nir-vana innovation network

This UK company's mission is to improve English pronunciation training and to make it accessible to a wide range of learners. Their team of language learning experts and technologists understands that pronunciation is a valuable skill, and has developed technology which will deliver this up-skilling at scale and at reasonable cost.

They have developed an award-winning, digital English pronunciation learning tool which enables learners to hear words in native-speaker British/American accent; see and touch the syllables and phonemes which make up a word; replay the word slowly; see which syllables are stressed; record themselves and analyse/compare their pronunciation.

The app works on both iOS and Android platforms.

The content is provided by a world-leading dictionary publisher.

The app presents users with a look up function, from where they search for words. Once a word is selected, the user can see a number of interactive elements on the screen: spelling, International Phonetic Alphabet spelling (clickable, with audio, and grouped into syllables), clear visual indication of stressed syllables, model audio, interactive soundwave (tappable and 'scrubbable', ie can be slowed down), record button, and interactive user recording soundwave for comparison.

Users can also access a set of tests, two interactive International Phonetic Alphabet sound charts, and a my words section for saving their recordings.

Once the content is downloaded, the app works offline.

Users can email a copy of the audio and visual (soundwave) of their recording directly from the app.

The company has proven technology in the B2C market, and is currently working on enabling distribution at an organisational / B2B level. The company is interested to work with partners who are already providing English educational technology services, and who wish to add an award-winning English pronunciation training tool to their technology offering.

The company is seeking to develop licensing agreements. The ideal partner would already be delivering English skills training, either in-person or using technology (eg via e-learning programmes and platforms).

Advantages & innovations

Research shows that pronunciation is a crucial skill in language development, yet it is often overlooked in classrooms. Student-to-teacher ratios can make it difficult to teach pronunciation, and there is a lack of material to work with. The company's mission is to bridge the 'pronunciation gap' for students and professionals using English. By making pronunciation visual, using simplified, interactive soundwaves, it's easier to learn. Studies show that learners respond strongly to visual input, and that combining text and visuals augments learners' understanding. Visualisations transmit messages faster, improve comprehension, and stick in the long-term memory better. Pronunciation in English is particularly 'abstract' because there is often no clear link between the spelling and how a word is said. The company's proprietary user interface, co-designed by in-house pronunciation experts and international learners of English, is a powerful and effective way to train learners in this vital communications skill. During a pilot research project at the University of the West of England, international students rated the app as ‘very useful' based on parameters pertaining to the app's key features and content: range of vocabulary, phonetic alphabet blocks, stress markers, and interactive sound waves. The majority of respondents agreed that using the app over a longer period would enable them to perform better academically. The company's technology has a number of advantages over its competitors, namely: - a wider range of vocabulary (36,000+ items) - British English accent recordings (most offer only American accent) - a learner-led UI (many competitor apps are designed by technologists, not teachers) - content from a world-leading dictionary provider The company's technology has been successfully tested with children, and could easily be adapted to support English learning as part of a national school programme.

Stage of development

UNITED KINGDOM

Partner sought

The company is seeking to enter into licensing agreements with: Universities or business schools seeking to support their students' learning of English, especially during periods of remote learning. EdTech (Education technology) distributors looking for an innovative, award-winning tech solution to pronunciation training. E-learning platform operators looking to expand their offering by including the company's pronunciation technology as a plug-in. Corporate training organisations looking to offer a sophisticated British or American English pronunciation training tool to their client base. In-house training managers looking to up-skill their workforce in English pronunciation, listening and overall communication. The partner would be responsible for in-country or in-organisation promotion/marketing and selling. The licensing agreement would work on a fee basis.