Rowan students act as if learning foreign language just a game
Published: Monday, May 05, 2008
Egg Harbor Township residents Justine Nguyen and Daniel Ballard did more than study in their New Venture Development class at Rowan University. They also developed a new venture that won them first place and $5,000 in a competition at the school.The two developed a board game called Linguilistics, which helps teach children a second language."We knew we wanted to do something that was educational but also fun," Ballard said."So many children are studying a language now in elementary school," Nguyen said.They did some research and found there weren't a lot of language games geared toward young learners. They designed the board and developed a game in which students roll dice and collect flash cards with questions on them in both Spanish and English.
"They have to answer in the correct language," Nguyen said. "The game could be adapted for any language."It took them about a year to get it right. "It had to be attractive and understandable so people would want to play it," Nguyen said. The two entered their game in the second annual William G. Rohrer Business Plan Competition at Rowan, and came away with first place. The goal of the competition is to encourage students and alumni to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. Nguyen and Ballard will use their award money to try to get their game manufactured.More than 20 teams entered the competition, and14 finished proposals for judging in the fall. Nine teams were invited to develop full business plans and five finalists presented their plans to a panel of judges that included investors and business executives.Nguyen and Ballard, both business majors, will graduate this week. Ballard owns a landscaping company and Nguyen worked through college as a mail carrier. Both plan to keep their day jobs while they market the game."I was going to try to find another job, but trying to market the game really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Nguyen said. "We consulted with a Spanish teacher on it, and everyone who's seen it has asked when it's coming out."To e-mail Diane D'Amico at The Press:DDamico@pressofac.com
Print Story
Email Story
