Lingua.ly, a Philadelphia ed-tech startup, has launched WebApp, a tool to help teach language through the open web.
Founded in 2011, Lingua.ly offers cloud-based language learning technology that provides learners with a free dictionary and platform to look up words in English, French, Spanish, Arabic or Hebrew.
The new platform expands Lingua.ly's services to schools and other educational institutions that are looking to provide innovative ed-tech offerings for language students and bilingual learners attending school in a second language.
The app goes beyond traditional translation and dictionary services and assesses skill level behind the scenes, recommending fresh content and practice exercises personalized for the individual. It also includes new gamification features, such as a words- collected leaderboard and practice-session tracker to reward power users and encourage additional vocabulary searches.
“Lingua.ly’s WebApp enables schools to incorporate new, sophisticated technologies, which reinforce language learning in a more effective way through real world content from the Internet,” explains CEO and co-founder Dr. Jan Ihmels.
The Android version of the app was released in early April and was downloaded more than 100,000 times in the first month alone. The iOS app is launching this summer, along with optimization for tablets and extension support for additional browsers. This fall, Lingua.ly plans to roll out support for new languages and higher order language elements, such as grammar.
The company is also expanding its reach through a new relationship with the largest textbook maker in Israel, The Center for Educational Technology (CET). In Septermber, CET will offer WebApp technology to its one-million-plus language learners in the country’s public school system. Lingua.ly is also examining expansion into new markets such as Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Russia, China, the E.U. and U.S. schools via pilot programs this summer.
The company currently employs nine and is closing a funding round intended to double the R&D team size and strengthen its marketing capacity.
Source: Kim Cox for Lingua.ly
Writer: Elise Vider