The child-friendly interface allows even the youngest students to navigate the program on their own and be in control of their learning experience. The on-demand content allows each child to learn at their own pace by pausing and/or repeating learning modules. Mishka and Frog, the main characters of Little Sponges® program, provide ongoing support and feedback to help students stay engaged and motivated as they master new material. Children practice comprehension and reading while they play formative learning games and earn stars for answering questions correctly.
Teachers can personalize the learning experience by allowing students to select the language track that incorporates their native language and the target language. For example, ELL students who speak Spanish can use the English/Spanish track while Chinese ELL students practice using the English/Chinese track. This approach gives ELL students “comprehensible input” by leveraging their native language as an anchor.
This level of customization is impossible to achieve in the traditional classroom as most teachers do not speak multiple languages nor can they personalize their instruction for all students simultaneously.
Through creative use of technology, Little Sponges® makes bilingual learning more accessible, effective, and equitable than the traditional approaches. Providing personalized dual language instruction is more important than ever before as the number of dual language students continues to grow in US schools. Today, 32% of US children under 8 years of age are dual-language learners (defined as having at least one parent who does not speak English). According to NEA Policy Brief, by 2025 nearly 25% of all students in public schools will be English Language Learners, the fastest-growing student population group.