Common Phrases Spanish Practice | Mimi Flores

Inspiration

My family is Mexican-American, and we use Spanish often to communicate. I recently did a school project about xenophobia, specifically about the language barrier in the US, which inspired me to teach others some of the language. I used to do Scratch all the time before switching over to Python, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make an interactive game to teach some basic phrases in Spanish. I know there are a lot of language-learning apps like Duolingo now, but I think this game could appeal to a younger crowd since it is completely free with no ads or download necessary.

What it does

When you start the game, Chago will introduce himself, and you can even input your name so he can say hi! Then, the game begins, and he will ask you a series of questions to test your knowledge. If you get a question wrong, you can try again. Once you get a question right, Chago will explain why the other option was wrong. I decided to only make two options for the answers so that it would be easier for the player to retain the information after playing. For the same reason, I centered the terminology around common phrases.

How I built it

I used a lot of broadcast functions for the project and sensing to bring the interactive element to life. The broadcast functions were mainly used to keep things organized and to let each sprite know when to perform their given roles. Sensing functions were used so that when you click on your answer, the program can make a decision based on what you clicked in order to determine whether you can continue or try again.

Challenges I ran into

At first, the sensing functions did not work because I used the “touching mouse pointer” option instead of “when this sprite clicked.” However, once I figured it out, everything ran smoothly. In order to save some time, I used the “backpack” at the bottom to help as well.

Accomplishments that I am proud of

I am proud that I still remember what I learned from doing Scratch, and I hope that I can continue working on this game in the future with more advanced functions and lesson options.

What I learned

In making this project, I continued to practice broadcast functions and learned about sensing and user input when asking for the user’s name, even though I did not use it too much.

What's next for Common Phrases Spanish Practice | Mimi Flores

I hope to get some positive feedback on my project and even some constructive criticism so that I can start working on more lessons to add to the game. My idea is that at the start of the game, you can choose which lesson you would like to work on, and you will be asked questions based on what you chose. I am also hoping to implement fill-in-the-blank and grammar-related questions. When I continue working on it, I would also like to have a point system using variables as well.

Built With

• scratch