Reading
There are two ways to learn to read:
1. The whole language approach - that is you read to them, and then they read to you.
2. Phonics - that is you learn what different vowel and consonant combinations sound like, along with any applicable rule breakers and then are able to sound out any word.
While method number two is generally considered the more challenging of the two to teach, it often yields better results later in life as students learn coping skills when they are presented with unfamiliar words.
That said, the common aspect of both strategies is human interaction. Computers, or any variation of, can NOT teach anyone to read!
But, I digress, there may very well be some applications that teach students the sounds of different consonant and vowel combinations, but unless the program records the student saying the sounds, evaluates it for correctness, and then corrects based on student input, it will NOT teach them to read. It WILL teach them to recognize the correct sounds, but not how to SAY them.
They easiest and simplest way to teach a child or anyone to read is to read to them, read with them, and have them read to you. Start with picture books and work your way up. At first they will tell the story from memorization after hearing it read to them. (You will know this because they will not follow the words, usually hardly looking at the book or only looking at the pictures.) Then move on to sounding out the words, through echo reading (I say it, you say it). Then have them read on their own. Just don't give a new or struggling reader a book they have never seen before, or had read to them before and expect them to read it, the chance of success will be very low.
