Grammaropolis, as its name suggests, is an online program for learning English grammar. It’s available for download on both iOS and Android devices. This app is probably best suitable for children around second grade up to sixth grade thanks for its basic and cartoon-ish explanation. Even so, older or international students who have not yet mastered the 8 parts of speech can also find this app useful.
The app, which is divided into 8 sections: Noun, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns, Conjunctions, Prepositions and Interjections. Do note that the app would cost you $12.99 for iOS and $12.49 for Android devices, which seem to be reasonable for its rich contents (more on this below). Otherwise, you would be paying $1.99 for each section. In fact, the Nouns part is available for free. Others sections need to be purchased before you can use them. For now, this is my opinion based solely on trying out one section: The Nouns.
The app, which is divided into 8 sections: Noun, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns, Conjunctions, Prepositions and Interjections. Do note that the app would cost you $12.99 for iOS and $12.49 for Android devices, which seem to be reasonable for its rich contents (more on this below). Otherwise, you would be paying $1.99 for each section. In fact, the Nouns part is available for free. Others sections need to be purchased before you can use them. For now, this is my opinion based solely on trying out one section: The Nouns.
In the Nouns section, there is a map that shows progression of activities a student needs to complete. In the first stage, there are some basic lessons presented with definition, explanation and examples in short and simple sentences. In the next stage, which is Noun Town, there is a catchy cartoon music video that can attract children’s attention. After the music video comes a multiple choice quiz where once you choose the wrong answer, a red sentence is provided with the correct answer and explanation. I have to say that this is a very useful way to test if you have understood the material shown earlier or not. There is also other activities like short video clips, big quiz and a digital comic book named Nelson the Noun for you to read through. When you complete all stages, you will get the Seal Of Noun, showing that you have finished the whole section.
It did not take me long to finish one map so I think some students will be able to go through it quite fast. Here, if you want to, you can choose to subscribe to the app for a few months, a year or even forever to also complete other parts of the app, depends on your demand.
Something I feel rather concerned is the amount of words and the font size used in the app. It should be fine if you are using an iPad, however for iPhone, iPod or an Android device, the words seem to be a little too small for my eyes. Yes, studying might be important, but if you are a parent or teacher and does not have a device with large screen, do keep an eye on your children and let them take a short break to avoid straining their eyes by looking intensively at the screen for too long.
Something I feel rather concerned is the amount of words and the font size used in the app. It should be fine if you are using an iPad, however for iPhone, iPod or an Android device, the words seem to be a little too small for my eyes. Yes, studying might be important, but if you are a parent or teacher and does not have a device with large screen, do keep an eye on your children and let them take a short break to avoid straining their eyes by looking intensively at the screen for too long.
While it may sounds great using the app to study grammar, Grammaropolis however only stops at parts of speech. It teaches no syntax complexities or other grammar-related topics, which is why I would only recommend this app for teaching young
children as well as beginner learner to get used to parts of speech in English language. By using this app as teaching material, it is entertaining, enjoyable and provides a solid content for what it cost.