by Leanne Li
Basic Information
“Sinhala Kids – Kids Education” is a Sri Lankan children’s app designed to help children learning English as a second language, by introducing them to a wide range of words in both English and Sinhala on picture cards, with audio clips for English pronunciations. The app contains 23 sections; 18 are of different categories of words like Shapes, Colors, Fruits, etc. The remaining 5 sections offer educational games to help kids improve skills in math and spelling.
“Sinhala Kids” is available on the Google Play Store for devices of Android 4.0 and above, and caters to kids from Grades 1 to 5.
The Positives
“Sinhala Kids” is a fairly simple app and requires little time to figure it out. One only needs to tap on a category and then begin going through each flashcard. Arrow buttons make it convenient to move through the cards and the layout of each card is fairly simple and easy to understand for kids and parents alike.
The importance of using visual aids for learning a language is well-known. As such "Sinhala Kids" relies heavily on visuals which are placed prominently in each flashcard. In this way it is an ideal tool to help kids learn new words by associating them with these images.
Providing each word in both Sinhala and English can also be great for bilingual learning. By using Sinhala words in addition to the visuals the app further guide kids in understanding and remembering words in English and may help make the transition from Sinhala to English easier.
While the app does cater to children from grades 1 to 5, "Sinhala kids" can be useful for preschoolers as well. While there may be some words that are rather advanced for younger kids, parents can be selective and use the app to teach pre-school kids simpler words that are available. The app can also be useful for parents who wish to introduce their children to both languages early on.
However while the app is great for bilingual learning, parents must not expect their kids to learn these words in both languages equally and seamlessly. Such standards are often unrealistic and cannot entirely be achieved even with apps like “Sinhala Kids”, or any app for that matter.
The additional educational games on the app can also be useful to develop other skills, like spelling and math. However this is more advantageous for kids already in school rather than for preschoolers.
The Not-So-Positives
Certain words available on the app are not frequently used. For example, the app includes the word “Auto Rickshaw” instead of the more commonly used “Trishaw” or “Three-wheeler”. So parents may need to pay close attention to some of the words when using the app.
There are also certain elements in “Sinhala Kids” that make it rather crude. Some sections in the app, like the one for learning parts of the body, could have included better, creative visuals to help kids remember them more easily.
Several shortcomings can also be found with the app’s use of audio and sounds. It is clear that the audio clips provided on each flashcard are produced through a monotonous computer-generated voice, with American pronunciation by and large. This is particularly unsuitable for learning English in the Sri Lankan context and a more personalized voice would be better suited to help kids learn and remember pronunciation. Similarly the sound effects in the educational games are sudden and loud which some parents and kids may not find enjoyable.
Additionally creative animations, videos and more vibrancy overall are significant features that are missing.
"Sinhala Kids" also contains external advertising. While such ads are not vulgar or explicit, and appear only when the app’s educational games are being used, they can be intrusive and disrupt the flow of learning with the app. Parental guidance will be required to make sure that children do not click on or unknowingly buy products that are being promoted in these ads.
Overall…
“Sinhala Kids” is a good enough app with basic features to help children to learn English words and other educational skills. It can also be used when introducing your child to English as a second language. If you aren’t tech savvy and are looking for an app you can use to teach your kids new words, “Sinhala Kids” may work for you.
However this simplicity comes at the cost of creative content, technical, clunky words and foreign pronunciations. So if you are looking for an app that offers creative, engaging and relatable content, then you might want to look elsewhere.