All-in-One Language Fun! (Syracuse Language Systems; Distributors
include Lingo Fun)
System Requirements: LCII or better, color monitor, System 7.0 or
newer; JLK not required
Price: $39.95
Review by Atsushi Fukada, Purdue University (IN)
All-in-One Language Fun! is a CD-ROM-based collection of simple games
designed for language practice. It contains games for Spanish, French, German,
English in addition to Japanese. For Japanese there are 27 games each of
which has several variations. (Many of the games, however, are of the same
format with different vocabulary words.) Most of the games proceed as follows:
First, you are presented with objects to click on (presentation phase).
For instance, by clicking on a picture of a bicycle you hear a native speaker
say "jitensha". A more advanced example would be "hon o yondeiru
onnanoko" for a girl reading a book. When you are ready to go on, you
press the "proceed" button to enter the quiz phase. Here you hear
"jitensha", for example, as a cue with several pictures on the
screen. You are to answer by clicking on the right picture. In this phase
you have access to the "level" button, which will take you to
progressively more difficult variations of the same game. For example, you
may hear "jitensha, beddo, ie" and be asked to click on the right
pictures in the right order. All the games make use of extensive graphics
and audio. In fact, the package says "Ages 3-12" as their intended
audience. Clicking the mouse button is the only skill needed to play these
games. The audio is recorded by several different native speakers, both
male and female. The way they pronounce Japanese, however, is slow and unnatural
and very monotonous, which is unfortunate. For example, when you come to
the game selection screen, you hear "geemu o (pause) erandekudasai".
I also encountered a few instances of questionable sentences and usage.
In regard to the language content, there is an exercise on telling time,
which could be used as a computer lab activity at a relevant point in a
first-year course. Other items include colors, objects, shapes, sizes, clothing
items, parts of the face, animals, common verbs, modes of transportation,
classroom objects, fruits, vegetables, tableware, food & drinks, numerals
1-24, and objects at home.
CmpLb, RscRm, SlfSt