My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

that problem, the software is a nice tool for education for young and old alike to have a GREAT VOCABULARY! I think since this is done is a game like arena, we should hand this out in schools and tell the teens, "Sure play your copy of "My Word Coach" or "Brain Age 2"..I know a few teachers, but maybe with this kids may learn

I would have enjoyed a lot less timed games and a harder level for adults. But on the whole, it is a great software for those learning words and others who want to keep their brain active

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

my level on the game is pretty high, but these low-level words keep appearing.

4. The games get really boring.

5. There is no pronunciation key, nor audio of the words.

I guess I'm just a little disappointed; when I read about the advanced methods they used and the fact that they worked with the Cambridge dictionary, I just expected quite a bit more.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

my level on the game is pretty high, but these low-level words keep appearing.



4. The games get really boring.



5. There is no pronunciation key, nor audio of the words.



I guess I'm just a little disappointed; when I read about the advanced methods they used and the fact that they worked with the Cambridge dictionary, I just expected quite a bit more.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

my level on the game is pretty high, but these low-level words keep appearing.





4. The games get really boring.





5. There is no pronunciation key, nor audio of the words.





I guess I'm just a little disappointed; when I read about the advanced methods they used and the fact that they worked with the Cambridge dictionary, I just expected quite a bit more.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

while the other 20% are middle-school level. I have not "learned" a single word that I would consider calling high-school level.

You'll learn very little for the time you spend playing. Of the few words that were new to me, hardly any of them were repeated more than a few times, often in the same day. You are bombarded with far too many words over time, when it should just be reinforcing groups of words before moving on to more. Also, the only time you actually learn anything is when you read through the definitions after each game. There's nothing at all whatsoever to be learned by playing the games. It teaches you like a dictionary does. But the worst part is that there is no context or pronunciation! After playing for long enough, you will eventually unlock a game (that doesn't count at all toward updating your EP) that will say the words and give examples of sentences that use them. That means that the game contains these things, but will not allow you to access them when you need to. None of the words in this game even appeared in the other games. There isn't enough time to read the examples, rendering them completely useless. Even the pronunciation is a little off on some of them. If you make a single mistake, the game ends. You cannot look up the words that you want context and pronunciation for. So, for any practical purpose at all, there is no context or pronunciation.

The definitions are often VERY weak. The part of speech (verb, noun...) is not given at all. If a definition is too long then it simply cuts off rather than allowing you to scroll down to read the whole thing. Many words appear in their own definition - one of the most foolish things I've ever seen. A third grade teacher wouldn't allow you to get away with that. Words with multiple definitions will only have one of them provided. I've cross referenced several definitions with real dictionaries to find that they are fairly inaccurate. Some definitions couldn't possibly be more wrong: inflammable is defined as, "Things that burn very easily." WHAT???

The simple little games become mundane very quickly. You would have to play this game for several months to really get that much out of it, but it will get very boring long before that. Most of what your coach says to you is hardly better than mindless dribble. The graphics are quite simple and the music is extremely limited and dull. One day it randomly told me that the word of the week is minstrel. Apparently the word of the week means a word you won't be learning, because it never gave me the definition or even put it in any of the games. There's a half-baked idea.

Ultimately, the developers were too lazy to provide the necessary elements for learning a new word, too lazy to make it accurately gauge your personal level, too lazy to come up with enough games to keep it interesting for a long time... heck... they were too lazy to make sure they got the definitions right! They started with a great idea, and released a product that falls unforgivably short of its potential.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

while the other 20% are middle-school level. I have not "learned" a single word that I would consider calling high-school level.

You'll learn very little for the time you spend playing. Of the few words that were new to me, hardly any of them were repeated more than a few times, often in the same day. You are bombarded with far too many words over time, when it should just be reinforcing groups of words before moving on to more. Also, the only time you actually learn anything is when you read through the definitions after each game. There's nothing at all whatsoever to be learned by playing the games. It teaches you like a dictionary does. But the worst part is that there is no context or pronunciation! After playing for long enough, you will eventually unlock a game (that doesn't count at all toward updating your EP) that will say the words and give examples of sentences that use them. That means that the game contains these things, but will not allow you to access them when you need to. None of the words in this game even appeared in the other games. There isn't enough time to read the examples, rendering them completely useless. Even the pronunciation is a little off on some of them. If you make a single mistake, the game ends. You cannot look up the words that you want context and pronunciation for. So, for any practical purpose at all, there is no context or pronunciation.

