Title: Lyric
Language Spanish(Interactive Music and Video Language Program)
Overall Rating:
B+
Source: My Personal Collection
(I wasn't able to find a demo of this product on the internet. I
reviewed it from my personal collection).
Playing Time: Lyric Language
Spanish contains over 40 minutes of live action video. Therefore,
to complete each mode or section thoroughly, it takes about 40-50 minutes
to complete each section. However, the four game sections only take
approximately 20-30 minutes to play.
Software Release Date: Penton Overseas,
Inc,: 1993
Cost: $39.95
http://www.pentonoverseas.com/ll_10/ll_total.html
1) To price or purchase this CD-ROM scroll
down to the very bottom of the page.
Operating System:
This hybrid version is compatible with MPC and Macintosh Platforms.
Number of Players: 1 Player at a
time
Special Equipment/Facilities Needed:
1) MPC: a) MPC or equivalent, b) 386 or better, c) 4MB RAM
with min. 12 MB Windows Swapfile, d) MPC CD-ROM Drive, e) SVGA able to
display 32,000+ colors(15-bit), f) Sound Blaster Compatible Sound Board,
g) Mouse, h) MS-DOS 3.3 or later, and i) MS-Windows 3.1 or later.
2) MACINTOSH: a) Min. 5 MB RAM, b)
CD-ROM Drive, c) System 7.0 or better, and d) 8-bit color monitor or better.
Subject Area: The product helps
to teach the Spanish language to students of many grade levels.
Objectives: "Lyric Language Spanish
was developed by bilingual teaching and music professionals who were searching
for a way to *really* teach Spanish words to both adults and kids!"
Students will learn a foreign language with the aid of Music and Video.
Students will get the chance to listen to native pronunciation. From
working with this CD, students will improve their skills in spelling,
parts of speech, and much more!
"With Lyric Language, your children will
learn hundreds of new words and phrases, with perfect pronunciation."
A student will get results from this program meaning that their spelling,
grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary skills in the Spanish language will
improve greatly from the use of this product. A student's vocabulary
level in Spanish will increase greatly with the use of this product.
"Lyric Language Spanish has students speaking, reading, and writing
Spanish with the very first song."
Brief Description: This product
contains over 40 minutes of live action video, 11 songs with original music
and bilingual lyrics (1 line is sung in English, the next in Spanish),
and interactive word games. It also contains brilliant photographic
images and a bilingual learning environment.
The main screen contains different options to click
on such as words for review, music and video, music and text, music, text,
and video, learn and play, notes, and exit. "Words for Review" allows
students to listen to words and phrases and identify their parts of speech.
In the "Learn and Play" mode, students can mix and match pictures with
words. Type Answer provides keyboard and spelling skills. Multiple
Choice allows students to chose the correct picture out of 4 choices that
goes with the correct word or phrase.
"Kids will sing along with original music while
they take a trip to the zoo, the beach, the forest or even a hot air balloon
ride! It's an innovative method that appeals to all ages. Used in homes
and classrooms around the world!"
Entry Capabilities Required: Students
should have some prior knowledge of the Spanish language by at least being
in a beginning level Spanish class. Students must be interested and
be willing to try to learn a new language. Therefore, a beginning
Spanish student can benefit from this software as well as a more advanced
student.
Rating: (1-5)
Relevance to objectives: (5)
This product definitely does what is says, meaning that it is a great way
for students of many different levels of difficulty to learn Spanish.
With the aid of music and video beginning students will definitely learn
and acquire new skills or more advanced students will improve upon their
Spanish skills in vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, reading, writing,
speaking, listening to native pronunciation, and spelling.
Provides practice of relevant skills:
(5) This product definitely helps to improve a student's grammar,
parts of speech, spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary skills in the
Spanish language. Listening to native pronunciation is also extremely
relevant for students to learn the Spanish language.
Likely to arouse/maintain interest:
(5) This product is a great motivator that gets students to pay attention
and have fun while learning Spanish. The music videos with subtitled
lyrics will encourage and motivate students to learn Spanish, while taking
them on a series of many different adventures. This product contains
a bi-lingual learning environment that is full of graphics and sounds that
stimulate learning.
