Eurotalk

Last updated

EuroTalk is an educational publisher based in London, known primarily for its interactive language learning software. The company was established in 1991 by the company directors, Richard Howeson and Andrew Ashe. In 2016, EuroTalk rebranded as uTalk, and launched a new multi-platform app, also called uTalk. [1]

Contents

Language learning

uTalk's language software was originally available on CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and later as a USB and download. The company's range includes over 140 languages or dialects, including lesser-known languages such as Kinyarwanda, Chibemba, Greenlandic, Oromo and Cockney. [2]

The company's products are sold worldwide through their website and distributors; 70% of their revenue comes from outside the UK. Their content is also sold under the Instant Immersion brand in the US.

uTalk has won The Queen's Award for Innovation. [3]

Junior Language Challenge

uTalk hosts an annual competition for children under 11 across Britain called the Junior Language Challenge. The goal of the competition is to encourage children to start learning languages at a young age. It also raises money for the company's sister charity, onebillion, funding educational resources in Malawi.

In 2019, uTalk won the Threlford Cup [4] for their work on the uTalk Junior Language Challenge.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The ClueFinders</i> Childrens educational software series

ClueFinders is an educational software series aimed at children aged between 8 and 12, that features a group of mystery-solving teenagers. The series was created by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older, elementary-aged students. The series has received praise for its balance of education and entertainment, resulting in numerous awards.

BrainPop is a group of children's educational websites based in New York City. It hosts over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K–12, together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, arts and music. On October 11, 2022, Kirkbi A/S, the private investment and holding company that owns a controlling stake in Lego, acquired BrainPop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosetta Stone (software)</span> Proprietary software for learning foreign languages and writing systems

Rosetta Stone Language Learning is proprietary, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) software published by Rosetta Stone Inc, part of the IXL Learning family of products. The software uses images, text, and sound to teach words and grammar by spaced repetition, without translation. Rosetta Stone calls its approach Dynamic Immersion.

<i>Living Books</i> Interactive storybook series

Living Books is a series of interactive read-along adventures aimed at children aged 3–9. Created by Mark Schlichting, the series was mostly developed by Living Books for CD-ROM and published by Broderbund for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Two decades after the original release, the series was re-released by Wanderful Interactive Storybook for iOS and Android.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quicksilver Software</span> American software developer

Quicksilver Software, Inc. was founded on May 1, 1984, by three former Mattel Electronics programmers: Bill Fisher, Stephen Roney, and Mike Breen. The company specializes in the creation of strategy, simulation, and educational products, and on focused high-technology R&D projects.

The ELTons are international awards given annually by the British Council that recognise and celebrate innovation in the field of English language teaching. They reward educational resources that help English language learners and teachers to achieve their goals using innovative content, methods or media. The ELTons date from 2003 and the 2018 sponsors of the awards are Cambridge English Language Assessment and IELTS. Applications are submitted by the end of November each year and they are judged by an independent panel of ELT experts, using the Delphi Technique. The shortlist is published in March and the winners announced at a ceremony in London in June. The 2018 awards were held in a new venue, Savoy Place, Institute of Engineering and Technology, London, UK.

<i>Reader Rabbit</i> Video game series

Reader Rabbit is an educational game franchise created in 1983 by The Learning Company. The series is aimed at children from infancy to the age of nine. In 1998, a spiritual successor series called The ClueFinders was released for older students aged seven to twelve.

SoftKey International was a software company founded by Kevin O'Leary in 1986 in Toronto, Ontario. It was known as The Learning Company from 1995 to 1999 after acquiring The Learning Company and taking its name.

Edmark Corporation was a publisher of educational print materials and an educational software developer in Redmond, Washington. They developed software for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS in several languages and sold it in over a dozen countries.

An interactive storybook is a children's story packaged with animated graphics, sound or other interactive elements. Such stories are usually published as software on CD-ROMs. They have also been referred to as computer books, picture book programs, books-on-disk, talking books, or living books.

<i>Carmen Sandiego</i> Media franchise

Carmen Sandiego is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? video game was classified as a "mystery exploration" series by creators and the media, the series would later be deemed edutainment when the games became unexpectedly popular in classrooms. The franchise centers around the fictional thieving villain of the same name, who is the ringleader of the criminal organization, V.I.L.E.; the protagonists are agents of the ACME Detective Agency who try to thwart the crooks' plans to steal treasures from around the world, while the later ultimate goal is to capture Carmen Sandiego herself.

