In edu-tech, nothing stays still. This post is a round up of the new entrants and major upgrades that have happened in the Chinese Learning Apps for Kids space during first half of 2022.
The exciting part is that there are some small “mumtrepeneur” businesses, along with homegrown Singaporean startups, that are now rivalling the large mainland China technology houses. Apart from the local context and content, the great thing about apps that come out of Singapore is they have more English interface options, and are way easier to buy through app stores with a non-Chinese credit card.
New Chinese learning apps for preschool children
Prep Junior
Prep Junior is a great Chinese learning app targeted at preschoolers. It’s been designed by a Singaporean start-up, and proudly supported by the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism. This app features interactive Chinese stories also with English translation and hanyu pinyin, making it suitable even for parents who do not speak Mandarin. A great thing about it is the content features Singapore’s local places, food and culture (like laksa, Gardens by the Bay, Changi Jewel, Singapore festivals).
- Best ages: 4 – 6
- Targeted Chinese level: basic fluency
- Key uses: reading, listening, comprehensive input
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Singapore
Maomi Stars
After several rounds of beta testing Maomi Stars officially launched their app this year, and it really became a hit in Taiwan, being the number one downloaded education app from the app store within weeks of launching in first quarter of 2022. Maomi Stars is a Chinese literacy app for children, equivalent to English kindergarten literacy apps like Starfall, ABC Mouse or Reading Eggs. It’s been meticulously researched, and tested on children, and contains wordlists from many popular graded readers like Sagebooks, Odonata and 四五快读, along with MOE school curriculums being added. Let your children meet the cute kitty cats and go on a journey together.
- Best ages: 3 – 8
- Targeted Chinese level: beginner to basic fluency
- Key uses: vocabulary building, character recognition
- Languages: Simplified Chinese & Traditional Chinese
- Originates from: U.S.A
Galaxy Kids
You may have of this highly popular English learning app for preschoolers called Galaxy Kids. In February 2022 they have launched an equivalent Chinese version. Through games, stories and songs, it aims to teach the first 1000 characters and basic conversation skills (yes, it makes use of the microphone feature to reocgnise you child’s pronunciation and correct for mistakes). A nice thing about this app too is they have partnered with Go East, which is an excellent online language school for children, in case you’re also looking for wonderful live 1-to-1 Chinese classes. The app is currently FREE to use for up to 3 activities per day.
- Best ages: 4 – 6
- Targeted Chinese level: beginner
- Key uses: comprehensible input, character recognition
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Singapore
Gua Gua Long 瓜瓜龙宝妈宝爸群
The Gua Gua Long app has been made by the developers of Tiktok, but the similarities stop there. Bytedance launched this educational app in China two years ago, and entered Singapore earlier this year with vengeance (presumably in light of the crackdown in China against online tutoring companies). This app mainly consists of pre-made videos, from art classes to rhymes and book reading, which are divided into topical themes. Sign up and insturctions are fully in Chinese, so best for a literate parent.
- Best ages: 4 – 8
- Targeted Chinese level: intermediate fluency
- Key uses: comprehensible input in Chinese, culture
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Mainland China
New Chinese Learning apps for primary school age kids
Dim Sum Warriors Club 点心侠
Dim Sum Warriors Club is a somewhat unconventional approach for learning language through creativity, stories, and doodling helmed by a creative husband and wife duo. Dim Sum Warriors themselves have been around in various forms over the last decade – from graphic novels through to a musical – however the Club concept has just been revamped and launched, including have livestreams most days of the week and increased online content. A new feature is the livestream nightly 成语 Chinese Idiom Doodle Dates, which follow the Singapore MOE syllabus. With their new launch in 2022, there’s a special deal that if you’re buy The Dim Sum Warriors Club membership, mention that you were recommended by lahlahbanana and you will receive one print book free! Valid until September 30th 2022.
- Best ages: 5 – 12
- Targeted Chinese level: nascent to intermediate fluency
- Key uses: comprehensible input, idioms, literacy
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Singapore/Taiwan
Gamistory
In June 2022, the creatives from Vitamin M launched Gamistory which is an online portal where storytelling meets gamification to learn Chinese. The team delivers a new video (3 – 5 minutes) to watch each week, combined with interactive ‘choose your own’ adventure-type stories, and modules to complete. This app complements their highly popular ‘Vitamin Hour’ live classes, although it can also be bought with just the web portal content only. The content covers current affairs and popular culture around South East Asia, including sports, music, foods, attractions, and issues (such as famine, flooding, discrimination, etc), along with mysteries to solve. Free trial content of 1 module is available.
- Best ages: 9 – 11
- Targeted Chinese level: intermediate fluency
- Key uses: reading, oral
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Singapore
VocabKing by Kids Start Now
Touted as Singapore’s first AI Chinese learning platform, VocabKing aims to help a child to revise their Chinese school work through gameplay. The main focus is reading Chinese passages and characters, and by answering questions kids can capture fire, water, and pets for a Pokemon-esque type battle. It’s based from the Singapore MOE syllabus, and parents can add own word to the child’s wordlist. In that sense, it’s a little bit like Skritter, but gamified. They have a 7 day free trial.
- Best ages: 4 – 12
- Targeted Chinese level: Singapore MOE syllabus
- Key uses: vocabulary and character recognition
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Singapore
Wukong Literacy (悟空识字)
Wukong Literacy app has come leaps in bounds in 2022 and I’ve heard some parents say they prefer this to iHuman, which has long been the most highly regarded literacy app from mainland China. All the download and signup info is in Chinese… if you make it through that, you’ll love the content. I reviewed it a few years back, but it’s now had a huge facelift. The app makes use of the tabelt camera and microphone features in only ways which China would come up with, to create a lot of interactive learning games, including reading, writing and oral. They have a 7 day free trial.
- Best ages: 8 – 12
- Targeted Chinese level: intermediate fluency
- Key uses: character recognition, literacy, sentence structure
- Languages: Simplified Chinese
- Originates from: Mainland China
What other technology and apps are great for children learning Chinese?
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on great apps, I’d love to hear from you. I am always keen to hear what works for other families. As an adult who speaks no Chinese, I’ve resorted to several smart technologies to enable my kids to become bilingual. Perhaps some of my earlier posts might also be of interest:
- Top apps, books and gadgets for raising bilingual Chinese-English children
- Youdao dictionary pen (has the ability to read and translate anything in Chinese)
- Luka Reading Robot (reads physical picture books to your child in Chinese)
- Online Chinese lessons comparison: learn from the best teachers and platforms that China has to offer!