Likely to be comprehended clearly:
(5) It only takes ONE try for a student to figure out exactly how
to play this product. There are no tricks to playing the game.
The product's user-friendly format, with an easy
to understand screen and buttons, quickly allows students to easily jump
between the modes of entertainment and instruction without the need of
a manual.
Technical quality (durable, attractive):
(4) This CD is very attractive, colorful, and quickly catches one's
attention. The back of the CD cover contains all the features and
benefits of this product. This product is a Windows/Macintosh Hybrid
Compact Disc which makes it convenient for students and classrooms with
different types of computers. This product is easy to use, but it
does not come with booklet manual! However, it does come with a Lyric
Language Help file on the CD that summarizes each mode and section of the
product.
Game: Winning dependent on player actions (rather
than chance): (5) The object of
this product isn't about winning a game or competition. Students
aren't competing, but are having fun while learning the Spanish language.
Students get out of the game what they put into it and are able to improve
their reading, writing, and speaking skills in Spanish.
Simulation: Validity of game model (realistic,
accurate depiction): (5) The music
videos with subtitled lyrics makes it fun to learn Spanish, while going
on a series of real life adventures. The music videos are realistic
consisting of real people in real life situations such as at the zoo, beach,
market, birthday party, seasons, night, and jump roping. This product
allows students to believe that they are really learning the Spanish language
with the help of these real life situations.
Evidence of effectiveness (e.g. field-test results):
(5) "I have reviewed other products in the same category,
and yours stands out as an exceptional value," said Meg Benett, PhD., Editor
in the
Almanac for Parents of Gifted Children. Benett was
talking about Penton Overseas Inc., the creators of this product.
"The children love it! They ask me to play it again
and again," said Thomas L. Hooper, a teacher from Lake Wales, Florida.
http://www.pentonoverseas.com/ll_10/ll_total.html
Clear directions for play:
(5) The user-friendly format of this product allows students to easily
jump between entertainment and instruction, and from English to the target
language. Users of this product only need to, "slip
in the CD-ROM, click and go!". A manual
really isn't extremely to play this product.
Effectiveness of debriefing:
(2) Lyric Language Spanish doesn't generate reports regarding
the student's progress. Students acquire beneficial and relevant
skills in vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and grammar that they need
to learn the Spanish language, but there are no grades reports.
However, in the "Learn
and Play" mode, there are four sections of games/exercises where there
is a score section that contains the numbers of correct and incorrect answers.
Strong Points:
The strongest point of this product is that it is a quick and effective
way to learn Spanish. This program allows students to learn Spanish
by helping them to improve pronunciation, spelling, grammar, reading, writing,
and speaking skills in the Spanish language. Students will learn
hundreds of words and phrases in Spanish. One of the strongest aspects
of this program is that music videos with real life adventures and situations
will keep the students motivated to learn Spanish. This product is
appropriate for students who are just starting to learn the Spanish language
and for older students who are trying to brush up in the grammar, spelling,
pronunciation, reading, writing, and speaking aspects of the Spanish language.
Let's not forget that because this is a user-friendly product students
only need to, "slip in the CD-ROM, click and go!"
Weak Points:
This product does not come with a booklet manual. It does
come with a Lyric Language Help file on the CD that summarizes each mode
and section of the product. However, sometimes a booklet is more
helpful when a question or problem arises.
The weakest aspect of this
product it that it doesn't generate reports regarding the student's progress.
In the "Learn and Play" mode of this product there is a score section that
contains the numbers of correct and incorrect answers, but I don't believe
that this is enough. In each mode or section there should be
updated reports that can be printed out. The reports should contain
a list of exercises, the percentage of exercises completed, the amount
of time taken for each exercise, the date the student began the lesson,
and the number of exercises completed so far.
Reviewer: Pamela Bice
Position: Student in Education 410
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2000
Computer System Reviewed on: IBM Compaq
Presario, 5020, G7 300, 64mb ram.