uTalk will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at this year’s Bett Show, by unveiling an exciting range of new multi-platform products for schools and colleges.
uTalk, formerly EuroTalk, started in the early 90s with educational products designed to make language learning fun for all ages. Now it’s marking its silver anniversary with the announcement of new products for secondary schools and universities using its new multi-platform app.
Co-founder Dick Howeson explains, “We were one of the first companies to produce language learning software back in 1991, when CD-ROMs were the height of modern technology! Times have changed a lot since then, but we’re excited to have remained at the cutting edge with an app that brings together all the knowledge and passion for languages we’ve gained over the last quarter of a century.”
uTalk Campus for higher education allows students and staff to access the app and access all 150+ languages, using their university credentials. The Language Resource Centre at Newcastle University has been using the new product since late last year and already hundreds of students and staff have benefited from uTalk both in support of their studies and as an extra-curricular resource.
“I’m really impressed with the amount of speaking and listening that you learn. That is actually far more useful for me than learning how to write and read,” says masters student Lisana, who’s learning Turkish.
“I’d definitely recommend uTalk,” adds languages undergraduate David, who’s using uTalk to support his studies in Japanese. “The layout’s nice, the vocabulary’s helpful and there are lots of different ways to memorise them, which I had a good time with.”
uTalk is now in discussion with higher education partners globally. “One of the key features that sets uTalk apart from other apps is that it lets users choose their source language,” says Dick. “This is particularly handy for students from overseas, who might not want to learn from English.”
The app is also available for secondary schools through uTalk Classroom, a teacher pack that allows integration into whole class teaching via a whiteboard, or on a one-to-one basis. Brett Savidge, VP Sales and Marketing, says: “We want to make language learning a fun, social experience, so the games and activities within uTalk are great for whole class participation – but it’s also ideal for individual use with students who may need a bit more help.”
Both uTalk Campus and Classroom will be available to try out at the Bett Show 2017, where uTalk will also be launching this year’s Junior Language Challenge. The national competition gives primary school children an exciting insight into language learning, with a prize of a family holiday to Africa for the champion. Over 1,000 children took part in last year’s competition, raising more than £5,000 through entry fees for charity onebillion, which supports education in Africa.
Visit uTalk on stand E280A at Bett 2017, ExCeL London from 25th-28th January.