Idea Transcript
The English language doesn’t come naturally to a lot of us. However, new-age learning methods are changing that, very quickly. And the smartphone is playing a very important role. Hello English app, which was updated on 8 July, has been developed by the Jaipur-based start-up CultureAlley. The developers claim the app has 3 million users. According to app analytics website App Annie, Hello English is the 98th most downloaded app in India on Android phones as of 8 July—and is the most popular among educational apps. It is currently available as a free download on the Google Play store, and it doesn’t cost a dime as you progress through the different levels of learning—there are pop-up ads within the app, and that is how the developers earn money.
The app can teach translation from almost any Indian language to English—at the time of writing this, the options included Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam and Kannada. The idea is to allow users to link back to their primary dialect to gain a better understanding of the new language. Once you start learning, there are a total of 200 preset lessons that focus on grammar and conversational English—each answer to a question is immediately checked and suggestions offered to the user. In-app virtual currency is accumulated on the successful completion of each lesson—this allows the user to unlock the next, more advanced lesson. The most interesting part is the availability of a tutor over a WhatsApp-like chat feature—if you have any queries, you can discuss them then and there. More lessons and dictionary additions will happen with future app updates that will be downloadable from the Play store itself. And it is not just the smartphone which is changing the way we learn a new language. The good old computer and the idiot box are also learning avenues. On the PC
LearnSocial is an online course content provider which offers English-language courses. There are three courses at the moment—one-on-one English learning, spoken English for beginners, and advanced spoken English. While smartphone apps (such as Hello English) are completely dependent on the users themselves being honest about how much they know, LearnSocial follows a more conventional process—there are online classes (these can be accessed from a PC connected to a 1 Mbps broadband connection and a webcam) at scheduled times on specific days and there is someone who will play the role of a teacher. The one-on-one course costs Rs.15,999 for 27 personalized learning sessions, English for beginners is priced at Rs.8,900, and the advanced course at Rs.11,899. On the TV
Good old television is not far behind when it comes to offering a rather accessible avenue for improving proficiency. Direct-to-home (DTH) service providers Tata Sky and Videocon d2h offer interactive services through their set-top box—Tata Sky calls the service Active English and Videocon d2h calls it English Learning. These services are available any time of the day the user wishes to start learning. Tata Sky and Videocon have broken their service down into three elements—conversation, vocabulary and spellings. This makes it easier for individuals to understand how proficient they already are in the language. There are multiple revisions, practice sessions and regular updates to add new courses. Tata Sky charges Rs.5 per day/ Rs.49 per month/ Rs.249 for six months/ Rs.399 for a year. Videocon charges Rs.45 per month for the Active Learning pack. These services are available to all subscribers, irrespective of the channel package they have signed up for. First Published: Wed, Jul 08 2015. 06 32 PM IST
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