Preplys Daniele Saccardi offers insight into the technological evolution of language learning

Once upon a time, screens acted as cold separations from the warmth of other people.However, they have now become an integral part of our daily lives that offer us the chance toconnect with people that we otherwise would not have. The arrival of Covid-19 also saw anincrease in the usage of video platforms as educational tools. Children attended school fromtheir living rooms and students completed degrees from their beds.

Language learning especially has benefited from the transition to digital platforms in a waythat other subjects have not. Online video software has provided a platform for people in theUK to access native speakers as far away as Japan. Distance is no longer an object inaccessing native speakers of a learners target language.

Ukrainian startup Preply has wagered a considerable amount of time on the development oftheir own digital platform to teach languages and its paying off, with the companyexperiencing considerable growth.

We spoke with Preplys Campaign Manager, Daniele Saccardi, about how the languagelearning sector has evolved in the past decade and how the pandemic has influenced thetransition to digital learning:

Learning a language used to be all about memorising vocabulary and understandinggrammatical theory. However the world has adapted to a new communicative approach,emphasising the importance of being able to express oneself and share information in thetarget language. Not only is this approach more practical, as it allows the learner to beginspoken practice immediately, it is also beneficial for improving confidence, motivation andmemorisation.

Language learning technology has evolved to adapt to this communicative approach and fitinto an ever shrinking world. Far from the days of Software DVDs that we used in the earlypart of the century, we now have access to a variety of digital tools, such as mobileapplications and video conferencing platforms. The requirement to remain at home duringthe Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in the usage of these conferencing platforms andopened up opportunities for students despite their geographical locations. Although I believethat we would have begun to rely more on technology in education, the pandemic definitelyacted as a catalyst to trigger this transition sooner.

Apps, such as Memrise and Anki, focus on providing students with key vocabulary by turningmemorisation into a game. These applications make great support tools to complementmore formal learning but can also be used as stand alone platforms to learn the basics.Some of the downfalls of these applications are dehumanisation and a lack of deeperunderstanding due to their surface level approach. Technology can only take us so far beforeassistance from native speakers is needed. Without communicating with native speakers,learners also miss out on learning colloquialisms and culture. What Preply does is bringtogether technological advances with humans, in order to bridge the disconnect between thetwo and to provide a more comprehensive and personal learning experience. Our tutors arewell versed in the merging of these two faces of language learning, allowing them to focuson building a connection with their students and tailoring the teaching to their particularneeds.

The future of language learning technology looks bright and it is worth watching this space

for advances in AI technologies. At the moment, AI is limited to spaced repetition, meaningthat the same word is repeated at regular intervals to improve memorisation. However, thereare endless possibilities to how AI can be integrated into language learning technologies inorder to improve the user experience. One such suggestion that I am aware of is the use ofchatbots that respond to your messages with personalised responses and can even providefeedback on your performance. Although this is convenient and can provide learners withmore confidence to make mistakes without being judged, I still strongly believe thatconversations with native speakers cannot be replaced due to the cultural underpinning oflanguage learning.

At Preply, we understand that each student has different requirements and so we usetechnology to complement and assist our teaching to varying extents depending on thestudent. The increased use of video conferencing platforms has opened up the world toopportunities beyond the classroom and we are proud to be a part of the ever evolvingtransition to hybrid learning.

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Preply's insight in technological evolution of language learning FE News - FE News