Help & Support
What is this app?
Speak English is an English read-along game for preschool and early primary school children: listen to the example → read it out loud → turn the page. Each book is a book house on the pixel map, and finishing a book lights one up. The first few books are free — the App shows which ones — and a membership unlocks the rest. There is no advertising. You can play without signing in; a parent may optionally sign in with Apple to sync progress.
Why does it need the microphone?
The “read it yourself” feature has to hear your child in order to tell whether the sentence was read correctly. Recognition happens on the device: recordings are never uploaded and never saved. If you declined the permission earlier, you can turn it back on in Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
My child read it correctly — why was it marked wrong?
- Use the App somewhere quiet, 20–30 cm from the device, and pause briefly at the end of each sentence before starting the next one;
- A parent can change “Scoring” at the bottom of the bookshelf from Standard to Easy. Children’s voices and non-native accents are inherently hard cases for speech recognition, and the score is only a learning aid;
- When the same word keeps failing, the App automatically slows the example down and splits it into beats to read along with. A few repetitions is usually enough to pass.
Why does the first “read it yourself” take so long?
The first use downloads the offline speech recognition model, about 72 MB, once and only once. Wi-Fi is recommended. While it downloads you can still listen to the books, look at the pictures and hear words split into beats.
No sound, or the sound is very quiet
- Check that the device is not on silent and that the media volume is turned up;
- Background music can be switched or turned off from the top right of the map. It pauses automatically while your child is reading — that is normal;
- The example audio comes from the network, so on a slow connection the first playback may be slightly delayed.
How do I buy, restore or cancel a membership?
- Buy: tap any book house that is still locked and the membership page opens. The plans on offer and their prices are those shown on that page.
- Restore: after changing device or reinstalling, tap “Restore Purchases” on the membership page or in Settings. The same Apple Account is all that is needed; you do not have to sign in to an account in this App.
- Cancel a subscription: on your iPhone, go to Settings → your Apple Account at the top → Subscriptions. After cancelling you keep access until the end of the current period and are not charged again.
- Refunds: payment is taken by Apple, so please request a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com.
I changed phone and the progress is gone
If you are not signed in, progress is stored only on that device. Sign in with Apple from Settings and the books already finished are synced to the server; sign in with the same account on a new device and the book houses light up there too. If two devices have finished different books, signing in merges them — neither overwrites the other.
How do I sign out or delete my account?
Both are in Settings. Signing out only clears the sign-in state on that device and leaves the server-side progress alone. Deleting the account permanently removes the account and the synced progress from the server (progress on the device is kept) and cannot be undone.
Will the books be updated?
Yes. Books, the map and the example audio are delivered from our server, so once we update the content you will see it the next time you open the App — there is no need to download the App again.