Wednesday 23 August 2017

WordUnited Flashcards Review and Giveaway


Review of WordUnited flashcards


When I was asked to do a review of WordUnited flashcards I was thrilled because they were exactly what I was looking for to help my children with their foreign language learning.

The first thing I noticed when I received the sets of WordUnited flashcards, was that these are not your standard flashcards; they are much more! They are a larger size than most flashcards which is great as it allows for the extra information these cards contain. They are made from thick, durable material which is sure to withstand heavy usage from children. The pictures are bright and clear and the letters are bold, making it easy for children to see, learn and engage with them.





The cards are double sided. Each card in the Arabic Alphabet set has a letter on one side and a picture of a word beginning with that letter on the other. What I like about these cards is that they show the letter at the top and it’s three different formations underneath. Those that know Arabic, will know that each letter is written differently if it comes at the beginning, middle or end of a word. This can make Arabic quite confusing for non-native speakers and it is something myself and my children have found difficult to grasp. This has really held them back in their language classes. After a few days using these flashcards, my children are now beginning to learn the different letter formations and I am sure it will not be long until they have memorised them all.


          

What I find particularly impressive about WordUnited flashcards, is the pronunciation booklet that comes with each set. It contains pronunciation help for each letter and word in 10 languages. Each page of stickers uses that languages phonetic rules to make it easy for non-native speakers to be able to produce the words and letter sounds of the flashcard sets correctly. Simply find the page with your language, take each pronunciation sticker and stick it on the relevant card. I found this particularly useful as a non-native speaker of Arabic as it enabled me to produce the words correctly and help my children to do the same. This feature of the set makes WordUnited flashcards unique.



The Colours and Shapes in Arabic flashcard set contains 16 shape cards and 13 colour cards. The colour cards have a splash of colour on one side and an object of that colour on the other side along with the colour word. The shape cards have the shape on one side and an object of that shape and the shape word on the other side. I particularly like the fact there are 3D shapes as well as 2D shapes.  


The Actions in Arabic flashcard set contains 29 action word (verb) cards. On one side is a picture of a child doing the action and on the other side is the action word. I love the pictures that have been used for these action cards. They are photos rather than drawings and this makes them clear and exciting to look at. 


These cards have been a big hit with my children. As soon as they arrived my children were extremely eager to take a look and try them out. They loved sticking the pronunciation stickers on each card and soon got to work writing each letter and letter formation with the two pens provided in the set. 



Not only have they used these flashcards at home, they have also used them in the car; an excellent way to keep children occupied and learning on car journeys!

As a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in bilingualism, I am so impressed with these flashcards and would recommend them to anyone. They will be a great addition to your home or school environment. I am eagerly awaiting the release of further titles, the Turkish language sets in particular. I can’t wait to try out some more! 


How we use WordUnited flashcards

Out and about


Not only have the children been using these flashcards at home and in the car, they have been taking them out and about with them. Here they are using them with friends at the park. 

Play dough



Flashcards are such a versatile learning resources and you can use them in so many ways. The children have enjoyed using them alongside play dough. 


Treasure hunt



We have used them for treasure hunts around the house. I gave each child a colour card and asked them to find things around the house that were the same colour. You can do the same for other categories too, such as shapes. Once they have collected their items you can talk about them and teach the children the names of the objects in your target language.

Role play


The action card set is a great resource for role play. Say a word and ask your child to act out the action. Then get the children to test each other. Alternatively, ask your child to pick a card without showing anyone. Then they can act out the action and the other children have to guess which action they are doing. My children have had a lot of fun doing this!


Games





I thought it would be fun to create our own board game as another way of using these flashcards. I got a sheet of A3 white paper and drew boxes on it. I numbered each box and wrote different instructions, such as 'pick up a card' and 'pick up 2 cards' and 'miss a go' in certain boxes. We put a set of flashcards in a pile and when the children landed on a box that told them to pick up a flashcard, they picked it up and either said the word or wrote the word. This game was a lot of fun and a great way to get the children engaging with the flashcards. 




For more ideas and detailed information and about how you can use flashcards for language learning take a look at this article.

20% off voucher code!

I am pleased to be able to offer my readers a voucher code for 20% discount for UK and international customers. UK customers will also receive free delivery as well as 20% off! 

To redeem this voucher, go to www.wordunited.com and enter the code 20free at the checkout.

Giveaway!

I am excited to be able to offer three of my readers the chance to get their hands on a free set of WordUnited flashcards! The winners will be able to choose which title they receive. For more information on the available titles, take a look at WordUnited’s website www.wordunited.com . 

Giveaway ends 05/09/2017 at 12am.

This giveaway is for UK entrants only.

Winners will be contacted within 48 hours and will have 14 days to respond. If you do not respond within this time frame, another winner will be drawn.

Enter in the box below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway 

About WordUnited


WordUnited Ltd is a British independent publisher of multilingual educational products, based in Stoke-on-Trent. They aim to make learning accessible and enjoyable to everyone, regardless of their native language. They design, develop, manufacture and distribute their brand’s high-quality, clear and engaging books and learning resources.

Dr Hoda Bettley, Founder and Director of the company, has a doctorate in Science and post-graduate qualifications in Education. She comes from a mixed background where language-learning is an integral part of family life. When she attempted to teach Arabic to her son, she struggled to find high quality products that were clear, engaging and durable. So, she created a set of flashcards for him to learn how to write the letters with all their formations. The set received excellent feedback from friends and this led her to think this product should be made available in the market. This was the beginning of WordUnited!

WordUnited started trading in 2014 with their first title, The Arabic Alphabet, and by 2016 they had increased their products to 20 titles and have sold thousands of copies globally. Their products are popular with parents and teachers, in mainstream education and also with children with special educational needs.

Currently, they produce sets in Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish and are hoping to introduce titles in Mandarin, Welsh and Turkish in the near future. Their sets cover a wide range of topics; languages, literacy, numeracy and more.



Disclosure: I was sent the WordUnited flashcards sets for purposes of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 
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5 comments

  1. These look fab. I wish we had some.

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  2. These are brilliant! I want to learn Arabic myself so maybe this is the way to go and do it in a fun way woth my children. My 5 year old attends maddrassa and has conversational Arabic language lessons so be could help me lol

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  3. These look fantastic! What a great find! I think all Arabic and Non-Arabic speaking children would greatly benefit from this. Even great for adults too!

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  4. This is great for children in general, helping them to not only become comfortable with the letter but recognizing the sound of it in words too x

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  5. These look great and so useful for helping the kids learn a language. Love resources like these

    ReplyDelete

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