feature a UK accent, which given we're based in the UK and 90% or so of our customers are based in the UK, is understandable (and deliberate). However - the app gives parents the option to record their own voice saying each spelling word - and this was the main way we always intended the app to be used. If you have time to do so, recording your own audio for each word can make it a lot more fun for your child. It means you can give them the exact context for a word (making it part of a funny sentence, or specifically related to them and their interests) and personalised to what you know about how they best learn. This is quick and easy to do via the app. If that's something you don't want to do, then I'd recommend looking for an alternative solution that provides words in a US accent that your child is comfortable with. There are plenty of options out there that are more US-centric. At some stage we may add a generic US accent, but I suspect this will only resolve the issue for customers in certain regions, due to the enormous difference in regional accents throughout the USA. Thanks for reaching out, and I hope you find something that works for your child. Thanks. Ian, KeyStageFun.
Pretty good, but…
Response from developer
Thanks for your review and feedback. Totally get that it would be ideal for everyone to have the words available in their own accents / language. But the work involved in doing that is beyond the scope of what a reasonably small company like us can realistically manage. Instead, we decided to provide the ability for parents and teachers to record their own audio for each spelling word in the app - if their child isn't used to a British accent. It's quick and easy for you to record your own audio using the app and makes the app a lot more fun for your child when they hear your voice rather than a generic voice - you can add funny sentences for context, which can also make learning more enjoyable. It's possible at some stage we'll add a generic US voice option, but realistically (and we've found this in the UK already), with such huge variations in accents even within the same country, it's never going to be perfect for everyone in the way recording the audio yourself will be.
