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98% 97% of the World's Languages Lack a Literacy Games App. Now What?

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  • 100+ literacy games
  • 184 languages
  • 44 African languages
  • For Android devices
  • Fully functional offline
  • Open-source platform

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Vision:

We long to see people flourishing in community using the languages they value most.

1,341 communities

98 countries

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SIL Global EdTech Software

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SIL Global EdTech

Breakaway room 1

2:30 pm today

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370 million children are not being taught in the language they best speak and understand.

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Home

Language

(L1)

0 1 2 3 4 5

years

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National/Regional

Language

(emerging L2)

Classroom Language of Instruction

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

grade

Dominant Model

  • Minimal comprehension of content
  • Literacy skills in L2 unconnected to child’s knowledge of their L1
  • Negative stigma attached to the L1
  • Higher dropout rates

Home

Language

(L1)

0 1 2 3 4 5

years

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Classroom Language of Instruction

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

grade

Home

Language

(L1)

National/Regional

Language

(emerging L2)

L1-Based Multilingual Education

  • High comprehension of content
  • Literacy foundation built on existing skills in the L1
  • Affirmation of the L1’s dignity
  • Lower dropout rates

National/Regional

Language

(emerging L2)

Classroom Language of Instruction

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

grade

Dominant Model

  • Minimal comprehension of content
  • Literacy skills in L2 unconnected to child’s knowledge of their L1
  • Negative stigma attached to the L1
  • Higher dropout rates

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Scaling literacy game apps for Android

Organizations

Apps

1-

10

11-

50

51-

100

101-

200

201-

500

501-

7139

7 Other Organizations

91

8

13

13

14

3

0

Language tier ranked by number of speakers

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Scaling literacy game apps for Android

Organizations

Apps

1-

10

11-

50

51-

100

101-

200

201-

500

501-

7139

7 Other Organizations

91

8

13

13

14

3

0

Alpha Tiles

166

3

3

4

10

21

125

Language tier ranked by number of speakers

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Scaling literacy game apps for Android

Organizations

Apps

1-

10

11-

50

51-

100

101-

200

201-

500

501-

7139

7 Other Organizations

91

8

13

13

14

3

0

Alpha Tiles

166

3

3

4

10

21

125

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Million Speakers

​

​

​

​

661

513

332

Language tier ranked by number of speakers

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Localizing Alpha Tiles into New Languages

  • Half created in virtual collaboration with SIL in Google Drive

​

  • Half created in one-week workshops

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Creating an Alpha Tiles App

  • Create a wordlist
  • For each word, record it and choose an image for it
  • Fill out each Google Sheets tab in the project folder
  • SIL Global will then validate your data and build your app

​

15

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Kenya

Mexico

Mexico

Colombia

Thailand

​

​

​

Cameroon

India

Indonesia

UAE

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Miꞌphaa Speaking Proficiency

ANECDOTALLY

5-10%

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Miꞌphaa Speaking Proficiency

ANECDOTALLY

SURVEY, ASSESSMENT & OBSERVATION

5-10%

>25%

L1

65-80%

L1 or L2

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Five Linguistic Profiles

Miꞌpha̱a̱ only

Miꞌpha̱a̱ dominant

Bilingual

Spanish dominant

Spanish only

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Localizing Alpha Tiles into New Languages

  • Half created in virtual collaboration with SIL in Google Drive

​

  • Half created in one-week workshops

alpha_tiles@sil.org

aaron_hemphill@sil.org

AlphaTilesApps.org

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