From Kadho, it’s Mochu Says Goodnight – a free language eBook and game!

I am a stickler for grammar and spelling. When my kids were little, I spent hours upon hours with them, reading to them, using flash cards, and simply talking to them in a clear tone. I often repeated my words to make sure they understood, and asked them to say the word after me.

My son was fortunate, as his paternal grandmother was from Germany and only spoke to him in German – from the time he was a baby. It was easy for him to pick up the language this way, and I have to admit, it was quite adorable. It was strange as he got older to hear she and my son having whole conversations in German, and I had no idea what they were talking about. I did pick up a few words here and there, but certainly not enough to speak in sentences. When he was a teenager, his grandmother took him to Germany for several weeks, to meet relatives primarily, but it was also a fantastic opportunity for him to be immersed in the German language all around him. My son ended up taking German in high school to fine tune the German language and his writing skills (and definitely had an advantage!).

I think it is a wonderful idea to teach children other languages, and I have heard it is best to start when they are babies. Newborns, babies and preschoolers are able to hear and pick up sounds, which helps their brains remember these early language lessons for later in life. They are able to retain more information at a young age, and it makes leaning languages SO much easier than waiting until you are a teen (for example, me as a teen, who went from French I to French II and back to French I in jr. high school!). It is even harder for adults I think. My sister-in-law is teaching her babies Spanish since she is a Spanish teacher.

You say cat and another mother on the other side of the globe says chat or gato.

But how is the average person supposed to teach their babies/children foreign languages? There is a new tech company, Kadho, which aims to preserve the linguistic abilities of very young children. Check this out:

Kadho’s mission statement is: ““We teach the world how to learn and provide the opportunity to be more.” They are certainly doing just that, with their new eBooks and games for babies and toddlers. These ebooks and apps aren’t just “thrown together” – they are actually based on 50 years of brain science. This is good to know, especially when it comes to teaching our children the right way.

After reading the eBook and watching the video above, I am extremely impressed with the approach they take. When objects on the screen are pointed to/touched, the word is said in the foreign language. For instance, if you say cat, the mom on the other side of the globe (on the screen) will say “gato” or “chat”. I think THIS would be the best way for adults to learn as well – maybe I should try this too!

With Kadho’s amazing brain-nourishing music, hidden sounds and adorable characters, the eBook compliments the game App Mochu Pop launched by Kadho earlier this month. Together or alone, these science-influenced stories and games introduce the basic phonology for English and other foreign tongues.

Kadho’s eBooks introduce children not just to the sounds, but also the sentences and words from foreign languages. The ebooks allow parents to understand and explain to their child(ren) because the texts are in English but the sounds are in foreign languages. Please note though, these books aren’t intended to teach reading.

With four available languages to choose from (French, Spanish, Italian and English), little ones will never get bored.

Mochu Says Goodnight and be downloaded for iPhone, iPad and iTouch on the iTunes store, for Android on Google Play, or for Kindle on Amazon.

Did I mention that Mochu Says Goodnight is absolutely free? I don’t believe I did! In fact, the Mochu Pop game app, which launched a couple of weeks ago is also free, as is upcoming eBooks and apps!

Oh how I would have been all over this when my kids were little. Signing up is really easy, so you and your little ones can get started right away. All that is required is your name, email, a password and the date(s) of birth of your children. You might also choose to create an account via the app. Whichever option you choose, you will not be asked for personal or credit card information. Nope! You will be notified when new games and eBooks are posted in the app stores, so you don’t miss a thing.

What is really neat is that parents can keep track of their child’s progress right in the dashboard. I also think it would be really fun to have two or more of your children learn the same language. They could practice with each other with every day common objects!

Make sure you follow along with #mochu on Twitter, to read what others are saying about this brilliant company and its eBooks & apps!

You can also connect with Kadho from the links below.

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