As turtles can navigate land and water, Touring Turtle combines physical flashcards with digital technology, creating a multisensory learning experience that strengthens learning through sight, touch, and sound. For a limited time, get 20% off the Touring Turtle Bundle which includes 300 AI-powered Chinese flashcards by using Promo Code: MAMATURTLE2024
Touring Turtle is a fantastic addition to your Chinese learning toolkit. While it’s not a stand-alone solution (none exists!), it provides a refreshing alternative to traditional writing practice, which many kids find tedious. Flashcards are a necessary learning tool, and Touring Turtle has made this age-old resource high-tech by providing audio pronunciation essential for non-Chinese speaking households. Perhaps the biggest pro is that Touring Turtle can spark interest in learning Chinese for Children who have begun to resist language learning, which is common in monolingual environments such as the United States.
How to Play Touring Turtle
So, why am I so excited about these cards? To begin with, my kids think they’re pure magic! When a flashcard is placed on an iPad, the app can “see” the character. The app provides instant feedback with Chinese audio and hints. This is especially helpful for parents who do not read Chinese. There are matching games, memory games, and puzzles to solve.
Radical and Component Matching Game
The game displays a radical or component on the screen, and your child must find the matching flashcard to complete the Chinese character. When the app detects a card, the screen vibrates. If the card is correct, the game lights up and plays a sound indicating success. When the correct card is selected, your child hears the pronunciation of the character and sees it used in a phrase, providing context to help understand its meaning.
Chinese Character Writing Practice
Writing practice is a great way for your child to get better at recognizing characters. By focusing on the structure and components, they learn to spot and tell apart similar-looking characters more easily. Writing characters helps them learn stroke order and how different radicals and components of the characters fit together.
The app simplifies writing practice for beginners and young learners with helpful hints and character guides to follow. My daughter, for example, loves using the Apple Pencil, which makes writing practice a lot more fun for her. Younger kids can also trace characters with their fingers, making it an enjoyable learning experience.
Why It Works: Proven Learning Strategies
Repetition
Touring Turtle offers repeated exposure to Chinese characters, which is key to helping kids remember and recognize them. The app keeps learners engaged by continually challenging them to identify and match different radicals and components, making it easier to recognize them over time.
Multisensory Learning
Multisensory learning activates different parts of your child’s brain to improve comprehension and language retention. Touring Turtle engages different senses—visual illustrations and Chinese characters, sounds and clear pronunciation, tactile flashcards, and app feedback through vibrations.
Gamification
Gamification boosts active participation and motivation to learn. This approach has been proven to increase language retention. Touring Turtle integrates educational content into games to make learning feel like play!
App Languages: Learn Mandarin and Cantonese!
The app teaches Mandarin and Cantonese vocabulary. Since Touring Turtle is designed for Chinese learners, English audio is available for beginners. Furthermore, all Touring Turtle flashcards come with a bilingual user manual. The material follows the Hong Kong Education Bureau’s Chinese teaching curriculum, ensuring it meets official standards. In addition to pronunciation and writing exercises, the Touring Turtle app includes interactive games to teach 360 Chinese characters.
Flashcard Writing System
Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Flashcard: Available now
Taiwan Traditional Chinese Flashcards: Available in September. Preorder now for 20% off with promo code MAMATURTLE2024
Simplified Chinese Flashcards: Available in August. Preorder now for 20% off with promo code MAMATURTLE2024
Touring Turtle Features
Touchscreen Interaction
When you place a flashcard on an iPad, the app shows the learning content related to the character.
Visual, Audio, and Tactile Feedback
The app combines multiple senses—visual elements coupled with sounds and haptic touch. Characters appear on the screen with pronunciation in Cantonese and Mandarin, used in sentences and interactive games. As a result, children learn characters in context and remember them better. Equally important to mention, is the music can be turned off for children with sound sensitivities.
AI Integration
The app uses AI to detect if the learner uses the wrong stroke order. In effect, it provides hints to teach the correct order of character strokes.
Engaging Content
Touring Turtle teaches words that your child would use in daily life, including those related to the park, beach, road trips, school, home, and dim sum. Interactive games, trophies, and hidden items keep kids motivated. Children choose a mascot and can earn points to dress them up as they progress. Overall, my daughter seems to enjoy these types of reward systems.
Flashcard Quality
The Touring Turtle Bundle includes sets 1 & 2, featuring 300 flashcards made from sturdy materials. Additionally, they are printed with eco-friendly, soy-based inks and are certified safe for children. Notably, I did notice a strong ink smell; therefore, I put them outside to air out. Moreover, the cards have a uniquely textured surface, allowing them to double as tactile character cards. As a result, children can trace each character with their fingers to develop pre-writing skills and letter recognition. Because the cards are thick and rigid, they will withstand a bit of rough handling.
Product Specifications
Turtle Learn, developed by Kazoo Technology in Hong Kong, offers educational products to enhance early learning through multisensory stimulation. Their products are created in collaboration with the Education University of Hong Kong and adhere to the Chinese teaching curriculum of the Hong Kong Education Bureau.
Age: 6-8, up to age 12 for learners in a non-Chinese speaking country
Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English
Writing System: Hong Kong Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese (estimated availability August). Taiwan Traditional Chinese (estimated availability September)
Supported Devices: 2018 or newer iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro without a screen protector
Operating System: IOS only (Android is not supported)
How to Order
Touring Turtle flashcards can be ordered online at the official website turtlelearn.com. Global shipping is available from their headquarters in Hong Kong.
Touring Turtle APP Price
The app is FREE, no subscription required
Flashcards Price*
Touring Turtle Bundle (Box 1 & 2): $167 USD
Touring Turtle Box 1: $84 USD
Touring Turtle Box 2: $84 USD
*These prices reflect the 20% discount
Get 20% off the Touring Turtle Flashcards
Use promo code: MAMATURTLE2024 for 20% off. Valid for purchases at turtlelearn.com.
The Promo code expires August 9, 2024.
