Start-ups aim to help you learn a language without breaking the bank
The Boston Globe, December 20, 2009
Along with losing 20 pounds, learning to parlare Italiano or sprechen Deutsch is apparently high on the list of New Year’s resolutions for many people.
“Learning a language is kind of like getting a gym membership or a NordicTrack,’’ says Christopher O’Donnell, director of product management for Transparent Language Inc. “Jan. 1 is our biggest sales day of the year. But let’s just say there’s more impetus to start learning a language than to continue doing it.’’
Transparent, based in Nashua, is part of a cluster of companies around New England that aim to reinvigorate how we learn foreign languages, using iPhone applications, Twitter “word-of-the-day’’ messages, Facebook groups, virtual worlds, videos, Web-based games, and speech recognition technology. They’re taking on established giants in language instruction such as Berlitz International Inc. (founded in 1878 in Providence) and Virginia-based Rosetta Stone Inc., which went public earlier this year.
Also part of the language learning cluster are two companies, Woburn-based 8D World Inc. and EnglishCentral Inc. of Lexington, which have raised venture capital for sites that teach English to nonnative speakers in Asia.
As with many businesses mov ing from the physical world to the virtual, there’s a cloud of confusion hovering over price: How much should it cost to become fluent in French? Berlitz charges $499 a year for its eBerlitz Fusion program, introduced last April, which includes online exercises and live group review sessions run by an instructor over the Web. Rosetta Stone, best known for its CD sets sold at mall kiosks and in airports, introduced TOTALe in July. It combines independent exercises, review sessions, and an online community of fellow learners: Unlimited access is $999 per year.
