Learn with Beebso

Grammar and vocabulary can be taught from a good book. Pronunciation can only be taught by someone who has it, and saying a word out loud is the step a book or a video can't give your child.

Beebso gives one clear American English model for every word, as many times as they want it — and from Level 2 onward, tells them how close they got.

Beebso guides your child through every word, and he leads with the eraser, not the point — nothing is marked wrong, it is simply rubbed out and said again.

He never corrects your child. His job is to be pleased that they tried, every single time. Scoring arrives in Level 2 and speaks in colors rather than words. A child who thinks the friendly character might be disappointed in them stops speaking.

Bimo is his baby brother, at exactly the stage your child is at: hearing a word, saying it back, getting it a little wrong. Children copy someone their own size far more readily than a grown-up who already has it right.

In Level 1, Bimo is your child's practice buddy. Every category your child finishes wins a sealed mystery egg, and Bimo cheers it in. In Level 2 the eggs hatch, and your child meets the Dinaurpions they have been carrying all along.

Children all over the world learn with Beebso, so I gave each of the 12 Dinaurpions a common name from a country where my students live. Your child may meet a friend with a name from home, plus eleven new friends from around the world who are learning English too.

Each one hides inside a mystery egg your child wins in Level 1. In Level 2 the eggs hatch, and each Dinaurpion grows up alongside your child through every level that follows.

No, and that is planned for. Sounds like r, th and l aren't mastered by most children — including children born in America — until five, six or seven. So Level 1 doesn't judge: your child hears the word, says it back however it comes out, and is celebrated every time. Scoring starts in Level 2, when the mouth has begun to catch up with the ear.

Level 1 is about getting comfortable: hearing words, saying them back, and learning how the app works. American English is built from forty sounds — its phonemes — and your child hears most of them again and again in the Level 1 words. From Level 2, the Sounds pack gives every one of the forty its own card, with a video of my own mouth making it, just as scoring begins.

I wrote out every Level 1 word, and each letter name on the alphabet cards, in the sounds of standard American English, then counted every sound. Some sounds are spelled more than one way — the k sound in cat and kite is one sound, not two.

Then I multiplied by the fewest times each word is said: 15 practice tries and at least one test in Level 1, then 5 practice tries and at least one test in Level 2. That's 22 times per word at the very least. Most children say their words more often than that.

A few sounds are naturally rare in first words, like the soft th in brother, the zh in garage and the oy in boy. That is exactly what the Sounds pack is for: from Level 2, every sound gets its own card and teacher video, however rarely it turns up in everyday words.

Each level brings back the words already learned and asks for them at a higher standard, so the old sounds keep getting practice while something new is added on top.

There is no age requirement. Start at Level 1 whenever your child is ready, and move on when they have finished.

A quiet room. Beebso listens for your child's voice. A TV, music, other children talking, or a busy street can get mixed in and make the check less accurate. A few quiet minutes make a big difference.

A strong internet connection. Your child's word travels to the internet and back before Beebso answers. Good Wi-Fi is the easiest way to keep that quick. On a weak Wi-Fi or phone signal, Beebso may pause for a moment before it answers.

A bachelor's degree in business, a TESOL certificate (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and twenty-five years in finance, tax and technology before I started teaching. Four years in Vietnamese classrooms, and seven online.

My students have included a venture capitalist and angel investor, dozens of technology professionals, the CEO of a well-known American tech company, research and PhD students, second-language teachers, and learners ages 4 to 55.

The adults told me the same thing so often it stopped sounding like a complaint: "My teacher helped me with grammar and vocabulary, but nobody ever taught me how to say the words." By the time they reached me, the habits were twenty years old and painful to undo.

Children don't have that problem yet. A two-year-old can still hear distinctions an adult has stopped noticing, and that window doesn't stay open forever. It won't confuse their mother tongue either — at this age a second set of sounds is learned alongside the first, not on top of it.

My name is Dale Anthony. My journey through life has taught me many things, and one lesson stands above the rest: you never regret trying, but you almost always regret not making the effort for something you truly want. Making that effort starts with believing in yourself.

That belief is at the heart of Beebso. At an early age, while your child is learning to speak their first English words, they're also learning to believe in themselves. Learning a new word isn't about getting it right the first time. It's about trying, and trying again, as many times as it takes. Every time your child says a word, Beebso and Bimo are right there cheering them on, and each try builds a little more courage for the next one. With Beebso, your child grows their speaking and their confidence together, one brave word at a time.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for people who struggle with confidence. Teaching English to children in the classroom and to students around the world online showed me again and again that confidence is one of the very first things a learner needs. When a child believes they can, they keep trying. Everything else follows.

That's why I'm making this promise to you and your family. As Beebso grows, a large portion of what it earns will go back to children around the world, and the more Beebso succeeds, the more I give. That support will go to schools, programs, and communities that help young learners believe in themselves early in life.

Every child deserves someone cheering them on as they reach for the stars. By choosing Beebso, you're helping me be that voice for more of them.

Thank you for trusting me with your child's learning.

— Dale Anthony, Founder of Beebso