Language Acquisition Matters!

Why?

Hi, I am Ayşegül Erdemir, the founder of Elaves. I was born and raised in Turkey, growing up in a monolingual environment. I had to learn English as a second language - a language in high demand in the global and academic world - at a later stage in life, which required significant effort. I completed my education in Brain and Cognition at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain, in a multilingual environment where I could see the challenges I faced in language acquisition compared to my bilingual peers. Additionally, encountering academic research on the importance of early multilingualism was a transformative experience for me. I realized that if I had been exposed to multilingualism in my early years. Language learning would have been less effortful for me and this would have affected my career positively. With these thoughts in mind, I decided to embark on a journey to develop interdisciplinary solutions for future generations.

During this journey, we aim to raise awareness about language acquisition and consider the needs of parents raising bilingual children. At Elaves, we are aware of the necessity to introduce language-focused innovations during the early years of development. By combining the power of both qualitative and quantitative scientific research with advanced technological solutions, we aim to raise awareness in early education and reshape these critical years. Initiating a journey to create awareness about language acquisition during early development and using technology to unite individuals and create social impact is our fundamental motivation at Elaves.

How?

Elaves embraces fundamental principles such as Research, Child-Centered Design, Originality, Innovation, Purposeful Partnerships, Sustainability, Accessibility, Pedagogy, and Social Impact, placing science and scientific research at the core of our innovation strategies. This approach is rooted in an in-depth understanding of academic and cognitive research and encompasses foundational theories that support children's early language development.

Our methodology focuses on areas such as exposure, early language acquisition, auditory memory, and statistical learning. Particularly, auditory memory and statistical learning play a significant role in language acquisition. Screen-free smart toys designed based on these scientific foundations provide children with linguistic data in a way that is suitable for their growth and development, screen-free, and environmentally friendly, thereby supporting their language acquisition processes. In this way, Elaves aims to promote children's language development and acquisition in a fun and educational manner.

Now!

Elaves is heavily focused on early childhood language development and second language acquisition. We conduct research, design, develop, and take innovative steps in this field. We keep ourselves updated with industry developments with an interdisciplinary perspective and generate innovative ideas based on the literature. In our projects, especially in early development and education domains, we rely on scientific methodologies. When designing technology for children, by children, we utilize the insights provided by both quantitative and qualitative research to develop effective solutions.

We embrace innovative approaches to make a difference in Education and Technology, striving to offer unique solutions. Through partnerships with the business sector and civil society organizations that share our goals, we aim to create a comprehensive impact and apply sustainability principles at every step. Throughout this journey, we aim to provide solutions emphasizing children's language acquisition during their early development years, supported by scientific research and innovative technologies.