-- Before You Know It Review --

I received the download very quickly and it installed with no problem. . BYKI comes with a very comprehensive and easy to read 'Help File' plus an excellent 'Guided Tour' video file. It is definitely worth looking at these before you set off.

First off is to set yourself up as a 'User' with your own personal user name. This is a great asset which lacks in other programs as it means that several people can use th program and each with their own individualized learning area. If you are learning as a family or group of friends or office workers then this is a big bonus.

Just so as you understand a bit how it works, BYKI uses a system of Flash cards grouped into word lists. On the BYKI Deluxe 4.0 version there are more than 100 word lists and within each list there are around 15 keywords that are either listed on their own but as you progress they are incorporated into phrases. So in effect you will be learning not only the keywords but also learning to put them into context.

BYKI Deluxe 4.0 starts you off with more than 2,000 words and around 500 phrases so plenty to get started with.

During each step, the software monitors and records your progress and one excellent tool is that words or phrases that you are having difficulty with are shown to you more often until you get them right. Some exercises will have you just thinking of the correct answer and others will have you writing it on screen.

Be aware however that the software is very sensitive to even the slightest difference in your written answer e.g. the use of capitals or full stops, and so might say you are wrong when in fact you are not. You can however override the answer and tell the software to accept what you had written and this will be stored in its memory for future.

Apart from the 3 Main Steps there is also an activities section (see screenshot below) where you can practice and refine you knowledge through a series of games. Plus there are also a series of tests that you can take to see how you are progressing and a reporting section so you can monitor your progress.

Basically you have to repeat a spoken word or phrase and the BYKI software analyses your speech through the use of several sound pattern graphs.

I must admit I only found one of the graphs to be useful plus the Pronunciation Meter. It did however became rather addictive to try and get the meter to score me as high as possible. I must admit I never achieved it but then I think adults have a much harder time at reproducing new sounds. My kids did fine though!

When you have exhausted you lists of words or want some new words, you can download new lists for free from their website.

-- Before You Know It Review --