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LINGOZING! OVERVIEW LingoZING!, A complementary language learning tool. Comics and Graphic novels at the heart of EdTech. http://www.lingozing.com/ CONTENTS The origin of the project p.3 What is LingoZING!? p.3 The benefits p.3 LingoZING! is for anyone who wishes to learn & practice a foreign language p.4 LingoZING! contributes to teaching children to read p.4 The great names of Comics are on LingoZING! p.4 Zoom in on LingoZING!’s talented representatives p.5 LingoZING! How does it work? p.6-7 LingoZING! used by the professionals of the educational p.8 sector Focus market : language learning and e-learning p.8 The Team p.9 FREE OFFER 2 LEARN NEW LANGUAGES WHILE READING COMICS Available on Apple IOS and Android devices WHAT IS LingoZING!? and graphic novels with integrated learning LingoZING! is the first interactive language-learning features, including audio, translation, voice re- app that uses popular titles to make it en- cording and pronunciation evaluation, as well as gaging, simple and fun. Users download the a word-saving tool with a personalized free app. They can then purchase popular notebook. comics HOW DOES LingoZING! WORK? Users download the free app from Google Play shows a translation. The LZPlay! feature lets users hear the story read by professional ac- or Apple’s App Store. When launched, the app tors at normal or slower speeds. Users can suggests titles for purchase, based on factors such as age, genre and language level. When a also create a directory of words and access comic is opened, a taskbar provides direct an online dictionary. With LZGRAM!, users can access to all learning functions. Users can record themselves, assess their pronunciation switch between their native language and the and, if they choose, share the results on social language they’re learning. Tapping the text media. WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR LingoZING!? LingoZING! works on Android tablets and smartphones - iPhones and iPads iOS 10 and above. WHAT LANGUAGES ARE AVAILABLE? LingoZING! users choose their native lan- French and Brazilian Portuguese. Other guage and the language they are learning. languages such as German, Italian, Mandarin Current options include English, Spanish, and more to be added soon. WHY COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS? People of all ages, including kids who shelf. Founder Kyra Pahlen got the idea for wouldn’t be caught dead reading any other LingoZING! based on her experience learning kind of book, read comics and graphic novels. languages through comics and graphic novels. The best textbook is useless if it sits unopened on the WHAT TITLES ARE IN LingoZING!? The library offers a wide range of titles classified by level, age group and theme. Choices range from beloved classics, such as The Smurfs, Garfield, Philippe Geluck’s Le Cat and the iconic Brazilian series Turma da Mônica, to edgier titles, including Paul Pope’s One Trick Rip Off and Scott Snyder and Jock’s Wytches. The constantly-expanding catalogue includes titles from major publishers Image Comics, Top Cow, Boom! Studios, Editions Dupuis, Le Lombard, Dargaud, Glénat, Delcourt, L’École des Loisirs and Bamboo. Also represented are independent authors, including Mike Carey and Zachary Weinersmith. 3 WHY STUDY LANGUAGES? The reasons to study a foreign language are as abundant as foreign language learners, which means the potential market for a fun and innovative product like LingoZING! is vast. LATINO IMMIGRANTS WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH AND MAINTAIN SPANISH •About 20 percent of those who live in the U.S. Latinos agree that it is important for future ge- speak a language other than English at home, nerations of U.S. Hispanics to speak Spanish. primarily Spanish. Knowing Spanish increases •Another Pew study found that even though work opportunities, particularly in fields such as Latinos have lagged behind other groups in medicine and education. home broadband access, they are among the • Immigrants know that speaking English in- most enthusiastic adopters of mobile creases their opportunities: a Pew Research technology. So LingoZING!, as an app aimed Center study showed that 87 percent of U.S. at helping learners of English and Spanish, is a Hispanics feel that immigrants need to learn perfect fit for Latino and immigrant English to succeed. Also, fully 95 percent of communities. U.S. PARENTS WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE BILINGUAL •As more and more parents recognize the ad- problem solving.” As any parent knows, kids vantages of speaking a second language, the love comics and tablets, so LingoZING! is a per- popularity of language immersion programs fect supplement to such programs. continues to increase. The benefits go beyond •According to Ethnologue, Spanish ranks se- learning a second language: according to NBC cond in the world in terms of people who News, educators report that immersion speak it as their first language. students “have longer attention spans and are better at COLLEGE STUDENTS TAKE