The definitions are often VERY weak. The part of speech (verb, noun...) is not given at all. If a definition is too long then it simply cuts off rather than allowing you to scroll down to read the whole thing. Many words appear in their own definition - one of the most foolish things I've ever seen. A third grade teacher wouldn't allow you to get away with that. Words with multiple definitions will only have one of them provided. I've cross referenced several definitions with real dictionaries to find that they are fairly inaccurate. Some definitions couldn't possibly be more wrong: inflammable is defined as, "Things that burn very easily." WHAT???

The simple little games become mundane very quickly. You would have to play this game for several months to really get that much out of it, but it will get very boring long before that. Most of what your coach says to you is hardly better than mindless dribble. The graphics are quite simple and the music is extremely limited and dull. One day it randomly told me that the word of the week is minstrel. Apparently the word of the week means a word you won't be learning, because it never gave me the definition or even put it in any of the games. There's a half-baked idea.

Ultimately, the developers were too lazy to provide the necessary elements for learning a new word, too lazy to make it accurately gauge your personal level, too lazy to come up with enough games to keep it interesting for a long time... heck... they were too lazy to make sure they got the definitions right! They started with a great idea, and released a product that falls unforgivably short of its potential.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

very little for the time you spend playing. Of the few words that were new to me, hardly any of them were repeated more than a few times, often in the same day. You are bombarded with far too many words over time, when it should just be reinforcing groups of words before moving on to more. Also, the only time you actually learn anything is when you read through the definitions after each game. There's nothing at all to be learned by playing the games. It teaches you like a dictionary does. But the worst part is that there is no context or pronunciation! After playing for long enough, you will eventually unlock a game that doesn't count toward your EP, but does have recordings of the words being spoken as well as context examples. However, you can only access these one random word at a time. You are given very little time to read the examples. This means that pronunciation and context are on the game, but you can't look them up or access them at all while supposedly updating your potential to express yourself with words you don't necessarily understand.

The definitions are often VERY weak. The part of speech (verb, noun...) is not given at all. If a definition is too long then it simply cuts off rather than allowing you to scroll down to read the whole thing. Many words appear in their own definition, which is never acceptable. Words with multiple definitions will only have one of them provided. Some definitions couldn't possibly be more wrong: inflammable is defined as, "Things that burn very easily. Not only is it the opposite of the true meaning, but it's also defining a noun, whereas inflammable is an adjective.

The simple little games become mundane very quickly. You would have to play this game for several months to really get that much out of it, but it will get very boring long before that. Most of what your coach says to you is hardly better than mindless dribble. The graphics are quite simple and the music is extremely limited and dull. One day it randomly told me that the word of the week is minstrel. Apparently the word of the week means a word you won't be learning, because it never gave me the definition or even put it in any of the games. It's not that uncommon for it to tell me that my EP has been updated, when in fact it is exactly the same.

Ultimately, the developers were too lazy to provide the necessary elements for learning a new word, make it accurately gauge your personal level, come up with enough games to keep it interesting for a long time, they were didn't even make sure they got the definitions right! They started with a great idea, and released a product that falls unforgivably short of its potential.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

very little for the time you spend playing. Of the few words that were new to me, hardly any of them were repeated more than a few times, often in the same day. You are bombarded with far too many words over time, when it should just be reinforcing groups of words before moving on to more. Also, the only time you actually learn anything is when you read through the definitions after each game. There's nothing at all to be learned by playing the games. It teaches you like a dictionary does. But the worst part is that there is no context or pronunciation! After playing for long enough, you will eventually unlock a game that doesn't count toward your EP, but does have recordings of the words being spoken as well as context examples. However, you can only access these one random word at a time. You are given very little time to read the examples. This means that pronunciation and context are on the game, but you can't look them up or access them at all while supposedly updating your potential to express yourself with words you don't necessarily understand.



