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My Word Coach, developed in collaboration with linguists, helps players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. Practice with six different exercises to choose between. Players can input missing letters from words, spell out the answers to various definitions, choose which word matches a particular definition, form specific words with Scrabble-like tiles, and more. Three levels of difficulty are available, and the game includes a built-in dictionary of over 17,000 words. Two of the games can be played multiplayer over wireless and five multiplayer games can be accessed when linking the Wii and DS. The data of up to three different players can be saved.

Amazon.com

My Word Coach, developed in collaboration with linguists, helps players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. Practice with six different exercises to choose between. Players can input missing letters from words, spell out the answers to various definitions, choose which word matches a particular definition, form specific words with Scrabble-like tiles, and more. Three levels of difficulty are available, and the game includes a built-in dictionary of over 17,000 words. Two of the games can be played multiplayer over wireless and five multiplayer games can be accessed when linking the Wii and DS. The data of up to three different players can be saved.

Playing My Spanish Coach for 15 to 20 minutes a day is all you need to become fluent in Spanish, no matter your age. The simple touch screen interface lets you spend less time learning the game and more time learning Spanish. The game includes 8 touchpad mini-games to sharpen your skills at your own pace, and lets you track your progress with charts showing your performance learning the language. ESRB Rated E for Everyone.

Playing My French Coach for 15 to 20 minutes a day is all you need to become fluent in French, no matter your age. The simple touch screen interface lets you spend less time learning the game and more time learning French. The game includes 8 touchpad mini-games to sharpen your skills at your own pace, and lets you track your progress with charts showing your performance learning the language. ESRB Rated E for Everyone.

Amazon.comThanks to UbiSoft's My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS, you can carry a tutor in your pocket that lets you learn a new language in as little as 15 minutes a day. With plenty of entertaining lessons, loads of fun-to-play mini-games, and a host of helpful features, this unique language coach will have you not only speaking like a native in no time, but reading and writing like on as well!

Carry a tutor in your pocket with My Japanese Coach. View larger.

Learn in Fun and Interactive Ways
My Japanese Coach is an installment in the My Coach series from UbiSoft series that teaches the basic pronunciations unique to the Japanese language. This convenient and easy-to-use tutor allows users to compare their pronunciation to that of native speakers via the Nintendo DS's microphone. It also lets you use the DS stylus to practice writing Japanese Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji characters.

My Japanese Coach takes you on a virtual tour of Japan while you're learning the language. Lesson plans take place in a wide array of Japanese locations, from the densest of population centers like Tokyo, to the idyllic Japanese country side. You actually get to explore Japan while you learn new vocabulary as you open each point of interest.

Learn From a Master
Meet Haruka, the in-game digital sensei, or teacher, that exists solely for the purpose of teaching you Japanese. After giving you a small placement-style test, Haruka will get you started working through the various stages of your lessons. Gaining mastery points by playing the various learning games allow you to clear each level. Once you master all the words given in a specific level, you move on to the next level.

As you work your way through over a 1,000 lessons, your language skills are constantly tested and sharpened by various mini games. My Japanese Coach includes 12 types of mini games, ranging from Flash Cards, in which you hear a word and have seconds to choose the correct English translation, to Bridge Builder, where you are required to string words together in the correct order to create a complete sentence. And with mini-games that add a clever twist to classic favorites--like Memory that forces you to match the same words in two different languages--you will be sure to have fun while you learn.

My Japanese Coach also features a built-in dictionary and phrase book that includes over 12,000 words and hundreds of useful everyday phrases.

Meet Haruka, the in-game digital sensei, or teacher. View larger.

Sharpen and test your language skills with mini games. View larger.

Use the DS stylus to practice writing Japanese characters. View larger.

Do you see what I see? Sharpen focus-power with Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day. Fast, fun activities and quick-play sports challenges give eyes a challenging workout they need. Games on the NDS help provide visual perceptual therapy. Number Flash - In this activity, numbers flash very briefly on the top screen. Users must then choose the correct number. As the activity gets harder, the number sequence gets longer. Box Track - A circle is placed in one of three boxes. The challenge is to follow the box with the circle in it as the three shuffle rapidly on the screen. Users must then tap the box with the circle in it. Circle Spot - In this activity, symbols appear for a split second in 12 boxes arranged on the touch screen. Users must tap the only circle among the symbols Letter Count - Users quickly memorize the target letter, then count how many times it appears as a fast-moving series of letters moves across the screen Fast Match - Users quickly look at the two symbols as they flash on the screen, then decide if they matched by tapping on the touch screen. Baseball - Tap the ball on the touch screen as the pitch crosses the plate to score a hit. With each hit, the box gets bigger, making it more challenging to hit the speeding pitch

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Amazon.comThe Wii sequel to Big Brain Academy for Nintendo DS includes three multiplayer modes for up to eight players. Players also can exchange student-record books with other players over WiiConnect24 and compete against their save data. With 15 new activities that challenge the brain in single-player Test and Practice modes, Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree sees how players measure up in five categories: Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute and Visualize. All activities are designed around the Wii Remote's pointer. Players can play solo with one Wii Remote, or pass it around like a relay baton in group competitions.

