Amrita Learning App XPRIZE

Amrita Learning App is designed for low-literate adults and supports family literacy. It can be used by Adult Education organizations, libraries, schools, prisons, and businesses. It can also supplement Special Education for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

We hope your users enjoy learning while improving their skills with Amrita. The award-winning Amrita Learning App is offered free of cost for learners, even beyond the Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE competition!

All spoken language is a continuous stream of sound, with the perceptible beginning and endings of the words only truly clear with the first sound uttered at the beginning of speech and the last uttered after the entire sentence or phrase is completed.

For this reason, it is imperative to over-emphasize the beginnings and endings of words within sentences, at least in a subtle way, for beginning readers and second language learners to be able to hear individual words within a sentence. It follows that this is also needed for students to track text with their eyes while listening to audio.

Why is audio so important in accelerating and scaffolding student achievement in reading?

Actually, if the student listens to the audio first, without tracking the text of the passage, then the comprehension of the passage may occur to the same extent as if she had read the passage silently with full comprehension.

Afterwards, if the student returns to the text and tracks it with her eyes as she listens, she can relax and more easily process the symbol-sound correspondences she is witnessing receptively. If she then reads the passage a third time, decoding the words herself without audio, the process of decoding more difficult words is greatly reduced or erased altogether.

The symbol-sound-meaning integration occurred to such a great extent in the first 2 readings that the student has truly imbibed the reading on the 3rd round. A 4th round of reading aloud can put the student 10 steps further toward complete mastery of the words and the syntax patterns of the text, permanently. Repeated reading with Audio support is a powerful way to accelerate student achievement in reading.

All of the stories and passages on Amrita Learning App feature optional full voice audio at a slow-medium pace. Each word is spoken clearly and very gently emphasizes the beginning and ending of each word while modeling the natural English cadence of speech. This way, the English Language Learner may follow the written words while imbibing the natural sound of spoken English.

Amrita Learning App for Adult Learners is made to accelerate the learning of all learners while using stories and articles to model the soft skills needed to survive in the workplace. The app currently supports levels from non-reader to our expanding 6-8 grade Popular Science series. Our Serena and Leo – Family and Friends series (grade 3-6) features abundant Spanish support including vocabulary and phrases with audio. Our Life Styles USA stories (grade 3-6) feature stories based on current issues in the lives of small town, rural and city dwellers. Useful skills for navigating everyday life are integrated in the story lines. Values of kindness, caring and having an open mind are also woven into the stories.

All stories include vocabulary lessons, vocabulary bingo games with lesson vocabulary, and assessments.

New series on the app and still expanding are the Jazz Series, featuring Cam, a young jazz drummer; and the Popular Science series, which makes key science concepts accessible and teaches real vocabulary needed to pass High School equivalency exams.

• Oral modeling on all voice audio: In Amrita Learning app, the voice audio very gently emphasizes the beginning and ending of each word while modeling the natural English cadence of speech. This way, the English Language Learner may follow the written words while imbibing the natural sound of spoken English.
• Picture Dictionary: Over 350 beautiful photos of important practical vocabulary, presented in English and Spanish with audio for both.

All of our stories and passages feature optional full voice audio at a slow-medium pace. Each word spoken clearly and in the normal English cadence, so learners can easily follow the reading, and imbibe natural modeling of spoken English.

For this reason, it is imperative to over-emphasize the beginnings and endings of words within sentences, at least in a subtle way, for beginning readers and second language learners to be able to hear individual words within a sentence. It follows that this is also needed for students to track text with their eyes while listening to audio.

Audio is the great equalizer and ultimate scaffold for readers. Students can make triple the progress in reading if they listen only to the audio first; then read the story with audio while tracking the text with their eyes; then reading the story silently with their eyes a third time; and reading the story out loud a fourth and fifth time.

This technique will foster mastery of reading and greatly accelerate student success. The use of story “series” scaffolds success doubly, as the student already knows how to pronounce the name, and inferential comprehension is easily developed when the student knows the idiosyncratic behavior of each individual character over time.