LANGUAGE COURSES AS PART OF THEIR PROGRAMS •Residents of the U.S. are studying Spanish in its low cost, authentic materials and emphasis record numbers. And almost 800,000 U.S. col- on real language learning, LingoZING! is an lege students are studying Spanish alone, often ideal complement to traditional, grammar-heavy using outdated and inauthentic materials. With classroom language courses. BEING MULTILINGUAL MAY MAKE YOUR BRAIN STRONGER-AND BIGGER •More and more studies suggest that learning a •A recent study in Sweden produced even more foreign language may increase the brain’s ability dramatic results. Researchers using MRI scans to perform complex tasks, even when they’re to monitor the brains of military recruits under- not related to language. According to The New going language training found that “specific parts of York Times, “the bilingual experience improves the brain of the language students grew.” Not the brain’s so-called executive function—a everyone has the time or resources to enroll in command system that directs the attention an intensive language program, but LingoZING! processes that we use for planning, solving puts immersion in authentic language within easy problems and per- forming various other reach of anyone with a smartphone or tablet. mentally demanding tasks.” LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE MAY HELP PROTECT AGAINST DEMENTIA •Researchers are finding that bilingualism may even len Bialystok, one of the study’s authors, even help protect against dementia. A 2010 Ca- people who begin language study later in life can nadian study published in Neurology reported benefit. In her words, “every little bit helps.” With that “lifelong bilingualism confers protection titles appealing to all age groups and interests, against the onset” of Alzheimer’s disease. And LingoZING! is a non-intimidating option for according to York University psychologist El- new language learners of all backgrounds. 4 WHAT ARE SUCCESSFUL COMIC BOOK AUTHORS SAYING ABOUT LingoZING!? «... learning a language using LingoZING! turns into a fun but very efficient and rewarding exercise...» The translators must have been tearing their hair out, because in my comics I do a lot of puns and plays on words, so it’s a very complicated task. Way to go, LingoZING! Jul French cartoonist, author of Goscinny Award winner Le guide du moutard An impressive comics reading/language learning app, which blows other apps out of the water. Paul Pope Award-winning American comic artist and author of Batman: Year 100 When the LingoZING team told me about the project I found it immediately irresistible. The magnificent part of this project is its playfulness and ability to communicate. Philippe Geluck Award-winning Belgian comic artist , sculptor and author . Among the many advantages of bilingualism, there are positive effects on development, greater mental flexibility, increased acceptance of other cultures, heightened linguistic awareness and ability, more confidence, added career opportunities, greater ability to communicate with family members and preserve culture, and helps immigrant parents understand their emotions, and solve their problems . Maritere Bellas Award-winning author . Sources : • http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21504857.2016.1219957 •https://theconversation.com/how-the-humble-comic-book-could-become-the-next-classroom-superhero-73486 •http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/24/a-majority-of-english-speaking-hispanics-in-the-u-s- are-bilingual/ http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/07/20/digital-divide-narrows-for-latinos-as-more-spanish-speakers- and- • 5 immigrants-go-online/ HOW IT WORKS The free app is available on GooglePlay and AppleStore. Once downloaded, LingoZING! of- fers permanent access to the purchased comics and, offline - to most of the interactive features. The app features a collection of titles to be purchased and selected, based on several requirements: age, genre (adventure, comedy, etc.), language level and authors. A task bar gives access to LingoZING! learning functionalities. Language feature: two options Two versions feature side by side: the native language and the one the user wishes to learn. To change languages, just slide the “language Audio feature : Touch the text caption to hear the audio (in the chosen language) slider” so that the page, the sound track, and the accompanying features switch from one lan- guage to the other. This can be done at any time so the user can self-pace. Audio feature Activate the “LZ! Play” feature to have the (the entire) story read by professional actors. Tell LZPlay where to start by tapping a text. To hear clear enunciation and emulate - tap “slow”. 6 HOW IT WORKS Your word directory, a customized Notebook : By touching and holding down a text, the words are automatically saved and stocked in your “Notebook” which can be accessed Voice-recording feature : LZGRAM! from the menu in the “your account” section, where you can create your own directory of Select a text and tap the “recording” button.