Try Englishtype - from the designer of Dance Mat Typing

BBC Touch Typing - ready to step up your skills?

From BBC DanceMat’s Designer

Are you serious about teaching touch typing to kids? Then, it’s time to switch BBC Dance Mat Typing to Englishtype. Dance Mat is a fun introduction to typing, but if you understand the real benefits of unconscious touch typing. You’ll know that Dance Mat Typing can only take children so far—it’s simply too small to cover the full scope. Now try Englishtype, it’s 200 times the size and teaches touch typing with a big focus on literacy.

Why Englishtype Is the Best Next Step

Englishtype offers a range of different activities and typing challenges to help build both speed and accuracy. It’s designed to support typing practice in a way that Dance Mat can’t match. Englishtype is affordable, with easy-to-access online versions for both children and adults.

How Englishtype and Dance Mat Typing Are Connected

When the BBC wanted to develop an online typing program for kids, their team researched all the typing programs. Englishtype stood out as the top choice. That’s why they invited Englishtype’s Educational Psychologist, Jo, to become the educational designer and typing expert on the BBC Dance Mat Typing project. Programmers created the cartoon graphics and voices, Jo designed the teaching method, lesson structure, and colour coding.

The Unique Englishtype Advantage

Both Englishtype and BBC Dance Mat Typing feature a unique 8-colour coding system that enhances learning. This powerful method makes typing practice more engaging and helps boost a child’s typing level. Think of Englishtype as Dance Mat Typing’s big brother, taking the foundations laid by Dance Mat to the next stage and beyond.

Celebrating & Continuing the Success

The BBC Dance Mat Typing program was highly successful, even winning a BAFTA in the Games category in 2004. 20 years later, it remains a popular free online tool used in many schools. For those looking for more comprehensive typing challenges, Englishtype is the natural next step.

Englishtype offers a deeper, more literacy-focused typing program that builds on the foundation provided by BBC Dance Mat Typing. With its wide range of activities and unique learning tools, Englishtype will take your child’s typing skills to the next level.

BBC Typing vs Englishtype

A Comparison

Like many online programs, Mat Typing had to be small and simple so it could run on lots of types of devices.

BBC Mat Typing has ONLY 240 lines of typing in TOTAL: this gives a taste of touch typing. It’s not possible to build the unconscious automatic skill (or muscle memory) with only this much practice. On average, it takes 20-25 hours of practice to build both accuracy & speed to unconscious function. You would need to repeat it an awful lot of times to achieve this!

Englishtype has more typing in one LEVEL alone, with main lessons, 12 stages, games, speed booster & spelling lessons. Progress is saved and there are targeted activities to build & test the skill acquisition as you move through the program. Helping you to improve your typing and words per minute. See how Dance Mat and Englishtype compare…