The definitions are often VERY weak. The part of speech (verb, noun...) is not given at all. If a definition is too long then it simply cuts off rather than allowing you to scroll down to read the whole thing. Many words appear in their own definition, which is never acceptable. Words with multiple definitions will only have one of them provided. Some definitions couldn't possibly be more wrong: inflammable is defined as, "Things that burn very easily. Not only is it the opposite of the true meaning, but it's also defining a noun, whereas inflammable is an adjective.



The simple little games become mundane very quickly. You would have to play this game for several months to really get that much out of it, but it will get very boring long before that. Most of what your coach says to you is hardly better than mindless dribble. The graphics are quite simple and the music is extremely limited and dull. One day it randomly told me that the word of the week is minstrel. Apparently the word of the week means a word you won't be learning, because it never gave me the definition or even put it in any of the games. It's not that uncommon for it to tell me that my EP has been updated, when in fact it is exactly the same.



Ultimately, the developers were too lazy to provide the necessary elements for learning a new word, make it accurately gauge your personal level, come up with enough games to keep it interesting for a long time, they were didn't even make sure they got the definitions right! They started with a great idea, and released a product that falls unforgivably short of its potential.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

very little for the time you spend playing. Of the few words that were new to me, hardly any of them were repeated more than a few times, often in the same day. You are bombarded with far too many words over time, when it should just be reinforcing groups of words before moving on to more. Also, the only time you actually learn anything is when you read through the definitions after each game. There's nothing at all to be learned by playing the games. It teaches you like a dictionary does. But the worst part is that there is no context or pronunciation! After playing for long enough, you will eventually unlock a game that doesn't count toward your EP, but does have recordings of the words being spoken as well as context examples. However, you can only access these one random word at a time. You are given very little time to read the examples. This means that pronunciation and context are on the game, but you can't look them up or access them at all while supposedly updating your potential to express yourself with words you don't necessarily understand.





The definitions are often VERY weak. The part of speech (verb, noun...) is not given at all. If a definition is too long then it simply cuts off rather than allowing you to scroll down to read the whole thing. Many words appear in their own definition, which is never acceptable. Words with multiple definitions will only have one of them provided. Some definitions couldn't possibly be more wrong: inflammable is defined as, "Things that burn very easily. Not only is it the opposite of the true meaning, but it's also defining a noun, whereas inflammable is an adjective.





The simple little games become mundane very quickly. You would have to play this game for several months to really get that much out of it, but it will get very boring long before that. Most of what your coach says to you is hardly better than mindless dribble. The graphics are quite simple and the music is extremely limited and dull. One day it randomly told me that the word of the week is minstrel. Apparently the word of the week means a word you won't be learning, because it never gave me the definition or even put it in any of the games. It's not that uncommon for it to tell me that my EP has been updated, when in fact it is exactly the same.





Ultimately, the developers were too lazy to provide the necessary elements for learning a new word, make it accurately gauge your personal level, come up with enough games to keep it interesting for a long time, they were didn't even make sure they got the definitions right! They started with a great idea, and released a product that falls unforgivably short of its potential.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

there is no left-handed support for the one training game where you hold the DS vertically. This is actually a pretty unforgivable oversight. If you are left-handed, you may want to think twice about this purchase.
- Remember that you can turn off the music in the settings screen, and that you will probably want to.

Another review mentioned the lack of pronunciation guide as a problem. I agree that it's a missed opportunity, but it's not a dealbreaker. The lack of southpaw support might be, though, if you happen to be left-handed.

My Word Coach: Nintendo DS

...

or correct a wrong letter?), with six training games in all and a couple of 'recreational' DS games. There are lots of options to keep a player's interst as the game gets harder -- for instance, both definitions may be wrong in Split Decision. My soon-to-be eleven year old plays until the professor tells him to stop for the day (after he's mastered a profile-determined word list). There's a slight learning curve, but he figured it out on his own without getting frustrated. He intuitively began picking up on clues such as how to guess a word from the definition. My son says it's "lots of fun -- almost, but not quite, like a regular game." I predict libraries and after-school programs will be holding lots of competitions with this game.