FeaturedSmarty Ears Online: 80 activities in your browser, with progress reports for every student. Try it free for 30 days. Learn more →
In a world where linguistic diversity is rapidly growing, providing the right tools for bilingual speech therapy becomes essential. From home to school, the need to nurture the speech and communication skills of all children is paramount. Smarty Ears Online recognizes this unique challenge and opportunity and is dedicated to breaking down a few barriers. Explore how we are making bilingual speech therapy accessible, innovative, and inclusive for both professionals and students with support for multiple languages.
Did you know that only 78% of households in the United States speak English? This means that in 22% of households, a language other than English is spoken. Hispanics are the largest growing minority in the US, with Spanish-English dual language learners making up 33% of young elementary children speaking Spanish at home.
Meanwhile, there are only 10,208 certified bilingual service providers in the United States, according to the American Speech Hearing Association.
The scarcity of Speech-Language Pathologists fluent in languages other than English is not the only barrier that emerging bilinguals with speech-impairment face. A lack of vocabulary learning materials and bilingual speech therapy resources in languages other than English compounds the challenge. But one company, Smarty Ears, is devoted to bridging this gap!
Smarty Ears has always committed to providing essential resources for educators supporting emerging bilingual students. Our technology is utilized by special education professionals fluent in languages other than English, and those who may not speak the student’s native language.
With a founder who immigrated to the U.S., linguistic accessibility is woven into Smarty Ears’ mission.
Smarty Ears developed FonoLogico, an articulation app designed for speech-impairment. Available on the App Store, Fono Lógico provides over 450 carefully selected images to help Spanish-speaking children practice their sounds.
Fono Lógico Pro includes all consonants in the Spanish language! A valuable tool for Speech therapists and parents, it allows the selection of specific sounds, recording of students’ voices, and the saving of data over time. Fono Lógico even provides accuracy scores and specific feedback on incorrect sound/word production – an excellent resource for homework assignments.
If you prefer an all-inclusive platform rather than purchasing individual iPad apps, Smarty Ears Online offers access to activities addressing a multitude of speech, language, and communication goals.
Smarty Ears Online includes resources in nine languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, French, and German.
This continually expanding library of digital and dynamic games can be leveraged by special education professionals to support language learners and special education students in bilingual speech therapy.
For 16 years, Michelle Posner, a practicing Bilingual SLP, has advocated for more bilingual SLPs. Her focus, however, predominantly lies in helping monolinguals work more comfortably with bilingual students, overcoming communication and cultural barriers. Watch her present on how she employs Smarty Ears Online with her students.
Spanish articulation practice for every consonant, with student recordings, data over time and feedback on each word.
34 activities are in Spanish and 22 in Portuguese, and the speech sound profile has a Spanish view with the Spanish sounds by age.
Basic Professional: 30 days free, then $29 a month. Cancel anytime.
Revolutionizing Spanish Articulation Therapy: How Smarty Ears Online Empowers Spanish-Speaking SLPs and Students
Smarty Ears Releases Expressive Go 4.0: Setting a New Standard for AAC Fluency with Free Access and Pre-Emptive Grammatical Intervention
Smarty Ears and Linguabilities join forces to support children with speech and communication disorders