Award-winning language learning platform, Drops, today announces its entry into the children’s education market with the launch of ‘Droplets’, an app designed specifically to teach kids aged 8-17 to learn foreign languages.
Through beautifully designed word games, swipe-based interaction and quirky illustrations, Droplets is an accessible, effective and COPPA compliant approach to language learning that is both parent-approved and kid-friendly. Droplets’ short 5-minute sessions are ideal for kids and teens with shorter attention spans and also for parents concerned with screen time limits.
Doubling down on this market, Estonian startup Drops also announces its official partnership with non-profit study abroad and intercultural exchange programme, Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). CIEE Global Navigator High School Study Abroad programmes take students to over 50 global destinations for three to four weeks every summer. These immersion programmes prepare US high school students to navigate across languages, engage with cultures, and address global or local issues in today’s interconnected world. Through its partnership with CIEE, Drops will provide approximately 2,500 high school CIEE students a 3-month premium subscription to Droplets ahead of their study abroad programmes to further their language learning goals as they undertake their study abroad experience.
Tallinn-based Drops was founded in 2015 by Hungarian language and learning enthusiasts, Daniel Farkas and Mark Szulyovszky. The team aims to teach the essentials of language – vocabulary – by combining engaging word puzzles with visual association. With 37 languages and 18 million users and counting, Drops is one of the fastest-growing language platforms in the world. In 2018, Google named Drops the best app of the year, and in 2019 Fast Company named Drops as one of the top 10 most innovative education companies in the world.
“Our partnership with Drops affirms our mutual commitment to broadening international access and opening doors to new cultures. We’re excited to partner with Drops to provide our students with a fun, engaging, and effective way to enhance their vocabulary prior to and during their study abroad programmes. We believe this will complement the communicative and task-based approach of CIEE language learning programs, providing students with a jump start to engage more completely in their chosen immersion destination,” said Matt Redman, Vice President, CIEE.
Learning a second language is an invaluable skill that increases empathy and understanding, promotes cultural connection while also reaffirming memory, attention, and focus. In 2017, 99.7% and 62.1% of 3 students aged at least 15 and older in France and Germany, respectively, were learning two or more foreign languages.
“Providing a fun and accessible way to learn language has always been at the root of our mission at Drops. We’ve taken our vocabulary-focused approach and our proven pedagogical framework to create Droplets to specifically cater to kids and teens to help them to begin, and stick to, their language learning journeys. We believe the trademark Drops approach combined with CIEE’s communicative and task-based approach to language learning is the perfect synergy to enrich the students’ study abroad experiences,” said Daniel Farkas, CEO, Drops.
Droplets will be available for free download on iOS and Android, with the premium subscription providing unlimited access to the Drops suite of apps.
