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Among the professions at risk of being replaced by AI, the language teacher is certainly present.
It’s not necessary because it’s a good idea. AI, some employers have decided — including Duolingo, recently — is a good enough substitute for human experts when it comes to language instruction. Despite the fact that AI-translated text is less lexically rich than human translations, the cost savings are attractive enough to make the tradeoff worthwhile in the minds of some managers.
But some companies say AI can do things at scale that language teachers can’t.
One of them is Loora, which relies on conversational AI to teach English to students. Founded by Roy Mor and Yonti Levin, Loora’s iOS app lets users chat with a chatbot that gives feedback on their English comprehension.
“Thoughts for Laura [came from] Our frustration with language learning,” Moore told TechCrunch in an email interview. are pregnant.”
Laura, whose name is the Arabic word for “language,” introduces learners to a range of AI-generated conversation topics and scenarios, from sports, tech, business, fashion, books and TV shows to interviews. And offers included. The app provides feedback on grammar as well as pronunciation and intonation, and — if users get stuck — a direct translation into their native language.
Image credit: Laura
Loora scores users on their proficiency over time, and uses that score to personalize conversations based on their speaking level.
Some English learning platforms offer features along these lines, including OpenAI-backed Speak, Preply (which recently doubled down on AI tech) and ELSA. But Moore claims Laura is different in that it’s aimed at “serious learners” who are personally trying to become fluent in English. And professional development.
“Most language learning apps on the market are limited and gamified,” Moore said. Beyond conversational skills … we use only our own data and specialized training and evaluation systems to train and improve our models, resulting in continuous improvement in retention.”
Moore makes the additional case that Loora is better than other apps and tutors for specific language-learning use cases — pitching ideas in a business meeting, for example. Tutors, he claims, are limited by their domain knowledge — a limitation Loora’s app doesn’t have (or so Moore claims). And special tutors are likely to be in high demand across the board, Moore added.
“A learner is interested in learning to communicate high-level business concepts for work purposes,” Moore said. “If the tutor is unfamiliar, even if he is a native speaker, he will be poorly suited to teach English for that particular purpose.”
This is very promising considering the limitations inherent in language education apps – especially those that lack an element of human feedback.
In a Michigan State University study of the effectiveness of popular language learning apps, nearly every participant improved in grammar and vocabulary, but only 60 percent improved in oral skills, which is common in digital language learning programs. The study’s authors concluded that a hybrid setup — a combination of online and classroom learning — is the best way to learn and maintain second language skills.
Loora assigns a score based on the user’s perceived English proficiency.
But that didn’t deter Laura’s investors, who were persuaded by the size of the total English-language learning market (more than $70 billion by 2030, according to data analysis firm Research and Markets).
Loora announced today that it raised $12 million in a Series A round led by QP Ventures with participation from Hearst Ventures, Emerge and Two Lanterns Venture Partners – bringing Loora’s total funding to $21.25 million. Moore says the cash will go toward developing Loora’s Android app, “deepening” Loora’s core AI tech and conversational capabilities, and expanding the startup’s workforce from 14 employees to 25 by the end of 2024. will go
Laura also plans to launch an enterprise service, which will expand beyond its existing customer base of 15,000 app users. (Laura charges $15 a month or $120 a year for access to its app.) While the startup’s consumer business continues to expand — 8x in 2023, in terms of annual recurring revenue — Moore’s corporate client growth Accelerates
“Our planned business-to-business offering will see Loora available through employers, universities and institutions, making it increasingly accessible to those who need and want it most,” Moore said. “with [the Series A] Fundraising, our efficient unit economics, growing customer base and continued demand for English learning solutions, we believe we are well-positioned to weather any potential headwinds and continue to grow our learners and Will continue to serve.