Little Pim: iPhone Application Teaches Tots Foreign Language

Want your little tot to speak a second language? A new iPhone application by Little Pim has made this easier than ever. Have your little munchkin learning French, Spanish, Hebrew, Mandarin Chinese, Italian and more in no time with this handy educational tool. The application, “Little Pim Word Bag,” is designed for children ages 1-4, and is the first children’s iPhone application tied directly to an educational DVD language learning series.

“Little Pim Word Bag,” developed by Animax, is an interactive word game featuring Little Pim the panda. The game uses adorable artwork, music and sound effects to teach children 27 everyday vocabulary words in a second language. “Word Bag” costs $1.99 to download and can be used on both an iPhone and an iPod. This application is the newest product in the Little Pim line, which includes the DVD series, flash cards and CDs.

Little Pim, fun with languages, was created to introduce foreign languages to babies, toddlers and preschoolers – the best years for a child to learn multiple languages. Research proves that children who learn a second language also tend to have higher reading, writing, analytical and social skills, as well as more extensive vocabularies than their monolingual peers. Little Pim was developed by Julia Pimsleur Levine, in consultation with Dr. April Benasich, a leading neuroscientist.

The series stars an animated panda bear named Little Pim who serves as a teacher. Using the Entertainment Immersion Method, the DVDs make learning fun and easy with a combination of live action segments showing children eating, playing and engaging in everyday activities, and the adorable animation of Little Pim the panda. Each 35-minute DVD contains seven, five-minute episodes and introduces over 60 words and phrases. DVD 1: Eating and Drinking, DVD 2: Wake-Up Smiling, and DVD 3: Playtime can be viewed in any order and are all beginner level. Little Pim DVDs are available in Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, English/ESL, German, Russian and Arabic.