The founders of Manchester edtech start-up, Golingo, are adding more features to their immersive foreign languages app.
The company will be introducing a new range of tailored packs, to allow teachers to create their own content and speaking lessons on the platform.
“We are providing the technology and the platform so that language teachers have the chance to deliver in context conversations and lessons,” explained co-founder, Chris Tiernan.
“Using our new Creative Suite, all they will need to do is type in their conversations which will then automatically appear in the app. This will allow Golingo to expand into other languages, introducing paid for packs for those who want to speak with confidence.”
In just 6 months, the free version of the app, which offers English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Welsh has been downloaded by almost 600k users.
“Golingo’s platform is a fusion of emerging technologies like AI and voice recognition delivered across multiple cloud solutions. This unique blend offers our users a truly immersive language learning experience,” added Jonathan Jones, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.
They said that the app, which initially started as an experiment, has more than 500 curated real world conversations, which are served around a virtual town called Pollywood, using an immersive “mission syllabus” developed by linguists.
The free version has been created principally for people who want to speak another language without using a translation app, or phrase book.
Tiernan added that the addition of coaching packs was to help monetise Golingo, which, up until now, has been self-funded:
“In its first year, the free Golingo app has proved particularly popular in countries where people want to learn English, often because they want a better job. A lot of our packs are tailored to those markets – India, Latin America and the Arabic speaking countries in particular.
“We have a job interview pack, a grammar pack, an idioms pack and another which is one more focused on pronunciation and English language assessment tests.”
In the UK, it has developed a GCSE syllabus learning pack.
“Our new GCSE packs are a little more expensive than our other packs, but in comparison to the cost of a tutor they are still excellent value for money,” explained co-founder, Sarah Manson.
“Golingo isn’t just about language learning, it’s a communication tool. How cool would it be, even if you were a native English speaker, to practice how to confidently handle complaints for example, through an app like this. By opening up our platform to other professionals we can offer students truly personalised learning. This is where we want our business to go.”
