26/11/2016
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A Language Learning
Phenomenon — 5 Reasons
1,000,000 People Use This
App To Learn Languages
Over 1,000,000 people have turned to technology to
help them learn a language. We investigate why
app-based learning is proving to be such a popular
method, and what advantages it may hold over
more traditional methods.
BY ED M. WOOD
Facebook now has approximately 1.6 billion users,
which equates to about one quarter of the world’s
population. This number becomes even more
astonishing when you consider that 3.3 billion of the
world’s 7.2 billion people are connected to the
internet — Facebook has registered over half the
world’s connected population. The other internet
giant, Google, handles around 4 billion search
queries a day. Our information age of hyper-
connectivity has heralded a new understanding of
achievable scale. Every two days we generate the
same amount of information as we did from the
dawn of civilization until 2003 — five exabytes —
and platforms with skittish names and basement
origins categorize and index this information,
mediate how we interact with one another, and
mould the channels through which we access the
vast repository of human knowledge.
Companies that operate on the breathtaking scale of
Google and Facebook address and satisfy core
fundamental human needs; namely, access to
information and social interaction. It’s a formula for
success: identify or create a need and provide a
product or service which fulfills this need. In our
networked world, this can be done at a global level:
Uber can hail you a car either side of the Atlantic,
Airbnb can secure you an apartment in Bombay or
Buenos Aires, and Foodora can deliver you a
takeaway in Birmingham or Berlin.
What happens, though, when a web company
focuses not on need, but on aspiration? Can it also
unite thousands of people in a common desire to
educate and better themselves?
In 2007, the language experts at Babbel set out to
make language learning easy, effective, and
accessible to everyone . Fast-forward nine years and
the four founders have multiplied into over four-
hundred language enthusiasts — among them
linguists, teachers, polyglots and content creators
— who produce courses for learners of fourteen
different foreign languages from seven different
native languages, which equates to ninety-eight
combinations of individually tailored courses.
So how’s it working out?
The numbers speak for themselves: over 1,000,000
people choose to learn a language with Babbel, and
that number continues to grow. But why have the
Babbel apps proved so popular? We’ve selected our
top five reasons:
1. The People
From a rabble of budding language enthusiasts
working in a loft in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of
Berlin, Babbel HQ has since evolved to house a
broad range of experts united by the common goal
of creating the best language learning tools
possible. That may all sound rather, um… lofty, but
as I heard Eric Schmidt say just this week, such
overt ambition possesses a strong force of
attraction. For a company that requires specialists
in ninety-eight language combinations, this force of
attraction is integral to finding the right people,
whether it’s a Spanish linguist who can design a
course in Polish, or a graphic designer who can help
localize the look and feel across seven languages.
This imperative of multilingual, intercultural
expertise has endowed the company with a truly
unique topography of skills, and an unrivaled
potential for innovation within the world of language
learning.
2. The Product AND The
Service
App-based learning carries a few inherent
advantages. It’s convenient: you have your
smartphone by your side at all times, fully-charged
and ready to guide you through the labyrinth of
contemporary life, from the gentle tap of the snooze
in the morning to the emoji-peppered goodnight-
message you compose for a loved one in the
evening.
Furthermore, an online product can be constantly
improved and updated, blurring the distinction
between product and service. A Babbel learner’s
progress is measured, and junctures within courses
that prove difficult are optimized in order to ensure
information is conveyed as effectively as possible.
Yes, all that German grammar may sometimes seem
complicated, and yes, some of those French words
don’t look anything like they sound, but that’s
exactly where Babbel comes in handy: it prides itself
on making the complicated simple.
3. The Learners
All of the 1,000,000+ learners have their own story,
their own reason for endeavoring to learn a
language. As Babbel is in frequent contact with
them, some truly inspiring tales have emerged.
Gianni, for example, is probably our oldest learner at
the age of 101 . He’s a technophile who has long
used Skype to communicate with his daughter in
New York, and who likes to practice his new
language with his great-granddaughter’s English
speaking nanny. Cecilia is also Italian but has lived
abroad for many years and speaks multiple
languages. She now uses Babbel to learn German
with a view to moving to Berlin in the next few
years. The Babbelonians themselves are also keen
Babbelers, having taken part in numerous challenges
to see how much they can learn within a given
period of time, whether that be Turkish in seven
days , or French in a working week…
4. The Magazine
The Babbel Magazine was founded two years ago
with the aim of promoting entertaining, educational
articles, artwork and video on the topics of language
and culture. It’s written in six different languages –
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and
Portuguese – and is visited on average by over ten
million people every month. The editorial team now
consists of thirteen people from eight different
countries, and you can read about anything from the
secret languages of twins to how soccer players in
international teams communicate with one another.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, then you can
easily register with Babbel and receive all the latest
updates from our magazine.
5. The Future
Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented
reality… Science fiction is rapidly becoming science
reality. The education industry has often lagged
behind other industries, such as gaming and travel,
in adopting and developing new digital technologies.
Babbel aims to change this – driving innovation in
order to keep education in step and simultaneously
addressing the soaring trend toward informal,
autodidactic learning that’s been ushered in by the
Information Age.
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