Language Perfect - vocabulary site

I went to a presentation today by Scott Cardwell, marketing manager of  "Language Perfect" an online language learning site developed here in Dunedin just 6 years ago.  What I saw showed great promise. I left the presentation motivated, excited about the possibilities for improving learning, wanting to know more, and more than that wanting to incorporate this programme into our courses.


The programme run by Language Perfect:-

•  Makes learning fun/exciting
• Promotes competition between friends and  colleagues and educational facilities nationally and internationally
• Offers tangible rewards
• Improves student vocabulary, spelling pronunciation reading writing listening speaking and typing skills
• Has a mobile phone app/
• Offers a world ranking for the number of correctly answered vocabulary questions
• Is customisable (add your own relevant word lists)
• Has a well set out web site
• Picks up on errors and repeats these wordas in later exercises.
• Accessable 24/7.
• Can be used anywhere anytime.
• Has grown exponentially in the 6 years it has been running
• Has achieved international recognition.
• Can be trialed for free.

Here is their storyThe Story
Language Perfect has raised the grades of an entire country. The Language Olympics / LP World Championships has boosted the profile of language learning and motivated students across an entire continent.
Now it's going global.
It all started 6 years ago when 15 year old New Zealand high school student Craig Smith was struggling to prepare for his French and Japanese exams. He created Language Perfect as a fun resource that could test him on key vocabulary, enable him to hear the words pronounced by a native speaker and focus on the words he was struggling with the most.
Teaming up with his brother Shane they turned learning vocabulary into a huge online competition.
They partnered with The New Zealand Association of Language Teachers to host the very first NZALT Vocabulary Olympics in 2008, linking in with the Beijing Olympic Games. Over 8000 students competed by answering 4 million questions in the 3 week competition.
They found what motivated students: a challenge. By adding prizes, certificates and important guest speakers at the awards ceremony to the mix, they successfully raised the profile of foreign languages in schools and the wider community.
Schools were amazed to see how motivated and enthusiastic their students were with this new way of learning, and almost 100% of participating schools registered their students on Language Perfect for the rest of the year.
In August 2010 80,000 students from around Australia and New Zealand answered 25 million questions in the NZALT Language Olympics 2010. Now 7 out of 10 senior high school language students in New Zealand purchase Language Perfect each year, and the most recent national examination report commented on significantly improved vocabulary across all students in New Zealand.
Later in 2010 30,000 students competed in the European Language Olympics, with entries from America and China as well!
In 2011 the competition was renamed "Language Perfect World Championships" included both the northern and southern hemisphere. Over 7 days students answered more than 36 million questions!
Now for the very first time Language Perfect is available to schools from around the world. The World Championships are the perfect opportunity to use Language Perfect with your students and see for yourself just how powerful the resource is. Your students can compete and learn at home, and in computer labs at school. You can customise the content they are studying, and follow their progress online.
Your students have full access to more than 10 languages. During the competition they can earn certificates and win awesome prizes. It's brilliant promotion for languages in your school and is a fantastic way to engage students and get them excited about language learning.
We set out to create a event that inspired and challenged students around New Zealand. We never expected it to change the grades of the entire country, and it's been a privilege to spend countless hours refining the concept with teachers from around the world.
Thank you to everyone for supporting the project. Show your support by joining the Language Perfect Facebook page (link on the left) and posting your comments, we would love to hear from you!
Let's change the world together.
Yours sincerely,
Craig Smith
Founder
Language Perfect and the Language Perfect World Championships