About Us
SPEAKING WEB LLC was formed in 2004 in Portsmouth, NH. We began by developing the web-based sound technology that underlies speaking stories. We kept it simple, to mimic how young children learn to read: hear a story being read, point to a word, hear the reader say it, make the reader say it again and again until the word is familiar, continue with the story.
We saw this technology would be ideal not only for increasing primary language reading skills, but also to introduce second languages to young children at the fertile time when their language and reading skills are developing. We like the idea that young readers need not be limited to one language.
In 2006 we realized that graphic novels are an excellent medium for the under-served market of junior high, high school, and adult second language learners, as well as late or reluctant readers.
We now seek funding to develop the first set of speaking stories, for use by teachers and students all over the world, for free.
Who We Are
ALLEGRA MAY, President—Allegra has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Harvard Graduate School of Education and has made films about child development at Harvard University’s Center for Cognitive Studies. She has been a Member of Technical Staff at Lucent Technologies, where she was responsible for process design, project management, and software documentation. She has also been a writer and software engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation. For ten years she was an independent film maker, directing and editing a number of documentary films.
ELIZABETH KIMBALL, Consultant—Betsy has taught English Language Learners and writing for over 20 years. She currently teaches writing to ELL and native language learners in Lawrence, MA. She has a Master of Arts in English from Middlebury College, a Master of Arts in English Language and Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire, and a Master of Arts in Russian from the State University of New York at Albany.