India's first interactive English learning program
“Seventy five percent of India lives in villages where literacy levels even as high as 60 percent may not translate into jobs because of lack of communication skills. It is estimated that of the 547 million people currently under the age group of 20 years, only 11 % are likely to become graduates. Worse, an even smaller percentage of this figure can be expected to land jobs complementing their respective education because of their poor English communication skills. It was this that prompted us at Libra Interactive Learning to launch SpeakToday,” said Sunjay Aryan, Managing Director, Libra Interactive Learning while launching SpeakToday, India’s first interactive English learning program here today.
Speaking about how English has become an uncompromising requirement today, Sunjay Aryan said, “The current year 2010 is expected to create 2 million jobs in the organised retail sector while BPOs may absorb 23 lakh employees. However, both these sectors require proficiency in English, something that is currently absent amongst many High school as well as undergraduate youth.”
“Also, currently English is taught in a classroom with minimum student strength of 30, allowing limited opportunity to speak and practice the right accent. SpeakToday by Libra is a product that can train even in the comfort of a home, with individual attention, perfecting not only oral communication skills but also refining the English accent,” added Aryan.
Designed to speak English in the most interactive way, ensuring the learner acquires a neutral accent, Libra’s SpeakToday comes with a special animated trainer teaching not just to communicate in English, but also grammar with pronunciation corrections. This training is imparted with the help of a chosen regional language like Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi etc.
The company has tied up with several training institutes in Bangalore for imparting training in English through SpeakToday.
Speaking on the occasion, Laxminarasappa, Managing Director, Winners academy, one of the franchisees of SpeakToday said, “SpeakToday’s user friendly graphic interface makes it an easy tool to operate even for those not conversant with using a computer. The friendly animated character, speaking initially in the chosen regional language, encourages the learner to have a conversation in English. We are getting a lot of admissions everyday for English learning at all our centers.”
“The intense training provided by SpeakToday also has the potential to convert students to future language teachers, opening up business opportunities in the communication segment,” felt Laxminarasappa.
World’s first VIRO-METER: SpeakToday incorporates a very interesting feature for the first time in any interactive language learning software in the world- the VIRO-METER. The in-built VIRO Meter gives an instant feedback to the user in terms of percentage regarding accuracy of pronunciation. User can change the required percentage for achieving better accent in their spoken words.
The statements thus recorded indicate the correct pronunciation and usage of language by indicating the grading in terms of percentage. The entire program incorporates multiple modules, each structured to enable the learner to progress gradually.
Expansion plans: After the launch in Bangalore, the company plans to launch the Kannada version in Tier-II cities like Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli, owing to the huge need for a product like this in smaller towns.
The company will also launch the Tamil to English version in TamilNadu and Hindi to English version in New Delhi, Mumbai and North India in the current fiscal.
“We are soon introducing the software in other regional languages including Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and other major languages, after which we will launch the product in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal markets as well,” apprised Aryan.
The company will follow the franchising model for expanding into other cities and towns.
