When keys do nothing, first check which screen is open: a list of lessons is where you choose an activity, not the activity itself. Once a lesson is open, check, in this order, the input mode, what has focus on the page, and the next character the screen is asking for. Missing sound is a separate problem โ typing works with read-aloud off.
First: is a lesson actually open?
The lessons pages are menus. Pressing keys on a page full of lesson cards does nothing, because there is nothing to type yet. Choose one card โ each one ends in โStart typing โโ โ and the lesson opens with a white box showing the text to type, and a finger guide beside it. For a first try, pick something short from the beginner level.
Match what you see to the check
- A grid of lesson cards: choose one first. Typing starts on the lesson screen, not on the list.
- No reaction anywhere, in any app: check the keyboard's cable or Bluetooth connection and power, then try typing in another text field.
- A row of conversion candidates, or Japanese, Chinese or Korean characters appearing: the computer's input method is on. Switch it to direct English (alphanumeric) input. While the input method is composing, the lesson deliberately ignores the keys.
- Keys worked, then stopped after you changed a setting: a setting still has focus. Click the white typing box once and carry on.
- The cursor will not move past one letter: that key is not the one expected. The screen shows two keys โ โyou pressedโ and โpress thisโ โ so you can see which one it wants.
- The letters advance but nothing is spoken: this is a sound question, not a typing one. See the section on speech below.
How to switch the input method differs by computer and keyboard, so look at the labels on that device rather than relying on one shortcut. On Japanese, Chinese and Korean lessons, the lesson screen also shows a reminder to turn the input method off before typing.
Changed a setting? Click the typing box again
A lesson listens for keys across the whole page, so there is normally no need to click anything before typing. The exception is when a control has focus: the Language selector, the Sound on/off switch, the Keyboard picker, the capital-letter and punctuation toggles, or the Feedback form. Keys then go to that control instead of the lesson โ by design, so that a selector still works with the keyboard. Clicking the white typing box hands the keys back to the lesson.
Type what the typing box shows
The sentence above the typing box is the meaning line, in the language chosen for reading aloud. What to type is the text inside the box. In the Happy Cat lesson, for example, the box shows โthe cat jumps over the logโ in lower case, while the line above reads โThe cat jumps over the log.โ Capitals and the full stop are only part of the exercise when the ABC or punctuation toggles in the settings row are switched on.
A wrong key is not typed: the cursor stays where it is, the miss is counted, and the two keys appear so a child can see the difference. The finger guide lights the key to press next. If letters work but symbols come out wrong, the keyboard in front of you may not match the one the guide is drawing โ the Keyboard picker switches between US, JIS and other layouts.
When symbols do not match: US and JIS keyboards โ
Speech is a separate issue
Words are read aloud by the browser's own built-in speech. Check that the Sound switch says โSound onโ, that the device volume is up, and which language is chosen in the Language selector. If the browser has no voice for that language, or no speech at all, the screen says so โ and the lesson can still be typed. If the letters are advancing, the keyboard is doing its job; there is no need to keep pressing the same key.
If it still will not start
Note which page it was, the computer and browser, and the step where it stopped. That is enough to describe the problem โ through the Feedback button, for example. A child's name, anything they wrote, or a recording of them is not needed. If you send a screenshot, check it for personal information first.
Open a lesson, turn the input method off, click the typing box, and press the key the screen shows.
Choose a short beginner lesson โ
For parents: how the site works โ
Questions parents ask
Does a phone or tablet screen keyboard work the same way? The lessons and the finger guide are designed for a physical keyboard โ a computer, a Chromebook, or a tablet with a keyboard attached. An on-screen keyboard cannot teach which finger presses which key. You can read this page on a phone and try the lesson on a device with a keyboard.
We are on the lesson list and pressing keys does nothing. That is expected: the list is a menu. Click a lesson card, check that the white typing box is showing, and type the first character.