Posted by A wonderful new digital tool to learn languages from the USA has come to our attention, called “Little Pim”. Little Pim is the name of a series of videos and products and its “star” and teacher, Little Pim the panda. The company offers 6 DVDs organized around themes such as playtime, eating and drinking, daily routines. Each DVD introduces 60 words and phrases in the target language. So with 6 DVDs, children will have picked up a 360-word vocabulary, which is near fluency for a young child. Little Pim was designed for use by a parent or caregiver, enabling parents “to be their child’s first language teacher” even if they don’t speak the language themselves.
Little Pim’s creator, Julia Pimsleur Levine, has a background in documentary filmmaking and language teaching. She is also the daughter of Dr. Paul Pimsleur, an audio-language-learning pioneer whose Pimsleur programs for language learning sell worldwide. Julia grew up bilingual in French and English, and she wanted to offer her children the same opportunity, but she didn’t find any video materials she felt were appropriate or effective. So, she worked with a neuroscientist and leading educators and drawing from her film and teaching background, created her own. The line has expanded to include CDs, books, apps and games.
Here is a sample from one of their Learn Mandarin products:
Little Pim products have won over 25 awards in the US including:
- National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
- Homeschool.com 100 Best Educational Gifts
- Creative Child Magazine Media of the Year Award
- Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products
- Dr. Toy 10 Best Audio/Visuals and Best Vacation Product
- American Educational Publisher’s (AEP) Award for World Curriculum
More Information about Little Pim in: www.littlepim.com