Now, apps can help you learn English

CHENNAI: Learning the Queen's language in Indian shores has undergone a transformation in the last three decades. From the likes of Rapidex English Speaking course books to institutes that imparted English language training, the medium of instruction has now moved to button push (on the smart phone) and clicks (online) in recent times. Take the case of Tiger Global-backed CultureAlley. This venture which began operations last October has already has 2.2 million downloads from users. Currently, the company's content is free and it derives its revenues from advertisements.

If statistics are an indication, there is huge potential waiting to be tapped. "Only 15 per cent of India's population currently speaks good English. And with a productive workforce numbering 800 million, there is a huge demand for such courses," co-founder of CultureAlley Pranshu Patni said.

Citing feedback from users, Patni said a blue collared worker from Aurangabad liked the course content so much that he shared it with 40 other workers on the shop floor via bluetooth. "The app is equipped with advanced voice recognition and our courses focus on writing, reading, speaking and listening," he said.

Like CultureAlley, Maxx English, which provides online English courses to students is in the process launching an English speaking app targeted at young children and adults. "Users can get free usage to this app for 15 minutes every day post which it's a paid service," co-founder and chief executive officer of Maxx English Ranu Kawatra said. The company is pricing the app at two levels `199 and `399. "Important modules include interview preparation," Kawatra said.

Even online course content aggregators have been bitten by the app bug. LearnSocial which launched online courses in spoken English around eight months back, states the English language course is the most sought after course on its platform."Of the 3,400 paid enrolments till date, around 600 users have opted for English courses," founder of LearnSocial Raju Vanapala said.