The latest news from gray tortuga

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Digital content for children ages 2 to 7 in Mandarin and Spanish

Apr 24, 2019
Much is discussed about the impact of screen time on young children. Experts now agree that less is better and media should not be introduced before the age of 2. The site common sense media is a helpful resource for parents. For parents introducing multiple languages, digital entertainment can fuel your child’s interest and motivation in learning and practicing a second or third language. While digital entertainment alone won’t help your child with language acquisition, there are more opportunities today for viewing and learning from international shows. In recent years, there has been an explosion of content available so it is even more critical to assess content quality and digital safety, especially on open platforms like YouTube.

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Plans for 2019

Feb 06, 2019

Happy New Year to our partners and customers celebrating Lunar New Year! 恭喜发财。

2018 was a memorable year for gray tortuga. We launched our e-commerce site with over 60 high quality products for learning Spanish and Mandarin Chinese to US-based customers. Over 90% of our customers came from California but by the end of the year, we successfully branched out to other states in the East Coast and the Midwest. 60% of our customers purchased products in Spanish while 40% in Mandarin Chinese. Our language resources pages received thousands of views and customers asked great questions by email and on our Instagram feed @graytotuga. We were proud to establish a non-profit partnership with Global Language Project to promote efforts to provide underprivileged children access to global language learning.

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Interview with Oliver Chin beloved children’s author

Nov 28, 2018
Oliver Chin knows children. He has children, and he might be a bit of a big kid himself. Chin is also children’s author and founder of Immedium Books, a San Francisco based publishing company, dedicated to inspiring a world of imagination. Oliver has spent his career finding authors and illustrators that can really engage children. In the process, he has become a beloved member of the San Francisco Bay Area community, working with parents and educators to publish relevant books for children. We sat down with Chin to understand how exactly Immedium Books inspires a world of imagination. “Children want to be a part of the experience – from the story to the illustration – they want to see themselves in the adventure” Chin explained.  

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What can I do to support my children’s language interests if I don’t speak the language?

Oct 19, 2018

My family embarked on our Mandarin language adventure nearly a decade ago, and with every year, there are new curiosities and connections to the language and culture. We are fortunate to have a Mandarin immersion school as our partner and reside in a city with the oldest and largest Chinatown in the US but the question still lingers: What can I (as a non-Mandarin speaker) do to support my children’s interests and growth as a Mandarin speaker and global citizen? I am not alone in this quest of understanding the parent’s role (when you don’t speak the language yourself!) in supporting language learning so I humbly invite you to the dialogue by sharing some tips…parent to parent.

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A parent journey: From “English only” to creating Mandarin Chinese language products for families

Sep 21, 2018
Ryan went on to become fluent in Mandarin and create products for his family to continue their love of Mandarin Chinese learning. For example, he and his team created MandarinMagnetsTM. “There were magnetic words in other languages but not one in Mandarin Chinese with simplified characters so we designed our own working with college level language professors and experts.” Today, MandarinMagnetsTM is used at homes and in classrooms. Although they are available on Amazon, a partnership with gray tortuga has allowed them to be offered at a discount to families.

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