Egumpp - Electronic Grammar Usage Mechanics Proficiency Program

Safran Publishing Company

Egumpp is a computer-based curriculum for learning grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and selected writing skills. All instruction and work is done on the computer.

Advertised for middle school through adult levels, I suspect high school through adult audiences are most appropriate. The program is comprehensive, teaching all parts of speech and their use, but it teaches everything at a single level as you would for adults. There is no gradual introduction for younger students.

There are four modules to the program, and these can be purchased individually or as a complete set:

Module I: Grammar
Module II: Usage
Module III: Punctuation and Capitalization
Module IV: Writing Mechanics

.Module I: Grammar has 20 lessons in comparison to 7 each in Modules II and III and 8 in Module IV.

In Module I each lesson has five main parts:
Lesson Introduction
Points to Remember
Tutorial Exercise (Terms to Learn exercises replace Tutorial Exercise on Module IV)
Lesson Reinforcer
Practice to Mastery

The first part, Lesson Introduction, has tabs at the bottom for you to access five topics: Objective, Overview, Terms to Learn, Points to Remember, and Tutorial Exercise. Note that the latter two topics are also accessible as main parts of the lesson.

Each lesson begins with a description of the lesson objective. The Overview is similar to a textbook lesson presentation briefly presented without examples. Terms to Learn is a glossary defining terms (e.g., the definition of a noun) as well as the abbreviation codes used to identify the syntax of words within in sentences (e.g., “mv” for main verb). Points to Remember expands on the Overview using examples.

The Tutorial Exercise provides practice. In this section, students can click on tabs to hear an audio explanation of the rule they are learning, to hear a sentence read aloud (when they are working with a sentence), and to see examples of the rule. They might click on answers or click on syntax identification codes to match them up with words in sentences. They immediately check each answer. They can click to see the correct answer if they don’t know it. A certain amount of tutorial lesson questions must be completed before the program will allow the student to move ahead. These are quite challenging and require students to really think before responding!

Lesson Reinforcer offers practice exercises that are scored. Students must get 2 sets of 10 questions correct or complete 200 attempts before they can move on to Practice to Mastery. Practice to Mastery is a quiz on the lessons for that unit. It can be retaken if students wish to try to improve their scores. Once students complete all 20 lessons in the first module they take a two-part test. They might complete each part at a different time. Once students begin taking the final test, they can no longer retake Practice to Mastery quizzes to improve those grades. Their final grade is a weighted combination of PTM quiz scores and the final test scores.

Modules II through IV are similar, but the main menu changes slightly to accommodate the differing skills. For example, Module IV has Terms to Learn exercises rather than the Tutorial Exercise. Also, there are fewer lessons per module as I mentioned previously.

All modules may be installed and run off your computer or they may be installed and run from each CD-ROM. You need an internet connection to install the program using the program key code that comes with it. After that, an internet connection is useful to connect to flashcards on the web that can be used for studying terms. I don’t expect this feature to be all that useful since much is already included in the program itself. Each module includes a substantial book with instructions for using the program plus all the instructional information for each lesson such as the overview, points to remember, and key terms. In addition, the first module includes a two-sided, 8.5 x 11 inch laminated chart that has a sort of flow chart for identifying grammatical terms and usage.

As you find in some other grammar programs, egumpp occasionally uses its own approach to terminology that might be confusing to those who have already studied grammar through other programs. For example, the “complete predicate” is referred to as a “verb phrase.” The term “articles” is not used, but “a, an,” and “the” are described as “frequently used adjectives.” In my experience students adapt to these differences with little difficulty.

Egumpp is similar to The Grammar Key in concept, but targets an older audience. Egumpp should be especially useful for high school students with little or no grammar background (which is often the case for those coming into homeschooling from government schools) and for adults who need to improve their knowledge and skills.