Real recorded voices
Words and example sentences are pre-recorded in the English your child's school uses. If a recording isn't ready yet, the app reads the word live, and if that fails the device's own voice takes over - a word is never silent.
Audio, voices and homophones
Every word is read aloud, in the English your child's school uses. Here's what they'll hear, how to slow it down, and how the app handles words that sound the same.
Watch it in under a minute
How words are read aloud
The first time, in a sentence
The first time a word is played, the app says the word and then its example sentence, so your child meets it in context. After that, pressing play says just the word.
Hear it again, any time
Children can replay the word, play it slowly, or hear it in a sentence as often as they like. None of these give the spelling away.
Slower speech
In 🔧 Settings → Support & access, speech speed can be set to Slow or Slower for every word and sentence.
Homophones: always in a sentence
Words that sound the same - wait and weight, their and there, hear and here - can't be told apart by sound alone. So for a homophone, the app reads its sentence every time, not just the first time. That's true in practice, dictation tests, the Skills Check and Look, hear & remember. Your child should never have to guess which word we meant.
If they write the other word of the pair, the report shows it as a homophone mix-up rather than a random mistake.
British, American, Australian or Indian English
In 🔧 Settings → About them, Which English does their school use? sets the voice and the spellings we accept. UK English is the default. For US English, American spellings like color are accepted and the words are read in an American voice. See UK or US English.
Common questions
Why does the app read a sentence after the word?
Hearing a word in context the first time helps a child know which word it is and what it means. After the first time, play just repeats the word, unless it's a homophone.
Can the voice read more slowly?
Yes. Set speech speed to Slow or Slower in the child's Support & access settings, or use the Slow button while practising.
Does the app use a British accent?
Yes, by default. If your child's school teaches US, Australian or Indian English, change it in About them and the voice changes too.