A First: Cartoon To Teach Arabic Reading Through Phonics
Crowd funding site launches this week on Zoomaal; smartphone, tablet app presently being developed
Amman, Jordan, Dec. 13, 2015– Qaryat Huroofi (My Letter Village), an entertaining Arabic cartoon and app teaching children how to read and expand their vocabulary, launched its crowd-funding campaign on Zoomaal at the end of last month to raise awareness about the cartoon and attract funding for possible expansion across Arabic satellite stations.
Qaryat Huroofi is the first cartoon of its kind to target young Arabic native and second language readers in an engaging and memorable way. The crowd funders will have a chance to get involved in the creation of the cartoon and characters through various levels of contribution.
Natasha Quariab, mother and founder of Qaryat Huroofi, collaborates with a team based in Amman and London. The team is also working on smart phone and tablet applications that will be compatible with all operating systems. The apps will include educational games as well as episodes to further encourage children to become involved with Arabic letters.
“The global educational market is full of English language content but lacks quality Arabic learning resources. Our hope is to fill this gap with engaging episodes, making it a fun adventure for kids who are just starting to learn to read Arabic,” Ms Quariab says.
With each of the episodes, children will learn the phonics of the letters, how the words are formed and new vocabulary. The characters, representing different letters, go on adventures and make words to help them succeed in their quest; meanwhile, children begin recognizing sounds, letters, and words and matching them to the images they see.
Quariab adds: “As a child, I found it difficult to learn to read Arabic. It took many hours of work. I don’t remember this learning process fondly. Now my son is at a reading age and I wanted to come up with a method that makes reading enjoyable and simple. Our goal is to create 20 episodes in our first season to be broadcast on all major Arabic cartoon networks. It will also be launched on You Tube, for free on the Syraj network.”
To check out the campaign go to:
http://www.zoomaal.com/p/easyarabic
Editor’s notes:
Natasha Quariab founded Qaryat Huroofi as a response to a gap in Arabic educational content on the web and in the global market in general. A team in Amman and London are working on developing the cartoons. They have launched a crowd funding campaign on Zoomaal in the hopes of receiving more funding to expand the episodes and finalize the apps.
For more information, contact Natasha Quariab: Natasha.quariab@gmail.com