Thursday 07 July 2016

Available on Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon

Holidays present a challenge for parents: how to entertain children on long journeys or when weather is poor? Phones and tablets can often come to the rescue. They can provide parents with video solutions like YouTube and games apps, but risk expensive roaming charges and no reception in remote locations. Furthermore, parents may want make sure their children can keep learning and mentally active while being entertained.  

Aardman and the British Council have found a solution for parents with their latest app, 'Learning Time with Timmy 3'. Combining the British Council’s global expertise in teaching English with the award-winning studio’s much loved character Timmy, the app enables children to learn English in a fun and interactive way through three engaging games that introduce children to reading, help them practice vocabulary and allow them to boost memory and cognitive skills. It is the latest in a series that has delighted tens of thousands of children and their parents around the world.     

‘Learning Time with Timmy 3’ is perfect for summer holidays.  It is packed with party-themed vocabulary including food, musical instruments and fancy dress costumes. The app is also free of adverts and in-app purchases so parents can be sure they are not providing their kids with inappropriate content. Parents will be pleased to know that they can easily turn off the in-app music so that their children can be entertained quietly. 

‘Learning Time with Timmy 3’ is the most challenging app in the series building on vocabulary learned in the first two apps. It also features the first reading game in series, ‘Hatch Match’. In the game children match pairs of pictures with words which introduces them to reading simple vocabulary such as ‘tree’, ‘cat’ and ‘dog’. This gives children a strong literacy foundation to prepare them for school. There is also the option to choose between three levels of difficulty depending on how strong the child’s reading skills are. The game becomes more challenging as children progress allowing them to improve their memory skills by learning to match three, then four, then six pairs in a game.

The aptly-named ‘I-Spy’ keeps children occupied for hours as they are tasked with finding hidden objects on the beach such as a bucket, a spade or a fish. The game naturally boosts children’s concentration, and as they progress objects get harder to find which requires serious focus and increased dexterity.

In the third game ‘Rub-a-Dub’ children must listen to the narrator and swipe away sand, sweets and beach towels in to discover objects such as cake and pizza hidden beneath. This app has been designed to ensure children can develop their motor skills and hand-eye coordination when swiping and tapping objects.

Parents who might not be confident in their own English ability can rest assured that their children will learn how to pronounce words correctly independently as the narrator offers guidance and authentic pronunciation throughout the app.

To keep children interested and motivated, each game rewards children with stickers so they can get creative making their own vibrant sticker scenes and short video clips that can be viewed without an internet connection so children can laugh along with Timmy and his friends at any time. 

The British Council and Aardman will make Learning Time with Timmy 3 available from Thursday 7th July on the Apple App Store, Google Play and Amazon.

‘Learning Time with Timmy 3’ is the third app in the ‘Learning Time with Timmy’ English language learning app series developed by the British Council’s English teaching experts and Aardman, the creators of Timmy Time and Shaun the Sheep. 

To find out more go to to http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/learning-time-with-ti...

For more tips on how to continue supporting your child’s learning at home, join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LearningTimewithShaunTimmy.

Notes to Editor

About Aardman

Aardman, based in Bristol (UK) co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, is a world leader in animation. It produces feature films, series, advertising and digital entertainment for both the domestic and international market. Their multi-award winning productions are novel, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and full of charm that reflects the unique talent, energy and personal commitment of the very special people who make up the Aardman team. The studio’s work is often imitated and yet the company continues to lead the field producing a rare brand of visually stunning and amusing independent and commercial productions www.aardman.com  

 

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. 

We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes.

We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publicly-funded grant provides 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, such as English classes and taking UK examinations, and also through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.  

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.