Laureate’s English Language Series, First Words and Sentences, is based on a series of research-driven programs developed by Laureate Learning Systems, Inc. This collection of four software titles introduces, trains, and tests comprehension of early vocabulary words and sentence structure to students with special needs and English learners.
First Words, First Words II, and First Verbs provide structured training of nouns and verbs. Simple Sentence Structure teaches the importance of Subject-Verb-Object order and is designed to promote the proper use of sentence structure both for communication and for deducing the meaning of new words.
Fifty early-development nouns are included in both First Words 1 and First Words 2. Each word is represented by two colorfully illustrated images or photos. First Verbs uses simple illustrated animations to represent 50 early-development verbs. In Simple Sentence Structure, sentences are grouped into four sets of 10 picture pairs: Contrasting Verbs, Contrasting Objects, Contrasting Subjects, and Reversable Subject/Object.
Each program includes multiple activities including Word Introduction, Test Mode, Training by Level, and Optimized Learning. The Optimized Learning assesses the student’s progress and automatically adjusts the level of training until all words have been mastered. At the end of each lesson, a summary of the student’s performance can be reviewed.
Training by Level allows students to train on a fixed level of instructional support. There are five training levels.
- Level One: Instructional Introduction. A single picture is presented in the center position with verbal instruction. The student is then asked to find the picture. Level one includes cuing and feedback.
- Level Two: Single Picture Training. A single picture is presented with verbal instruction. The picture then relocates to the left or right and the student is asked to find the picture. Level two includes cuing and feedback.
- Level Three: Basic Two-Picture Training. A single picture is presented in the center position with verbal instruction. The picture then relocates to the left or right and a second picture, the “foil”, appears on the opposite side. The student is asked to find the picture. Level Three includes cuing and feedback.
- Level Four: Intermediate Training. A single picture is presented in the center position with verbal instruction. The picture then relocates to the left or right and a second picture, the “foil”, appears on the opposite side. The student is asked to find the picture. Level Three includes feedback with no cuing.
- Level Five: Advanced Training. Two pictures are presented on the left and right sides. The student is asked to find one of the words.
Users of the original Laureate programs will remember Zot and Blob, two characters that help keep students engaged with verbal reinforcement and cuing. In Laureate’s English Language Series, Zot and Blob are back with a fresh new look. A flashback to all of the original Zot reinforcement animations is available in the Zot Routines activity in First Words 1 and First Words 2.
| Platform | Windows, Mac, iOS, Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Compatibility | Desktop: Windows 10 and 11; Mac OS 10.13 or higher. iOS v11.0 or higher. Web version runs on Windows, Mac with minimum browser versions: Chrome v75, Safari v12.1, Microsoft Edge v18, Firefox v67, and Chromebooks. |
