Online learning is changing the market landscape according to Vyacheslav Zhiradkov, founder of eTalk

Mihai-Alexandru Cristea 30/03/2022 | 23:13

The online learning market is rapidly changing the usual education, primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the past two years, more and more people have come to rely on platforms and apps to learn foreign languages. How this has affected the overall landscape of the market, says Vyacheslav Zhiradkov, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and founder of the eTalk platform, which provides services to students in 8 countries.

 

eTalk is an online language learning school that connects students with tutors through video calls in a virtual classroom. The platform allows users to choose a Native speaker teacher for individual study. Training is delivered by professional tutors who provide structured learning plans under the European CEFR standard.

eTalk was launched a year ago, in 2021, when Internet giants such as Busuu, italki and Babbel were already operating in the online learning niche.

 

A platform that’s growing

Vyacheslav Zhiradkov explained that eTalk was born out of a reflection dictated by his personal student experience. His entrepreneurial journey goes back 17 years, when as a student he went to the U.S. under the Work & Travel program and helped his student friends with advice on student exchange programs. He then encountered the problem of low English level of Ukrainian high school graduates.

With an entrepreneurial spirit, Zhiradkov came up with his own intensives to prepare his friends to travel to the U.S. on short notice. Over time, the flow of students increased, and the hobby grew into a full-fledged English school, with professional teachers and a best-practice methodology. In 12 years, more than 30,000 students attended his classes in 3 Ukrainian cities.

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 coronavirus forced the whole world to change the usual ways of communication. And language courses were no exception.

Zhiradkov transferred his school to a virtual platform with video calls. He quickly realized that the implantation of off-the-shelf technology for delivering individual lessons which are led by native speakers with curriculums based on communicative methods promises explosive growth for his business.

Within six months, his online school had four times as many students as traditional classrooms before the pandemic. Fortunately, the initial skepticism toward many online services has disappeared, encouraging more and more people to use online services.

Over the previous years, Zhiradkov built a powerful system for the selection, control and support of teachers. “A good system for selecting a tutor for a student affects the high retention. As a result, the life time value of our customers is twice more the market average: 9-12 months versus 5 months in the industry,” he summed up.

Flexibility as a strategic advantage

eTalk has relied on flexibility as a major advantage. A student can take a 25 or 50-minute class individually, while others would prefer a two-hour group class. If you want to improve your grammar, you can choose a teacher with experience. As well as choosing a tutor of interest to practice informal conversation.

Children’s classes are conducted using interactive materials, and teachers use the Total Physical Response methodology – teaching a language or vocabulary using physical movement to respond to verbal information.

This approach allows students to move at a comfortable speed and feel at ease in learning foreign languages. Understanding this principle get tother a unique community on a platform where the cultural connection between students and teachers expands their own outlook on life.

The cross-boarding approach of the platform is valued not only by students, but by tutors as well. Both parties discover a different culture, where through informal conversation they get enough information to identify themself with the locals.

Goals for the Future of eTalk

Zhiradkov dreams of creating a community of tens of thousands of students and teachers in 140 countries. However, he is not limited to the idea of teaching English. When there is a lot of demand, he will do his best to add dozens of other popular languages to the platform.

To implement his ambitious plan, he raised $100,000 in eTalk from Digital Leaves, a private equity firm in the UK, at the seed stage. These tools will help him validate hypotheses before scaling in the global market.

Its goal is to create the best language learning platform in the world, driven by a community of motivated people.

The idea of learning online with a tutor seems scared at first, but it’s definitely the fastest way to learn a language and do not feel insecure and embarrassed while talking with strangers in a cafe. Why not start right now?

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