A Simple and Engaging App That Disappoints in Alphabet Instruction

Take a detailed look at the literacy apps your children play with at phonics.org. Continue reading to learn more about the Endless Alphabet literacy app.

What is the Endless Alphabet App?

Endless Alphabet is a children’s learning app by Originator Kids, an educational app developer with 8 different selections of children’s apps. The purpose of Endless Alphabet is for children to learn:

• Letter recognition
• Letter names
• Letter sounds 
• Over 70 novel vocabulary words

After purchasing the app, children are greeted with a cute monster with alphabet letters on his mouth. Players can choose any letter or word they would like to practice with. The word is clearly stated and a group of other adorable monsters runs by to mix up all the letters. The player then needs to match the letters to the outline in the game. When a player touches a letter, it makes a repetitive sound representing that letter. A correct letter match is followed by a clear stating of the letter name. As the child recreates the word, the app uses the word in a sentence and the meaning is reenacted by the engaging creatures in the game. 

Usability of Endless Alphabet

Usability refers to the ease of use and navigation in the Endless Alphabet app. How does it perform for players using the app? 

Sign-Up 

Simply purchasing this game in any app store and opening it will get you started with the Endless Alphabet app. It is incredibly simple and easy to get started. 

Navigation

The Endless Alphabet app has 3 main areas to navigate:

• “Information for Parents” — a one-page description on how to share or contact the app. This area is accessed by entering written numbers. 
• Home Page — The ‘monster mouth’ home page is where players can choose which letter to focus on. Navigation to this place is easily achieved by tapping the home button at the top right of the screen. 
• Recreating Words — This is where the majority of gameplay and learning occurs. 

Overall, it’s easy to navigate through these sections of the app. Young children would easily find this app accessible and easy to use. 

User Engagement in Endless Alphabet

These elements enhance the overall engagement of children playing Endless Alphabet.

Cute and Funny Animations

The animations in the Endless Alphabet app are seamless, smooth, and engaging. The instructions to play the game and the keywords are clear and easily repeatable. The background music in the game is calm and not distracting. Children likely find this to be a simple and engaging app to play and interact with.

Rewards

The Endless Alphabet app does not use points, scores, or rewards for children using the app. Playing the app is the reward in itself and it is refreshing to see an app for children not include additional extras that can distract or discourage children’s participation. Children are able to interact with this app at their own speed and level of interest. 

Literacy Learning With Endless Alphabet

These factors enhance the overall effectiveness of literacy instruction in the Endless Alphabet app. 

Letter Names

Young children need to learn the names of letters as this is the foundation for reading and spelling skills. Endless Alphabet has a fun and engaging method of recognizing the difference between different uppercase letters and their names. The repetition of this concept in the app ensures that children not only grasp the letter names but also enjoy the process.

Letter Sounds

Endless Alphabet introduces children to letter sounds, a fundamental aspect of early literacy instruction. However, the app’s letter sounds are inaccurate. The sounds /r/ and /l/, for example, are particularly difficult for children to learn and are misrepresented in this app. The app might wrongly teach letter sounds, which could hinder children’s reading and spelling skills. 

This is further complicated by misrepresenting sounds in certain words. For example, in the word ‘nightmare,’ the letters ‘-igh’ represents the long ‘i’ sound. However, in the Endless Alphabet app, the letters <i>, <g>, and <h> all have separate sounds and they are all inaccurate with a heavy schwa sound attached. Ideally, the ‘-igh’ letters could be dragged as one unit with one sound, and then each letter could be individually stated. Addressing these inaccuracies could greatly enhance the app’s efficacy in teaching letter sounds authentically.

Uppercase Letters Only

In English books and texts, 95-98% of the letters are in lowercase. Given this overwhelming exposure to lowercase letters, prioritizing them in alphabet instruction makes logical sense. However, the Endless Alphabet app only uses uppercase letters in its gameplay. Incorporating lowercase letters into the app’s instruction would align more closely with the literacy experiences of children and have a more immediate and practical use. 

Vocabulary

Vocabulary instruction in Endless Alphabet is a dynamic and integral aspect of the app’s educational approach. Children are introduced to a variety of words in the app, expanding their lexicon and comprehension skills early on. Each word is accompanied by vibrant illustrations and playful animations, creating an immersive learning experience that captivates young learners’ attention. 

However, there are words called ‘basic concepts’ that are essential for young children to understand. These basic concept words equip children to navigate the world and follow basic directions. Incorporating these foundational words into the app would provide another valuable educational goal for children’s practice. 

Spelling

The Endless Alphabet app does not claim to support children’s spelling abilities. However, the nature of the app might fool some parents into thinking their children are learning to spell. Due to the inaccurate representation of letter sounds in the app, playing these games will likely hinder future spelling skills for some children. 

Should My Child or Student Play Endless Alphabet?

The information page in the Endless Alphabet app says that it has been, “founded by a team of passionate Artists and Engineers.” This app is undoubtedly beautiful, engaging, and easy to play and navigate. However, the Originator team may benefit from working with a reading specialist or speech-language pathologist to consult on the literacy aspects of this app. 

Unfortunately, playing Endless Reader will likely teach your child to learn letter sounds inaccurately. This can be a difficult skill to reteach or remediate! It might be wise to avoid playing this game until this crucial aspect of instruction has been corrected. 

Want to find more early literacy programs for your child to play? Check out our other reviews at Phonics.org, a place where literacy experts review the top apps available today.

Endless Alphabet Ratings

Quality of Literacy Instruction: 2  / 5

Usability:  5 / 5

Engagement:  4  / 5