Oxford-based educational start-up EduLift have launched a major update to their E-Textbook, tools and educational games for those who want to learn Japanese online.
LinguaLift started in 2009 as a simple educational game called NihongoUp, when Philip Seyfi got the idea that learning hiragana, katakana and kanji should be less of a chore, and more like a video game. A year later, tens of thousands Japanese language students were using the game. It was reported in The Japan Times, and won a Serious Games Showcase & Challenge at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference in Orlando, FL.
?Certainly my most pleasant experience with kanji to date, and the gamification angle really makes for an engaging learning environment,? comments Michael Pick, a long-time LinguaLift user, on the kanji section of the website.
In response to positive feedback both from the users and the media he then teamed up with Ollie Capehorn, who had just won a national Japanese speech competition, and Japanese reggae singer Masako ?machaco? Okazaki, to create the ultimate online product for Japanese language learners. ?We went through countless textbooks and learning methods during our studies and felt that there must be a better way to learn languages than what was currently available,? says Russian-born Seyfi, who speaks seven languages and aspires to learn more.
LinguaLift is a web application for students and self-learners that aims to help them learn more efficiently, while having fun at the same time. Subscribers have unlimited access to a wide array of custom-built applications?such as the E-Textbook, Kanji and Verb Academy, Vocab Lab, and educational games in the Arcade section of the site?each focusing on a different aspect of language acquisition and retention, ensuring a holistic approach to language learning.
The goal of LinguaLift, says co-founder Ollie Capehorn, also avid language learner who is en route to mastering his fourth language is ?to teach languages in a way that makes giving up really difficult?. Knowing that a lack motivation is the number one reason why self-learners fail at sticking with a language, the creators have done all they can to keep students on track, with personalised curricula, detailed statistics and progress charts, and difficult parts of the language broken down into manageable bite-sized chunks.
Fun, interactivity and self-discovery is at the heart of what makes LinguaLift such a joy to use. Tried-and-tested pedagogical methods are combined with the latest in in-browser technology, meaning that audio, on-click dictionary definitions, kanji insights, interactive vocabulary widgets and videos make the learning experience more immersive than ever before possible.
EduLift has formed relations with highs schools and universities worldwide helping them introduce technology into their classrooms. Last year, it ran a highly-successful scholarship program, giving free access to the to their technology to students from underprivileged countries. They have also financially supported the Japan Foundation-run Nihongo Cup, a Speech Contest for students of Japanese in the UK , furthering their close ties to grass-roots learners.
EduLift are particularly proud of their personal customer-service attested by a stellar 98.5% satisfaction rate. Actual authors and developers of the website are always ready to assist with anything via e-mail, live chat, or on the phone. It is this unprecedented level of customer service that is just one of the reasons why LinguaLift is a cut above the rest.
?Ollie was really friendly, very helpful, and was like chatting to friend. I was actually a little sad the conversation ended!,? said a satisfied EduLift customer on a live chat. ?This guy was funny and friendly, best sales chat I ever had on internet,? says another.
EduLift, the company behind LinguaLift also runs a highly-successful Japanese blog , and are behind a host of other mini-sites and applications, including Kana101, a free 14-day Hiragana and Katakana course; and No Romaji!, a discussion group and campaign to rid romaji from didactic Japanese material.
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