I've partnered with KADHO, to start a conversation about bilingual children and how an app can foster their love of multiple languages.It seems like every time I turn my head, Ollie runs to FTD's computer to watch YouTube. (It's touchscreen) What's worse, he LOVES watching his favorite cartoons in Spanish, German or Russian. In fact, at one point, the kid ONLY spoke Russian. Well... I'm not 100% sure it was actually Russian, but he did a great job of making the words sound very Russian.
I suppose it's not all his fault he's curious about other languages. Besides the fact other languages sound cool, FTD has been speaking German to Ollie since birth. At first, I tried to stop him from his bilingual pursuit altogether. I mean, how much does it suck to have a bilingual baby when you can't speak the language?!
But... The truth is, I want to be bilingual too.
In an effort to join Ollie in his pursuit to be bi-lingual, I've been testing child-friendly language apps. One of which is, Mochu Pop: Multiple Language Immersion for Babies and Toddlers. (It's Free and best Ages 1-3 Available: iTunes iPhone/iPad, Google Play for Android, and in the Amazon App store for Kindle.)
Immediately, the one thing that sets this app apart from the others I've tested is that it is more of a language foundation builder. Rather than throw the words out there, the app teaches the fundamental sounds heard in each language: English-Spanish-French-Italian
I was unsure of this method at first, then I saw how Ollie was following along, making the specific sounds, and then repeating the words he heard when he popped bonus shapes and characters.
I must say, I was really impressed!
Here's the lowdown on MOCHU POP:
Once MOCHU POP is downloaded, you have the choice to play online or offline. Then, you pick the language you want to practice.
One REALLY cool feature of the app is the blue light screen to protect children's sensitive eyes.
The game guides children through a fun learning experience where they pop specific colored shapes. Once the shape is popped, the child is rewarded with a sound specific to the fundamentals of the specific language.
He would pop a shape and repeat the sound he heard, and what's more, unprompted. On his own, he started following right along and repeating the sounds.
Then, when a sparkly character would float by you pop for bonus points, he would repeat the word he heard after popping the character... FANTASTICO! Superb!
I have to say, SUPERB! has become a regular word in this house.
Another great feature is the Parents Dashboard that shows your child's progress.
Bottom Line: It's free, fun for children ages 1-3, and certainly helpful for those wanting to encourage exposure to multiple languages.
I say, definitely download!
Available: iTunes iPhone/iPad, Google Play for Android, and in the Amazon App store for Kindle.
About today's featured company: KADHO.
Kadho was founded by Dr. Kaveh Azartash and Dr. Dhonam Pemba (both PhDs in Biomedical Engineering with emphasis in vision and neuroscience) and backed by a strong network of early childhood educators, neuroscientists, linguists and child psychologists. In addition, Kadho has former executives from Disney, Hasbro and Mattel on their advisory board. Kadho Inc. is utilizing the last 50 years of brain science to develop games and eBooks to maintain and enhance the innate abilities that children are born with. Kadho's apps and eBooks teach the building blocks of linguistics by exposing babies and toddlers to 4,000 key sounds from 12 languages recorded by native speakers in a customized manner that adapts to the child's learning pace. When children this young hear these sounds repetitively it unlocks a part of their brain to ready it for learning their native and other languages.
