Wag the Dog

Even a Dog Can Teach You English. Not just any dog; it's the world's most famous beagle, Snoopy, of the comic strip Peanuts.

Nintendo has recent released a DS game called English Lessons With Snoopy in Japan. Using the touch screen, it teaches kids English words and phrases, with the help of Snoopy and the rest of Peanuts gang: Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy.

I don't play the game. But I know Peanuts a lot. Hey, why play the stupid game to learn words and phrases piece by piece, while simply letting kids watch the Peanuts cartoon or read the comic strips would do a much better job. For one, it's a lot more fun; and kids can pick up the language in whole with the context, often masterfully written and lovingly narrated by Charlie Brown.

It's not Snoopy's fault, though. He is too smart to wag the dog.