Square Enix’s Summer Story Aims To Teach English

Today, Square Enix released an iPhone and iPod Touch app, titled Summer Story. While it both looks and sounds gamey, it’s actually an English educational app meant for native Japanese speakers.

Summer Story is set up a little like a visual novel. You’re supposed to look after three foreign exchange female students from the U.S., Europe and Australia, and you play your way through the story by having vocal conversations (through your iOS device’s microphone) with the girls.

The focus of Summer Story is improving the conversational ability of English language students. The game contains minimum grammar explanation, and emphasizes colloquial expressions instead. It includes both speaking and listening modes.