Computers: Spelling bee by a Dalek

Many children are naturally good mimics. My 11-year-old does an uncanny John Cole. He also does an extraordinary precise impersonation of the Speech program on his Acorn A3000, writes Nigel Willmott.

Sounding something like a lucid Dalek, Speech translates written words into electronic phonemes. You can write in short pieces or it will pick up whole files written in a compatible word processor and recite them.

Like many children, he had no trouble expressing himself in written form, but he did with the peculiar ways that the English language has decided to represent itself. Using the Spell progam, which turns spelling into hangman type games, was a limited success, but it was only with Speech's spelling module that we induced him into holiday spelling practice.

The program offers three difficulty levels and presents words in groups of 10 - the computer 'speaks' them, the user then spells them out and tells you if they are correct or incorrect. Somehow it seems a more natural way of doing things.

It helps that the A3000 is built like a games machine with computer and keyboard in one compact unit. With the addition of a unit to convert the screen output into a television signal it makes an ideal portable computer. So if we go away for a half-term week, the A3000 goes in the boot too.

Plug into the TV in a Norfolk cottage, add the small incentive of extra pocket money - 2p for each word attempted, 5p for each spelt correctly (choose your own rates) - and it becomes perfect winter break edutainment.

Speech; pounds 24.95 (inc VAT); Superior Software; 0652 658585.