Submitted Abstract
The “LALA pre-literacy program” is a scientifically validated paper and pencil based educational program that teaches children the key skills for reading and writing. The “LALA early reading app” aims to bring that knowledge and value to the digital world in a child friendly manner. It will be the first early reading app of its kind for the Portuguese speaking market. The “Lala early reading app” is an educational mobile software application for Portuguese-speaking children aged 3-6 that enhances children’s phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondence skills using a scientifically proven and rigorous method. The app aims to boost children’s pre-literacy skills to effectively prepare them for reading in Portuguese via a series of easy to navigate and scientifically proven mini-games activities using multimodal teaching methods. The app is child-centred and appeals to young learners of different abilities and cultural backgrounds. All activities have been developed by academics and reading experts from the Language and Cognitive Development Group at the University of Luxembourg and extensively used and tested for effectiveness with young children. Scientific findings have shown that the games are adapted to the level of young learners and can boost their pre-literacy skills.