Interactive reading game Read with MEE is now online!

The three-year Read with MEE project focuses on reading within the contemporary context of a multilingual community. Reading aloud is a particularly effective method for supporting the early language development of young children, and it also offers opportunities for home languages.

What is particularly helpful for language development is talking about the story whilst reading. In this way, you not only develop vocabulary and general language comprehension, but you also stimulate children’s imagination and reasoning skills. A book thus becomes a stepping stone to a broader conversation.

Our reading game supports the interactive approach to reading by letting children take the lead in the story: it thus becomes a shared reading moment between parent/carer and child.

The computer game was presented online in a webinar, led by Lorna Carson (Trinity College Dublin), Stephan Burghout (8D), Laura Nap (NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences) and Elizabet Arocena Egaña (EHU). The project is coordinated by the Mercator European Research Centre. The webinar also covered:

- The importance of reading (aloud) at a young age and how it can have a significant impact on language development.
- What interactive reading entails, and why it is such a fruitful way of reading.
- What digital reading resources are available, and how they can support early reading skills.
- The game’s development process, how the characters (Slak and Stikel) and the story came about.
- How the game supports interactive reading and makes it easily accessible for parents.

Read with MEE is a collaboration between six partners from the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Spain, and is coordinated by the Mercator European Research Centre of the Fryske Akademy.

The game is available to play for free in ten languages, including Frisian, Basque, Gaelic en Ukrainian.

Play the Read with MEE Game >>>