Now Russian kids with speech disorders can train their speech by simply talking to a voice assistant, as we added a speech training tool to our Search App.

We also turned the training process into a game: to work on a problematic sound, kids have to sing a special song. The AI-powered speech recognition technology guides the child towards correct articulation by asking him to repeat the exercise in case of deviations.

When the game starts, the first step is to choose one of the characters to practice particular sounds. It can be a Fixie, a famous cartoon character, or a Soundie, a specially created character voiced by pop-singers. Each character has a unique script and a manner of speaking. 

The content is divided into trivia games, warm-ups and bits of training songs. When kids complete the training process, they get a cheer-up song which celebrates their achievements.

Here’s a part of a dialogue with a character named Nayma. It includes a warm-up session and a singing practice:

- Hello, bonjour, priviet! I am Nayma. I have been all around the world and learned lots of languages.

This helps me find friends in any place of the world and talk to them. Sometimes I start talking in one language and finish talking in another one. Voila ! I am sure you too can learn as many languages as you want.

But let’s start with the sound Z. It’s very common. In Russian language, too! It won’t be difficult for you anymore with the help of my song, so it will become easier to learn new languages.

When we learn all 5 verses, I will give you a coloring book with the main prize: a key to the world!

My advice is to sing one verse a day so as not to get tired.

But if you are tired, just say «Alice, stop!»

Or, if you are confused, say «Alice, help!»

So, shall we sing together?

- Yes!

- Let’s go! Let’s begin. Play a game with me! How many languages do you think are there in the world: one or many?

Many.

Si. This means «yes» in Italian. There are many-many languages in the world!?I know lots of languages. But animals in Australia can’t speak, so, to communicate with them, I made faces. For example, to say hi to a kangaroo, I smiled and opened my mouth wide while not moving my tongue. Can you try it? Smile, open your mouth wide and let your tongue just lie there. Do not close your mouth before I stop counting to 5. One, two, three, four, five.

To greet coalas, I smiled, opened my mouth, placed the tip of my tongue below my lower teeth and arched it. Try greeting koalas! Smile, open your mouth wide, put your tongue below your lower teeth and arch it. Do not put it down before I stop counting to 5: one, two, three, four, five.

With rabbits, it was much easier: I smiled and just moved my tongue from side to side along the lower teeth inside the mouth. Let’s try it: smile and move your tongue along your lower teeth to one side and then to the other side. One more time: to one side and to the other.

It’s weird, but none of the animals answered... I like chatting with you much more!

I think it’s time to sing!

Let’s start singing. I sing one line and then it’s your turn. Don’t worry, I will be helping you!

Zu-zu-zu-zu-zu-zu

Za-za-za-za-za-za

You rock! Now let’s sing all the lines together. Sing along!

Zu-zu-zu-zu-zu-zu

Za-za-za-za-za-za

Zu-zu-zu-zu-zu-zu

Za-za-za-za-za-za

We found out that the most common problem Russian kids face is the speech disorder. If untreated, this may cause dyslexia and other speech problems. What’s worse, there aren’t enough speech therapists, especially in country regions: statistics say there's 1 doctor per 420 children. Private specialists are not available for everyone because they’re pricey.

So we decided to help the kids and to raise awareness about access to speech therapy and its importance in general. 

We knew that preschoolers spend a lot of time with our app as they feel comfortable communicating with the voice assistant. This fact inspired us to add the training skill feature to the app.

Our mission was to make speech training free and accessible all over Russia.

Also, to make the process easy and relevant for modern kids.