Launching on 7th April 2016, Learning Time with Timmy 2 is the second app in the Learning Time with Timmy series developed by the British Council and Aardman, the animation studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, and is designed to inspire children to learn English as a second language.
Since the first Learning Time with Timmy app launched in February 2015, it has been downloaded over 10,000 times, and played over 140,000 times all over the world. Indonesia, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia and France were all in the top ten best-performing countries.
Surprisingly a third (30%) of the total downloads came from the UK, suggesting that native English speakers also find it a useful way to learn English. The British Council and Aardman have struck a balance of developing an educational app that works just as well for children learning English as their first language, as it does for those learning it as a second language.
Learning Time with Timmy 2 invites children to join Timmy and his friends in the nursery for fun games that have been specially designed to introduce children to English. The animated characters encourage children to keep playing, helping to engage them and enhancing their concentration skills as well as engaging in cognitively demanding tasks like sorting and classifying; universal skills that are essential for the development of all two to six year olds.
Neil Ballantyne, Mobile Learning Manager at the British Council, says;
“We were delighted to see the app do so well in English-speaking countries as well as for children who are learning English as a second language. Our experience and expertise tells us that whether they are learning their mother tongue or a second language, very young children approach learning a language in the same way. Ultimately we’re reassured to see that parents find the app as relevant for English native-speaking children aged two to four as they do for non-native speakers who might start learning English as a second language a little later at aged four to six. Our second Learning Time with Timmy app is designed to enable children to listen and practise new words and we have consciously made it a more challenging app, in response to children and parents’ feedback and to extend the learning in the original app”.
The app features an expanded reward section, so after completing a stage in a game, children are awarded videos, stickers and sticker play areas. This gives them an incentive to keep returning to the app where they can learn more English words, unlock more rewards and have even more fun!
Parents can be confident their children are in safe hands as Learning Time with Timmy 2 does not feature any in-app purchases or advertisements. This makes it an ideal app for parents who are looking to provide their children with an exciting but safe activity that can inspire their children to learn English and develop their essential skills.
Lorna Probert, Head of Digital Production at Aardman says;
“We’re delighted to be continuing our partnership with the British Council using Timmy to bring the English language to life for young learners. Developing a second app in the series has allowed us to analyse how children played with the first app - what they loved and what aspects we could adapt and improve. This invaluable process has enabled us to create a new experience which is even more fun and rewarding for our young audience to further encourage their English language development.”
Learning Time with Timmy 2 will be available from 7th April 2016 in the Apple, Google Play and Amazon App stores worldwide for GBP 2.29. It is available for all devices.