Talk Tales, Simple Sounds

What is Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app is designed by a speech therapist for children who are non-verbal or low verbal in acquiring specific speech sounds. Talk Tales, Simple Sounds will benefit all toddlers and children learning to make their first sounds (animal sounds and exclamations), it was designed based on motor learning theory to specifically to help children with childhood apraxia or an autism spectrum disorder.

The app has three levels of difficulty which allows it to extend a child's progress. It helps with continuous repetition, as needed, in supporting children learning these sounds. The use of videos and graphics help to engage children to use the app.

There are buttons that say “Play Movie” at the beginning and end of each Simple Sounds story. The movies serve as reviews for all the words practised and yet another opportunity for repetition. There are also free downloadable colouring sheets from the developer's website to support further learning away from the app.

What we love about Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app?

This review of Talk Tales, Simple Sounds used the full paid version; it supports children who are non-verbal or beginning to talk to help them learn specific sounds. 

There are three levels to choose from so allows for progression. The best part is having a child model the sounds through short video clips making it appealing to children to watch and engage with. In addition, the speech sounds are very clearly modelled by a speech therapist to help show the learner how to use their mouth correctly. This is a great visual guide in supporting the acquisition of these sounds.

The app is very easy to navigate and use. Most importantly, the “About this App” section also gives parents and teachers/SLPs ideas about how to use the app. <span rgb(66,="" 66,="" 66);\"="">This section also mentions free downloadable practice sheets may be found on Talk Tale’s website.

What skills does it teach?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds is designed to teach specific simple speech sounds these include: Level 1 - vowels and grunts, Level 2 - exclamations (some of the first sounds children say) Level 3 = simple animals sounds. As you will see later on in this review parents and teachers could use Talk Tales, Simple Sounds to help support learning these speech sounds at home or school allowing for repetition and over learning by helping children build these into their daily lives. There are 3 stories with a total of 22 different sounds to learn as well as follow up movies for further practise and repetition to help embed the target sounds.

What age is it appropriate for?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds is aimed at ages 0-5 but could be used beyond this age in supporting children with acquiring the speech sounds it is teaching. Any child learning to talk could benefit from using this app.

Is Talk Tales app easy to use?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app is very easy to use with a simplistic design making it accessible to all. It is easy to navigate and find the different levels of difficulty within it and access all the learning material it has to offer. It is very clear in its objective and once children are familiar with the content, they would be able to use this independently to practise with.

How will students benefit?

Children will be able to use this app independently once they have learnt how to navigate the learning content. The interactive videos feature a child saying the simple sounds in context. This is something the child could mirror themselves. There is also a picture of how the mouth looks when saying the sounds as well as a speech therapist specifically teaching how to make those sounds. There are also practise buttons at the end of each story, which allows for even more repetition and the

opportunity to combine sounds into different motor plans. Together this makes it very user friendly for children to access. Talk Tales, Simple Sounds could be built into a daily routine to follow as the videos allow for endless repetition which is key in learning speech sounds.

How will parents benefit?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds will support parents at home to help continue to work on everyday specific speech sounds. Due to the nature of the sounds being taught it allows the parents to learn how to support their child daily with the sounds being taught and have confidence in modelling them in their everyday life at home or out and about. The one-off purchase makes it easy for parents to buy and use.

There are no concerns about advertisements or social media links disrupting from the purpose of the app. It is very child friendly so means they know their child is learning effectively and will require little support from them while using it.

How will teachers benefit?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds could be used in the classroom to support students with the simple speech sounds. As it is completely user friendly it means children are able to learn repetitively as often as they need to without the requirement of the teacher doing this. Children will need support initially to navigate the app but once they know which level they are working on, they will be able to use this app independently.

Due to the nature of over learning it will greatly support teachers to give further support to students in small bite sized chunks. Ideal for children who are struggling to acquire these sounds. The three levels of difficulty also mean progress can be shown as the child moves through the levels.

What can Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app improve on?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds is very simplistic in design and has a very clear purpose.

However, it does lack depth and long-term use as once the three levels of difficulty are achieved there is no other need to use the app or come back to it. It would perhaps benefit from adding some games to play relating to the learning content to further engage its users and perhaps promote longer term use.

How much does Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app cost?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds costs £11.99 to purchase the complete package. This gives you full access to all learning materials and means there are no advertisements or further in app purchases. There isn't a free version to use or any subscriptions.

Is Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app safe to use?

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds is extremely safe to use. It has a clear privacy policy which can be read before downloading the app and on the developer's website. It does not ask for any personal information to use the app, it is free of advertisements and there are no social media links within the app.

Overall rating of the app.

Talk Tales, Simple Sounds gets an Educational app store rating of 4 as it is a simple and effective app but lacks long term usability due to the very specific catalogue of sounds. Once a child has learned this sounds the app will no longer be used.

You can download Talk Tales, Simple Sounds on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the Talk Tales, Simple Sounds app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.