Vocabulary Upgrade

What is Vocabulary Upgrade app?

Vocabulary Upgrade is for people who want to grow their vocabulary. The words the app introduces will add variety and complexity to an English speaker's lexicon. For example, basic speakers might use the word 'hairy' as an adjective, but Vocabulary Upgrade introduces them to the synonym 'hirsute'. Variety in spoken and written English is a mark of a good level of English.

What we love about Vocabulary Upgrade

Vocabulary Upgrade has everything a student needs to learn the words featured in the app. Usefully, the app also covers idioms to ensure that users understand some of the more difficult phrases in the English language. Each word has associated visual imagery to help reinforce its meaning and aid in memorising it.  

The app has useful supporting features like a dictionary where users can hear the word spoken aloud. 

There is an additional app in the family called Vocabulary Upgrade II for users who want to further their learning.

What skills does it improve?

Vocabulary Upgrade builds its users' vocabulary. Each word that the app introduces has visual support, pronunciation, meaning and spelling to help learners fully grasp it. The app would be ideal for students preparing for Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), or English language learners who want to expand their vocabulary.

What age is it appropriate for?

Students of any age could use the app, but the sophistication of the words taught makes it most suitable for older students. A twelve-year-old with a well-developed vocabulary could make use of it, as could a more senior student who feels they could improve their grasp of words and their meanings.

Is Vocabulary Upgrade easy to use?

The activities and exercises in Vocabulary Upgrade are easy to understand and use.  

How will students benefit?

Vocabulary Upgrade is an easy app to dip into. Soon after opening the app, students will be learning new words or completing one of the exercises. It makes any spare time, however brief, potentially valuable revision time.

How will teachers benefit?

An extremely welcome feature for teachers, which apps often lack, is the facility to reset the app. With a simple reset, teachers have the app ready for use with another student after the previous one has finished with it.

The app is also flexible in its use. Teachers can use it to help native English speakers and those learning English as an additional language.

How will parents benefit?

Vocabulary Upgrade is a cheap app for parents to get for their kids. A single purchase makes it fully available forever. Improving vocabulary can help kids in many ways, from better public-speaking skills to essay writing, so parents will get good value.

What can Vocabulary Upgrade improve on?

Part of Vocabulary Upgrade's user interface is attractive but not intuitive. Moving among the activities involves using a modified piano-style keyboard where the white and black keys are further paired using dots. The rightmost keys open up other options.  

Explanation screens are included in the app that tells the user how this works, and it isn't difficult to remember, but a user interface should be self-explanatory. If the app had used a more conventional UI, the explanation would not be necessary, and users could concentrate more on the content than the controls. 

How much does Vocabulary Upgrade cost?

There is no free trial of Vocabulary Upgrade, but the whole app is available for a single low price. This review of Vocabulary Upgrade and its supporting website should give you the information you need to decide whether to go ahead.

Is Vocabulary Upgrade safe to use?

Vocabulary Upgrade's content is suitable for all ages to view, and it does not include any advertising or social media functionality. It does not ask for any unnecessary information or permissions.

The app's privacy policy link from its store page links only to the app's home page. The 'Terms of Use' section of the site includes the privacy policy, but the length and complexity of the whole document do not make finding its privacy-related information easy.  

Overall rating of the app.

Vocabulary Upgrade is a simple app with a straightforward goal of growing its users' vocabularies. If this is what you need, and the level of words it introduces is appropriate, then it is of great value and an effective way of developing language sophistication.  

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