<i>Logical Journey of the Zoombinis</i> 1996 video game

Logical Journey of the Zoombinis is an educational puzzle video game developed and published by Broderbund for the original and The Learning Company for the remake. It is the first game in the Zoombinis video game series.

Babbel GmbH, operating as Babbel, is a German subscription-based language learning software and e-learning platform, available in various languages since January 2008.

<i>The Treehouse</i> (video game) 1991 video game

The Treehouse is an educational point-and-click personal computer game developed for DOS and then ported to Macintosh and the FM Towns, with Windows versions arriving later. Following the success of The Playroom, Broderbund created The Treehouse, which provides more content and furthers the user's ability to explore. First released in 1991, most copies were sold in educational supply stores rather than mainstream stores that sold computer software; it included a sing-along cassette tape. It was re-released in 1996 for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Although the Windows version has the same general activities, the characters, interface, and locations are different.

Mark Schlichting is a publisher, author, and digital pioneer of children's multimedia and interactive design software. He is best known as the creator and subsequent Design and Art Director of Broderbund's Living Books series, one of the first lines of children's interactive book software on CD-ROM. Schlichting was Design and Art Director for Living Book's first interactive CD-ROM book adaptation, Mercer Mayer’s Just Grandma and Me, which was one of the first software titles accredited as a school textbook and used as a product demonstration by Apple CEO John Sculley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savivo</span>

Savivo is a Danish e-learning company based in Copenhagen. The company was founded in 2006, and is known for their educational games, which has millions of users around the world.

<i>Carmen Sandiegos Great Chase Through Time</i> 1997 edutainment point-and-click adventure video game

Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time is a 1997 edutainment point-and-click adventure game developed by Broderbund for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh devices. The game is a remake of the 1989 time-travel title Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?, making it the second Time video game in the Carmen Sandiego franchise. The game was strongly influenced by the short-lived PBS game show, Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?. The game was previewed at the 1997 Toy Fair in New York City. A demo version was included on the CD for Carmen Sandiego Word Detective and was available on the Carmen Sandiego website. After Broderbund was sold to The Learning Company, the game was re-released with the new title—Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time—but minimal redesign.

<i>Early Learning House</i> Video game series

Early Learning House is a collection of four main educational video games and two compilations for the Windows and Macintosh platforms, developed by Theatrix Interactive, Inc. and published by Edmark software. Each different game focuses on a particular major learning category with selectable skill settings for preschooler, kindergarten and elementary learners. Millie's Math House (1992) on mathematics, Bailey's Book House (1993) on language, Sammy's Science House (1994) on science, and Trudy's Time and Place House (1995) on history and geography. A spin-off, Stanley's Sticker Stories (1996), sees players create animated storybooks with the series' characters. Millie & Bailey Preschool and Millie & Bailey Kindergarten each contain the combined activities from two of the four software products. In addition the programs can be configured by an adult mode to suit students with special needs. Most of the activities in every game have two modes, one to allow learners to explore and try it out for themselves and the other for learners to follow specific tasks set by the game characters. Learners also have the option to print pictures of creative activities and record sounds in phonics activities. Later the games were re-developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology and re-published by The Learning Company with newer graphics and additional activities.

Madeline is a series of educational point-and-click adventure video games which were developed during the mid-1990s for Windows and Mac systems. The games are an extension of the Madeline series of children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans, which describe the adventures of a young French girl. The video-game series was produced concurrently with a TV series of the same name, with characters and voice actors from the show.

<i>Rugrats Adventure Game</i> 1998 educational adventure video game

Rugrats Adventure Game is an educational adventure point and click video game based on the Rugrats television series released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 30, 1998. It was developed and published by Broderbund. The game follows Tommy Pickles and friends Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as they try to rescue Tommy's beloved toy Reptar from being thrown out as garbage. The game incorporates point and click gameplay, with characters and objects appearing in different locations even after the player has visited them once. Angelica, the series' main antagonist, appears in the game to help further the story and ultimately become the game's main villain. It was the first in a series of video games based on the show.

References

  1. "uTalk: Learn any Language".
  2. "Evening Standard, 21 July 2016: uTalk app will teach you Cockney rhyming slang, one phrase at a time".
  3. "Interview of EuroTalk's Chairman by the BBC".
  4. "CIOL Awards | CIOL (Chartered Institute of Linguists)". www.ciol.org.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2020.