About Steps

About the 'Steps' language teaching game

Plenty of games exist for teaching children how to describe an animal or person. 'Steps' does this too, but also encourages a holistic understanding and respect for the animal or profession they are describing. The game illustrations are designed for children to examine in closer detail,empathetically.

Animals

The 'animals' section of the game can start with children simply describing sounds and actions for the species illustrated. Greater awareness of each species' essential nature comes from exercises involving its diet, role in nature, and benefit to humankind.
All of this helps children to develop appropriate attitudesto various creatures and avoid harm that may result from a lack of understanding.
Moreover, such knowledge will likely prove useful when a child reaches the age at which it will typically desire a pet animal. The child will be in a position to make an informed choice based on what it can and cannot expect of a given species, be broadly aware of the right way to handle and care for it, and by extension the responsibilities involved. Such awareness should also prove helpful to parents who are guiding their child's choice of pet.

Professions

The 'professions' section of the game imparts basic ideas about the capabilities children will need to develop in order to pursue a given job in their adult, lives: they will know about the dress or special clothing needed, and something of the path to achievement in a future line of work.
All of this will start children thinking about their later purpose in life, and how to justify a professional existence in terms of benefit to fellow members of society.
Common themes
Beyond developing descriptive skills in English, the underlying messages conveyed in both sections of the game are:

• The concept of purpose, or mission - every species and profession has reasons for existence.
• General respect, tolerance and kindness - deserved by high- and low-status professions alike, as well as all animal species, even those that may seem frightening or dangerous.
• Thinking ahead and taking the right steps to a clear future, supported by a positive, outgoing attitudeto animals and human beings.

In summary, this game teaches awareness and healthy attitudes toward all species and human endeavours in parallel with descriptive language skills.

Guiding principles of game development

Our main idea for creating the games was to ease the language learning process. We do this by making it simpler to understand the most difficult points, and by adding interest and entertainment that will be appreciated by children with varying abilities, social backgrounds and levels of educational achievement.
We place strong emphasis on the fact that every child is unique, and as such will possess different capacity for learning. The ideal case is quiet, diligent and hard-working; a keen student who enjoys homework and quickly grasps just about anything. Should you ever meet this rarity, please let us know immediately so we can declare him or her a protected species! Real children tend to be disobedient, inattentive, and lively. They have difficulty concentrating for a long time on just one topic- so they cannot be expected to spend hours learning a language through and through, doing exercises, and working hard to achieve results.
We acknowledge this reality, and conceive our games accordingly. They are visually attractive,with colourful and unconventional visual design to attract attention. They get children of a given age group involved, and keep them involved in a highly positive learning experience that is carefully attuned to their needs.