English learning on the go

Company uses voice-recognition mobile technology to help Chinese students learn English

With a huge English study industry estimated to be worth 30 billion yuan, China’s market is never short of players, but only a few unique, competitive ones can stand out.

Founded in 2010, the Beijing-headquartered mobile learning technology company Qooco has popularized its mobile learning technology and is even rapidly expanding into virtual reality to improve the efficiency of English learning for its students.

“The vast majority still struggle to hold a simple conversation [in English]. While the traditional once-a-week classroom language course provides a good grammar foundation for language learners, students are learning by rote. This is fine for learning grammar, but not in speaking the language,” David Topolewski, CEO of Qooco, told People’s Daily Online.

The company offers Qooco Hospitality for hospitality professionals and Qooco Education for students.

(Qooco teaches students from all over the world English language skills. Photo/Courtesy of Qooco)

The lack of speaking practice inspired Topolewski—a Wharton graduate. The team of business and computer science talents has developed proprietary technologies that allow users to hear, speak, and receive immediate feedback in an interactive learning environment. The company’s apps also employ voice biometrics that can identify each individual user for additional security.

“Traditional teaching methods have two fundamental problems. The first is that they are designed to provide weekly classes when it should be a minimum of daily classes,” Topolewski noted.

It is important to measure the performance, proficiency, and improvement of students, but schools do not collect such data because of cost and time concerns. But Qooco’s apps monitor results in real-time with a numeric scoring system, helping teachers know when and where to provide additional assistance.

The flexibility and accessibility of Qooco mobile learning system can help students learn English where and when it is convenient for them, and just ten minutes a day has been proven to improve language skills, according to Topolewski.

“Smartphones and mobile learning will start to become increasingly popular over the coming years. Chinese parents understand that the world is becoming more and more global, and as China continues to develop and take a leadership role in the world, the English language will become vital to their kid’s career prospects. Mobile learning will only grow in popularity, and parents begin to see its benefits and lower costs,” asserted Topolewski.

Since 2013, the company has been hosting the Qooco Asia Spelling Cup, the largest annual spelling bee in Asia. This year it will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the selection process for the China team has already begun, with over 400 schools from 200 cities participating. Over 500,000 students from around the world have already taken part in the selection process.

Ten-year-old Xie Zhengnan was the third-place winner in the primary-level spelling bee competition in 2016. Coming from Dalian, Liaoning province, the fourth grader told People’s Daily Online that spelling words is a good way to test and improve his English vocabulary, which will be beneficial to his school grades.

(Qooco Asia Spelling Cup 2016 took place on November 12 2016 at the Conrad Bangkok Hotel, Thailand. Photo/Courtesy of Qooco)

“Learning English will help me watch films and read books in their original words, and enable me to understand more about foreign culture. It will also help me communicate with English-speaking people more directly and freely, and give me more opportunity to find useful information online for academic purposes,” said Xie.

Dong Xiaoqing, a nine-year-old student who is also from Liaoning, has signed up for this year’s spelling bee. “I feel very excited but nervous too. My teammates are great and they encourage me a lot. Although English is not our mother tongue, we have been learning English since childhood. So I think our English is fine,” Dong told People’s Daily Online.

“One of our main objectives is to provide kids from all over China with the opportunity to travel abroad and compete in an international setting. Over the years we have seen many talented Chinese kids travel to a new city and stand up on stage, spelling some incredibly complicated words. This is the power of mobile, as we are able to make learning more accessible to more kids. I think this is the biggest impact we are having,” Topolewski noted. 

(Mr. David Topolewski is the CEO of Qooco, a mobile learning solutions provider. Photo/Courtesy of Qooco)