The Storyworld learn Chinese app is exactly what I’ve been searching for. While preparing vacation without the kids, I started looking for Chinese reading apps they could use without me. There are many apps and podcasts for audio stories but not many options for reading. I tested several reading apps. Some wouldn’t even open for me to test! The rest were unremarkable. Then I stumbled upon the Storyworld app. I absolutely love it! The app features an interactive bilingual story, “Cooking With Dad”.
Why I Love This App
As a parent learning Chinese along with my children, it’s difficult to read Chinese books with limited literacy. I use the Google Translate Camera app to read books without pinyin. Many times the app can’t recognize the text or I have to re-scan over and over again. Using the app takes time and my kids lose interest during the several minutes it takes me to translate text. Storyworld books feature touch translations so you can click on a character to hear the audio translation in Mandarin and English. At the end of the book there’s also an interactive quiz.
I love the app so much I sent Storyworld a message inquiring about more stories. I immediately got an email response from Cynthia, the CEO of Storyworld! She mentioned that their new app will launch late spring of 2019. However they do have over 50 interactive bilingual stories currently available on their web app. The web version has all the same features of the mobile app. The stories are written in simplified Chinese characters but with more interest in Storyworld they would be able to present all the stories in Traditional Chinese as well. Cynthia is a fellow mom, and educator, who raised her son in China. She created Storyworld to help parents support their child’s language learning since they can read it in either language. It’s clear that Cynthia really cares about her product and values her customers.
Features
- Covers over 1200 common words and phrases
- Touch Audio – click any word to hear the word in Mandarin or English
- Word by word narration in Mandarin
- Various Types of Stories – myths & legends, non-fiction or core vocabulary stories
- Stories available for different reading levels
- Interactive Bilingual games
- Vocabulary review
Screenshots
Cost
Storyworld is currently available as a web app with their mobile app launching in May 2019. The subscription is $4.95/month for full access to over 50 stories in Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Get your free bilingual story or subscribe at storyworld.us
Free iOS App
You can still download their now defunct iOS app on your iphone or ipad. It’s a great way to test out the features that will be available with the new version of the app launching later this spring. Please note that the audio for 勺子 actually says “勺子來”. The web application does not have this issue.