Glibzter, an EdTech venture helping users build and expand their English vocabulary using immersive digital modes, has today released the insights of the EdTech for English Proficiency in India Survey 2024. English teachers across India validated the pedagogic effectiveness of such modes adopted by its product, Glibzter Immersive English Vocabulary Builder.
This browser extension, which works on both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, acts like a digital magnet, selecting English words and phrases in real-time from online English news articles and OTT videos with English subtitles/ closed captions and presenting them to users for contextual practice and testing on a web app.
The survey was conducted as part of a knowledge partnership with the English Language Teachers Association of India (ELTAI), the largest network of English language teachers in India. With 60 active chapters, it has more than 5,000 English language teachers and 150 trainers all over India.
Survey Insights
Effectiveness of Digital ‘Immersive’ Learning Modes for Vocabulary Building
- 74% of ELT practitioners agreeing on the effectiveness of audio-visual content in English and 62% on reading high quality English textual content in building and expanding one’s vocabulary
Videos and Audio Resources
- YouTube videos of English learning channels trump English learning apps as the highest recommended knowledge resource by English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners
- The effectiveness of videos increases with text. 82% believe watching videos with English subtitles/ closed captions and listening to audio podcasts and audiobooks with English transcripts can improve one’s English proficiency.
- Better contextual understanding by linking situations to word and phrase usage (81%), improved pronunciation (69%) and higher engagement (58%) were the top reasons attributed for the effectiveness.
- 47% of those who did not see merit in immersive modes like videos said they could become effective learning mediums provided they have a system of learning built into them.
Reading
- 78% of respondents recommended reading news articles and editorials to improve communication skills in English, followed by fiction (70%), articles on social media (56%) and non-fiction (50%)
Speaking about the survey insights validating Glibzter’s immersive modes of English learning, Varun C Bhagath, Founder and Chief Co-learner, Glibzter, said:
In India, ‘Same Language Subtitling (SLS)’ is being implemented for promoting mass literacy at scale by reading subtitles in popular entertainment content aired via broadcast media. We at Glibzter are taking it a step forward to build a systematic learning process into it through an AI/ML-powered browser extension for English vocabulary building operating on select digital OTT video streaming and online news platforms.
He added:
We are extremely thankful to ELTAI for conducting this survey and look forward to this partnership, which will lead to us supporting their India Reads Movement as their digital partner. We look forward to co-creating innovative digital products and experiences in the ELT space.
Explaining the product’s value proposition, Himanshu Singh, Co-Founder and Head of Technology at Glibzter, said:
Glibzter Immersive is the most engaging, systematic, and fastest way to build your English Vocabulary, offering the benefits of an unhindered content consumption experience, the ability to quantify your word power, and better memory retention, besides real-time automatic curation. While the survey insights secured show we are on the right track regarding product strategy, we will use them to improve the product to facilitate user adoption.
Dr. K Elango, Chief Executive Chair, ELTAI, said:
How we communicate is a direct function of what we read. ELTAI launched the India Reads movement last year to encourage tweens in schools and colleges to practice reading book-based fiction and non-fiction. The survey reveals a trend of ELT practitioners encouraging students to read news articles and editorials, besides underscoring the effectiveness of audio-visual media resources with subtitles to improve English language skills.
Glibzter has been supported by the IIT Patna Incubation Centre, the IMAGE COE of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), NGI TBI, and CIE IIIT-H. It was among the top five startups in the Stanford Seed Spark South Asia Cohort of 2023.
Its founder will present the survey report’s insights at the 18th International and 54th Annual ELTAI Conference, which will be held at Royal Global University in Guwahati (Assam, India) on 23rd October 2024.
