PALO ALTO, CA – May 17, 2018 – PandaTree, one of the leading providers of live online foreign language lessons for kids, today announced the launch of PandaTree for Preschoolers, a series of Mandarin Chinese or Spanish lessons for children, ages two to five. A first for bringing live online foreign language learning to the youngest of children, this new series of 25-minute lessons offers language exposure during a critical development period for language acquisition.
“We started PandaTree in 2015 knowing that parents needed more options for foreign language learning to give their kids a head start in a globally connected world,” said Kristina Klausen, PandaTree CEO & Founder. “Our new PandaTree for Preschoolers program is in response to parents who know about the benefits of starting young and are looking for foreign language exposure for their toddlers.”
Designed for the specific learning needs of preschoolers, each live one-on-one lesson is led by a carefully trained PandaTree tutor. A parent or caregiver also participates in the lesson and the tutor uses puppets, songs, interactive games and animated cartoons to make the child’s first exposure to Mandarin or Spanish learning joyful and positive.
The PandaTree for Preschoolers curriculum is designed to engage young learners with short segments, frequent repetition, with no reading or mouse skills required. Moving at the child’s pace, the curriculum covers topics like greetings, counting, colors, animals and parts of the face.
“Toddlers really respond to this program,” added Ana Wentz, one of the PandaTree tutors who teaches preschoolers. “You see them dance and clap when we sing songs. They think it’s fun, but meanwhile they’re absorbing so much.” Wentz, originally from Colombia, also teaches Spanish in a U.S. private school.
Recent research shows that the younger a person is when they start learning a foreign language the higher the level of language accuracy he or she is likely to attain. Additional language studies reveal that kids start to lose the ability to distinguish sounds outside their native language starting at less than 12 months, so getting early exposure to other languages helps them achieve native-level pronunciation. Lastly, interactive conversations, rather than just passive listening or viewing, accelerate children’s language learning.
During once or twice weekly PandaTree lessons, parents are also coached on how to incorporate the learning into their child’s daily life. Between lessons, parents can access the PandaTree Kid hub for songs and activities to reinforce the learning.
For more information, visit https://pandatree.com/preschool-program.
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About PandaTree
PandaTree is an online foreign language learning program that provides children, ages 2 to 15, one-on-one lessons with a tutor through live online video conversations. The company uses a proprietary curriculum aligned to established foreign language learning standards. Highly qualified tutors tailor every lesson for each child for optimized individual learning. Mandarin Chinese and Spanish lessons are offered now, with more languages planned in the future. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube or visit our homepage at www.pandatree.com.
