Educational Apps For Teaching Kids Indian Languages

If you need some help for teaching your kids Indian languages, do check out these helpful educational apps for kids!

By Anjum Choudhry Nayyar

This article was originally published at Masala Mommas.

Raising children in a bilingual community such as Canada, US, or the UK or anywhere else can be a challenge, especially when teaching kids Indian languages. Well, guess what? There’s an app for that too!

As an Indian mom of two young daughters, Survi Gopal, living in California, wanted her children to speak her native language: Hindi. Her husband however, spoke Gujarati. With both sets of grandparents and parents speaking different languages it was important for her to find a way for her daughters to speak and understand both languages.

“It always made me feel uncomfortable whenever we were in a big South Asian gathering and the kids feel left out because they cannot follow the language,” said Gopal.

It was a struggle she says to find resources for teaching her kids the language easily. She would often find books from India but many of the tools lacked fun, interactivity and engagement. So began her and her husband’s quest to develop and launch the first Iphone and Ipad app “Hindi Alphabets – by Niyaa”. Soon there was “Gujarati Alphabets – by Niyaa”.

These educational apps for kids can be downloaded from iTunes from an iPhone or ipad. This app is catered towards kids 2-6 years of age. Both apps teach the alphabet, numbers and shapes in the form of flashcards. Hindi alphabets also includes an interactive, discovery based tool to teach the body parts in Hindi.

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Today Hindi Alphabets by Niyaa has been downloaded in 42 different countries around the globe and Gujarati Alphabets has been downloaded in 37 countries. Hindi Alphabets was also ranked #2 in the Education Category in iTunes India recently. It has since remained in the top 10 in education for a long time. Gujarati alphabets has also made the “What’s hot” in Education list on the Indian iTunes app store.

“We wanted to choose a medium that is popular with kids and parents alike and can reach them wherever they are in any given part of the world. Kids love apps and it is also convenient for parents to use. We believe that learning should not be a chore and that it should be fun and exciting for kids. There is nothing like having your own little Hindi and Gujarati tutor always at your disposal, in the palms of your hands. Makes a great travel tool too,” said Gopal.

Gopal says for her, raising her children in the US where they were not exposed to their native language on a regular basis was a challenge. She adds, “It’s hard to find kids that will speak Hindi. Our apps ‘Hindi Alphabets – by Niyaa’ and ‘Gujarati Alphabets – by Niyaa’ are a way to encourage kids to learn and enjoy speaking these languages. Our goal at Niyaa is to fill this gap and bring high quality, kid-tested, parent-approved apps for kids.”

Gopal has this advice for Indian moms looking for educational apps for their kids. She says, “As a mom who likes to limit screen time, I would like to make sure that if my kids are using my iPhone or iPad then they get some educational value out of it. I like to choose apps that rank high on education, have a kid-friendly look and feel and are quality apps.”

To Purchase the apps on iTunes click here:

Hindi Alphabets – by Niyaa

Gujarati Alphabets – by Niyaa

For more info visit: www.niyaa.net | Facebook| Twitter 

*Photo credit: flickingerbrad (Used under the Creative Commons Attribution License) 

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