Rosetta Stone has rolled out a game-focused mobile application specifically geared towards early childhood language and literacy to help children gain basic literacy skills and a foreign language.

Rosetta Stone Kids Lingo Letter Sounds is available for free for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This is the company?s first entry into younger children?s education.

?Rosetta Stone Kids Lingo Letter Sounds is another example of how Rosetta Stone is expanding both deeper into language and beyond it,? said Anne-Marie Walworth, global public relations specialist at Rosetta Stone, Arlington, VA. ?The app combines an introduction to Spanish language learning with a basic English reading curriculum for the first time for kids ages 3-6.

?Our goal is to address the language and literacy needs of people of every age and in every stage of their lives, so providing a fun and effective app for kids is a natural next step for Rosetta Stone's expanding product portfolio,? she said. ?And there's plenty more to come for kids and adults alike.?

Learning languages
The new children?s app leverages speech recognition technology to teach English reading skills and introduce kids to Spanish.

According to Ms. Walworth, this blended learning approach provides early exposure to foreign language sounds while at the same time strengthening reading skills in English.

Rosetta Stone already offered technology for adults and students from kindergarten through 12^th grade, but this is the company?s first time catering towards younger children.

The company used components from its traditional language programs to build the app, and it adapted its speech recognition technology to respond to kids. The app also uses Rosetta Stone?s immersion methodology.

Rosetta Stone Kids Lingo Letter Sounds provides two hours of game play, with activities that develop English phonetic awareness, pronunciation of letter sounds and an understanding of common Spanish phrases. The games center around a magical world of cartoon characters and fantasy landscapes.

Additionally, the app includes a Parent Corner so that parents can monitor their child?s progress.

Rosetta Stone decided to first release the app for Apple devices, but the company plans to move to other platforms down the line.

Mobile Rosetta
The launch of this new app follows Rosetta Stone?s July acquisition of Lexia Learning Inc., a children?s reading technology company.

This move into mobile seems to take advantage of the acquisition and help the company dive deeper into children?s education.

Rosetta Stone has also leveraged mobile for marketing its products.

For example, the company placed QR codes in print ads to direct readers to sign up for the company?s language services (see story).

?Increasingly, education is happening on the go,? Ms. Walworth said. ?In classrooms and beyond, the mobile device is becoming central to the process of learning.

?As a learning company, mobile is a critically important part of our product portfolio. We want to engage learners in a convenient and easily accessible way - and we want them to have fun while doing so.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York