Sample activities: The activities in Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree are fun minigames with a ton of variety, and they're meant to be played rapid-fire for a short time as players push their brains to do more than they did the day before. Here are three of the activities included in the game:

• Art Parts: In this Visualize activity, players must complete the sample painting by stamping the missing pieces onto an unfinished scene. When it becomes more difficult, Art Parts flips the unfinished scene sideways or flips it upside-down.
  
  
• Balloon Burst: In this Compute activity, players must pop balloons in rising numerical order. At its easiest, there are few balloons shown at once. On a higher difficulty level, Balloon Burst sends in more balloons, including some with negative numbers.
  
  
• Fast Focus: In this Identify activity, players see a distorted image that slowly returns to normal. Players must select what it is as soon as they figure it out. As it grows more difficult, Fast Focus starts with a more heavily distorted image, so it takes longer to identify what it is.

How to progress through the game: When players start a new game, they'll meet the whimsical Dr. Lobe, who will suggest that they take on the Test mode challenge: playing all 15 activities that span the five brainy categories. He'll tell players how big their brain is based on how well they did and how fast they did it. He'll encourage players to take the Test often and to use Practice mode to beef up their skills in all 15 of the activities. Practice mode also offers three difficulty levels for each activity, and Dr. Lobe will award several medals for high achievement in each one.

Multiplayer: Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree offers three ways for groups to play:

• Mental Marathon: Speed through activities to buy more time to stay in the game. Go it solo or as a team, but if anyone botches an activity, the game is done (1-8 players, one Wii Remote).
  
  
• Mind Sprint: Form a team to compete against a system-controlled competitor that "thinks" like a selected student record (1-4 players with one Wii Remote). Or separate into two teams (2-8 players with two Wii Remotes). The first side to complete a set number of problems wins.
  
  
• Brain Quiz: Play game-show style with up tofour teams that compete in a total of 20 activities, since five extra activities are available in this mode. (1-8 players, one Wii Remote)

Mii compatibility: Everyone who enrolls in the academy will choose a Mii, which will walk down the school's hallway and pop up during Wii Remote handoffs to help explain which teammate goes next in multiplayer matches.

Wii Remote audio: Players will get encouragement and hear color commentary from a "Wii Remote Coach" who speaks to the player through the Wii Remote speakers.

WiiConnect24: In Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, players can send and receive student-record books full of brainy data. By establishing WiiConnect24 ties with Wii Friends who own the game, players can all see their academies affected in several fun ways:

• Compare distant students' test scores with those of the local student body on the Student Scores board. Distant students' records are shown as books.
  
  
• Compete against distant students' brains in Mind Sprint. Players actually play against game-controlled competitors that "think" based on brainy strengths and weaknesses in their student records.
  
  
• The distant player's "Mii student" will walk the hallways with the player's own student body. Players can make WiiConnect24 connections with many students, adding many Miis to their crowd.

Players are encouraged to send and receive each others' records frequently, so that their academies have up-to-date results for competition and comparison. In this way, individual academies can join a personal network of schools and push each other to develop their brains further.

Words, words, words! They're the fundamentals of language. They comprise how we communicate and how effectively we can express opinions and succeed at fulfilling our dreams. One of the earliest brain teasers was the Spelling Bee. Recently, we've been experiencing an upsurge in popularity and fascination with word games.
On Broadway, people are flocking to the musical 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee. In the movies, the recent Akeelah and the Bee, and Spellbound became surprise hits with millions of fans. The primal challenge to see how many words you can spell correctly to win the game. It's the game that took over as brains rose in significance over brawn. Unlike Akeelah, who had to carry thousands of cards to practice for her Spelling Bee challenges, all you need is the Nintendo DS and Crave's Spelling Challenges and More. It's for Spellin Bee aspirants and for future literati (did I spell that correctly?).
Spelling Challenges and More! is themed around a spelling game show " where you compete for points and prizes but also is much more! Of course, there's only one winner. Will it be you? Designed for ages 6 and over ESRB is E for Everyone - Fun and educational word challenges for Everyone How many spelling errors can you find in this dscription?

How smart are you? Do you know more than your Grandma about world history? Does your little sister know more than your Dad about sports? Find out in Smarty Pants! Smarty Pants finally levels the playing field for people of all ages, allowing simultaneous play using age-targeted trivia plus action-based gestures, making it a truly trans-generational game made exclusively for the Wii. Tailoring questions to the contestant's age, gamers from eight to eighty can join in on the fun all at the same time. Exciting Wii gestures make everything a game, from spinning the category wheel and tug-of-wars over correct answers, to "dance-offs" for additional points. With both competitive and collaborative game modes and 20,000 questions in multiple categories, the fun is virtually endless!
ESRB Rated E for Everyone