Gus on the Go
Although learning a new language is difficult for my aging brain, young kids have a special aptitude for it. Instead of numbing their brains with mindless games, Gus on the Go aims to help kids learn a selection of almost 90 useful words in a selection of languages. They say you shouldn’t teach a child a second language until they are 5 years old as you might confuse them, but as my eldest daughter is almost 6 we tried out the Spanish version together.
The first stage of the game displays a screen with various items. Touch an item and you get a clear Spanish pronounciation and spelling of the word. Then you’re ready to move on to the next stage which involves one of a variety of mini-games that tests what you’ve remembered. Again you’ll hear the pronounciation and see the spelling, and you need to touch the corresponding item. Get them all and you unlock the next stage where you’ll learn more words and then get tested on all the words you’ve learned so far. There’s no discouraging penalty for a wrong answer, and a real sense of progress as you finish the levels.
Left to her own devices, the game was a little difficult for my 6 year old and she wouldn’t play very long. Older children would likely fair better. However where this game shines for younger children is with adult supervision, and with a parent helping we both enjoyed this game. The repetitive nature of the tests really help you both learn thewords, while the different mini-games add enough variety to maintain interest levels.
With atmospheric sound and colourful animations reminiscent of the “Baby Einstein” artwork, for £1.99 Gus on the Go is a quality game that will definitely help (you and) your child take the first steps to learning a second language.
