Language Learning Goes Social on Mobile
Washington, DC (USA), October 2011 - Hello-Hello, a mobile language-learning company, has announced the launch of Hello-Hello World, a free application for the iPad that helps people learn a new language by connecting them with native speakers through social networking.
The application lets users complete language lessons and connect with Hello-Hello's already-established global community of language learners with members in almost 100 countries to help each other in the learning process.
Hello-Hello World is available in eleven languages and allows users to submit both oral and written exercises for their friends and Hello-Hello's language experts to review. Users are also able to provide written and recoded feedback on their friend's exercises directly from their mobile devices.
"The most effective way to learn a new language is through total immersion", says Sarah Gontijo, founder and CEO of Hello-Hello. "However, not everyone has the opportunity to live in another country. Hello-Hello World brings the convenience of connecting with native speakers anytime, from anywhere. This not only helps users to learn the language but also to understand the culture."
Hello-Hello World lets users synchronize their information with the Hello-Hello Cloud and then access the content from any mobile device or computer. The application is first being released for the iPad and will become available on a variety of platforms, including the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
The conversational courses were developed in collaboration with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), which is one of the largest and most respected associations for language teachers and professionals.
The application arrives at a time when tablet computing is driving the creation of new educational tools, such as Hello-Hello World. As a result, many schools and colleges are finding ways to adapt mobile technology for classroom leaning. "The market is hot for such pioneering in education and social networking", adds Gontijo. "Hello-Hello promises to be the invention that will set the ball rolling and bring innovation to an industry that has seen little change over the years."
Technology-research firm Gartner predicts that app store downloads worldwide will double to $17.7 billion as the year closes, and that app revenue will hit $15.1 billion, tripling the impact of last year's sales. App downloads are expected to continue to increase exponentially to 185 billion by 2014, at which point worldwide tablet sales are projected to surpass 208 million units.