How to Use The Game of Language Abilities (online)
The Game of Language Abilities is a flexible and interactive tool designed to support oral language development in kindergarten and school-aged children. It complements our physical game by providing a fun way for clients to expand their vocabulary, use descriptive language, practice reasoning, and build complex sentences.
This game is password-protected. To gain access, please contact us at hello@thehappyspacealliedhealth.com to inquire about the password.
How to Play the Main Stages
The game's main stages are designed to guide your client through building sentences by moving emojis from the gallery into the empty boxes.
Moving the Emojis:
On a laptop, use the mouse to click, hold, and drag an emoji into an empty box.
On an iPad, tap and hold an emoji until it lifts, then drag it with your finger into a box.
Click-to-Place: For added ease, you can also simply click on an emoji in the gallery, and it will automatically move to the next available empty box.
Voice Recording for Self-Reflection: Each filled box has a record (⏺️) and a play (▶️) button. Encourage your client to record themselves saying the word or phrase. They can listen back immediately to practice self-monitoring and observe their progress with articulation and fluency.
More Fun!
The "More Fun!" stages and extension activities offer more advanced ways to practice language skills beyond the main game, including use of more specific situational vocabulary.
'Glam it Up!' 🪩 (Descriptive Language)
This feature is available in the first two stages ("I went walking..." and "I went shopping...") and the yellow "More Fun!" stages. It's designed to help clients add descriptive language to their sentences.
How to Play: After placing emojis in the main game, select the 'Glam it Up! 🪩' button. You'll see the emojis you've already placed. Drag a disco ball emoji into the empty box below an item. Your client can then either record their own adjective or click the disco ball to generate a list of ideas to choose from, such as "Fluffy" for a rabbit or "Loud" for an airplane.
How it Helps: This activity encourages the use of adjectives and helps clients expand their vocabulary by associating descriptive words with specific items and animals.
'Add On!' ↔️ (Complex Sentences, causal relationships)
This feature is available in the last two stages ("I went to the vet..." and "I went camping...") and the pink "More Fun!" options. It is designed to help clients build more complex sentences with reasons.
How to Play: After placing emojis in the main game, select the 'Add On! ↔️' button. You'll see the emojis you've already placed and can drag a directional emoji (↔️) into the empty box below them. This allows the client to record an explanation or reason that extends their sentence, such as "I helped the cat because it had a cut paw from jumping on a rose thorn."
How it Helps: This activity focuses on causal reasoning and helps clients practice using conjunctions like "because" to form complex sentences.
Extension Activities
The 'Describe It!' activity, also known as Semantic Feature Analysis, is a great tool for building vocabulary and detailed language.
How to Play: From the main menu, select 'Describe It!'. The client can choose an emoji, which is placed in the centre of the screen. Eight descriptive boxes with questions like "What does it look like?" or "What does it feel like?" are arranged around the emoji. The layout is designed to be easy to use on both laptops and iPads. You can type or record descriptions.
Recording Descriptions: The client can record their verbal answer for each question. You can also press the 'Speak Description' button to play all of the recorded answers in a sequence. This helps track progress on specific descriptive language targets. Currently the recording function is only available on laptop (not iPhone or iPad).
The 'Compare It!' activity uses a visual Venn diagram to help clients practice reasoning, identifying similarities, and noticing differences.
How to Play: From the main menu, select 'Compare It!' and choose a pair of emojis you want to compare. You will then see a list of descriptive phrases at the bottom of the screen.
Sorting the Phrases: Drag each phrase into the correct section of the Venn diagram. The left circle is for phrases that apply only to the first emoji, the right circle is for phrases that apply only to the second, and the overlapping middle section is for phrases that apply to both.
Self-Correction: If a phrase is dropped in the wrong spot, it will "bounce back" to the bottom of the screen, encouraging the client to try again.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
"How do I save a completed session?" The game does not have a built-in save feature, but you can easily take a screenshot of a completed level on any device. These images can be saved directly to your progress notes to track a client’s journey over time.
"I can't record my voice." The game needs permission to use your device's microphone. Please check your browser's settings to ensure microphone access is enabled for this webpage. Try using a laptop vs. iPad to be able to record your voice.
"Why won't an emoji drop into a box?" Each box is designed to hold only one emoji. If a box is already full, you cannot add another emoji. Use the 'Reset' button to clear the board and start again.
"How do I switch between pages?" Use the 'Back' button to return to the previous screen or the 'Home' button to go back to the welcome page.
"Can I add my own emojis or pictures to the activities?" The game currently uses a fixed set of emojis. While you cannot add custom images directly into the app, you can use the various descriptive features (like 'Describe It!' or 'Compare It!') with an external picture open on your device, and then simply use your voice to describe it.
"Is there a way to save or export the voice recordings for my records?" The voice recordings are stored temporarily for immediate use within the current session. There is no feature to permanently save or export the audio files. For record-keeping, you might consider using an external screen recording tool or an audio recorder app on your device to capture the sessions.
"How can I use this tool to work on a specific language goal?" The activities are designed to target different goals:
Vocabulary and descriptive language: Use the 'Describe It!' activity to focus on specific word types like adjectives ('What does it look like?'), verbs ('What does it do?'), or prepositions ('Where would you find it?').
Reasoning and categorisation: The 'Compare It!' activity is perfect for practicing higher-level language skills by identifying similarities and differences, building connections between concepts, and using comparative language.
"What should I do if the game seems to be running slowly or the buttons aren't responding?" If you experience technical issues, first try refreshing the page. If the problem persists, ensure your internet connection is stable and that your browser is up to date. You can also try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies.