06/04/2015
Children around the world can now practise their English language skills while they play an online shopping game developed by a department of Cambridge University. Shop and Drop creates a virtual shopping environment aimed at 5–12 year olds. Experts at Cambridge English, who developed the game, say that growing research has been driving force behind Shop and Drop.
Mariana Calderon, Marketing Strategy Manager, Schools at Cambridge English said:
‘Research such as 2012’s European Survey of Language Competences, which tested more than 50,000 children, showed that children learn English best when they are encouraged to integrate it into their everyday lives. This has been the key driving force behind the development of Shop and Drop. More and more parents all over the world are recognising how learning English gives children a big advantage in life. We chose the theme of shopping as it’s something that children all over the world can relate to and most importantly we've made the game fun which is key to increasing motivation.’
Players can improve their sentence structure by progressing through 15 levels that create a virtual shopping environment. Words found in the game are based on the Cambridge English: Young Learners exams. The difficulty levels reflect the Starters, Movers and Flyers levels of Cambridge English: Young Learners, and the game gets more difficult as players progress through the levels.
The first level is open access and, by signing up to receive more free child-friendly activities, parents can unlock higher levels for their children to progress through. Children can also join a global leader board to see how their score compares to other children around the world.
Shop and Drop has been developed by experts at Cambridge English in collaboration with Cyber-Duck.
Find out more on our pages for parents and children.