Lingopie is a subscription-based VOD platform for language learning.[1] The web-based software provides users with television shows and movies combined with interactive language-learning tools.[2] Lingopie offers international content in 10 languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and English.[3][4] Lingopie offers a web version and a mobile app available for Android and Apple devices.[5]

Lingopie
Company typePrivate company
Industry
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Founders
  • David Datny
  • Roy Oppenheim
Key people
David Datny (CEO)
Services
Websitelingopie.com

History

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Lingopie was founded by entrepreneurs David Datny and Roy Oppenheim after they met and discovered their similar experiences of learning a new language abroad through immersion. In an attempt to make language learning as entertaining as possible, the two came up with the idea of creating an app that teaches languages through foreign television shows and movies.[2]

David came up with the idea to create Lingopie when he moved to Israel. He started taking intensive lessons to learn Hebrew, but he wasn't seeing significant progress, while his friends spoke perfect English. His friends suggested that he should watch TV to learn because, in Israel, the TV has same language captions. He noticed that when watching TV with subtitles he was slowly making progress while also having fun and enjoying the process.[6][7][2][8]

After initial consultations with language academic Dr. Robert Vanderplank, from the University of Oxford, the method proved to be successful.[9][10] Lingopie was officially launched in 2019.[3]

Their latest funding was raised on March 1, 2020, from a seed round. Lingopie is funded by two investors: Entrée Capital and MassChallenge.[11]

Concept & Methodology

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Lingopie uses a method of language immersion by combining a VOD platform with language-learning tools and spaced repetition. Through viewing TV shows in native foreign languages, the learner is exposed to natural-sounding speaking and slang.[12] The platform includes different types of content, such as TV shows, movies, audiobooks, and podcasts.

Lingopie's main feature is its dual subtitles. Every show includes two sets of subtitles, one in the user's native language and one in the target language. Users can click on the words they don't know and obtain an instant translation.[3] All the words the users click on become flashcards that they can later review and study.[12] Users can also play minigames and quizzes to review.[5] The video player includes other language-learning tools to facilitate the learning process, such as different video speed options[1] and features to practice their listening and speaking skills.

By subscribing to Lingopie, users can also participate in the community features, which include forums where users can reply to topics, create new ones, and interact among themselves, and a leaderboard, where they get ranked according to their watch time and flashcards saved.

Lingopie users can also subscribe to monthly one-on-one lessons with native teachers.

Lingopie Kids

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Lingopie Kids is a subsection of Lingopie launched in March 2022 for Spanish. The platform is geared towards children and contains the same learning tools as regular Lingopie, with content that is safe for kids and educational.[4]

Lingopie Music

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Lingopie Music is a free product of Lingopie launched in April 2022. Instead of learning a language through TV shows, users can learn a language through music, having access to the same interface and language-learning tools as with regular Lingopie. As of March 2023, only Spanish, French, German and Italian are available.

List of language pairs available

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As of December 2023, Lingopie is available for the following language pairs:

Student language Target language
English Spanish
English French
English Italian
English Portuguese
English German
English Russian
English Korean
English Japanese
English Chinese
Spanish English
Spanish French
Spanish Italian
Spanish German
French English
French Italian
French Spanish
French German
Portuguese English
Portuguese Spanish
Portuguese French
Portuguese German
Portuguese Italian
German English
German French
German Spanish
German Italian
Italian English
Italian Spanish
Italian German
Italian French
Italian Portuguese

Content

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Lingopie has acquired content from several different independent producers and public broadcasting networks including RTVE, the largest public broadcasting network in Spain, Latino-owned Fuse Media,[13] Japanese animation studio TMS, and German public-service television broadcaster ZDF,[14] among others:

Spanish:

French:

Japanese:

Korean:

Russian:

  • Star Media

German:

  • Autentic
  • UCM.ONE
  • STUDIO HAMBURG

Italian:

  • Lux

Special Achievements

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In 2021, the company was among the ten Israeli startups selected for Google for Startups, a growth lab program launched by Google Israel in 2018 that now runs in 14 countries.[16] The company graduated from the program in March 2022.
In 2022, Lingopie was chosen as one of the “top language learning solutions” by EdTech Digest for their EdTech Cool Tool Awards.[17]

Reception

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As of June 2022, Trustpilot gave Lingopie a 4.8 “excellent” rating.

PC Magazine gave Lingopie a positive review, stating that it offers a competitively priced annual subscription, has quality videos, a lovely interface, and is great for intermediate and advanced learners.[18]

Forbes commended Lingopie for "winning at customer retention" stating that their "retention rate is 79% after four months, higher than other subscription service giants like Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+."[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lingopie Review: A Great Video Tool With Varied Content". travel-lingual.com. 14 November 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "An Interview with Lingopie CEO David Datny". travel-lingual.com. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c GUPTA, VIKASH (3 July 2022). "Lingopie Review — Video Learning that Works". studyfrenchspanish.com. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Thaddaeus, Eze (2 June 2022). "How To Learn A Language By Only Watching TV". Study Abroad Nations. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b Checchi, MIchelle (21 September 2021). "Review: How Much is Lingopie and How Does It Work?". michellechecchi.com. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  6. ^ Top Language Learning Tips From a CEO (LingoPie) on YouTube
  7. ^ Mentuck, Megan (9 March 2021). "Lingopie: The Binge-Language Learning Method". Go Nomad. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  8. ^ How to Learn a Language (With TV & Movies) - Tips From a Linguist & LingoPie CEO on YouTube
  9. ^ SHARON, URI (21 January 2021). "Learning A Foreign Language Abroad Can Be Fun With Lingopie. Here's Why!". Travel Trend. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Traveling Overseas? Watch TV With Lingopie And Pick Up A New Language". Travel Trend. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Lingopie - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors". PitchBook. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b Hyder, Shama. "3 Hottest Tech Startups To Watch In The LearnTech Space". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  13. ^ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (21 April 2021). "Fuse Media Licenses Content to Lingopie and South Africa's Telkom SA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety Magazine. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Franks, Nico (17 September 2021). "Language learning app Lingopie acquires host of German shows from ZDFE". C21Media. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  15. ^ "JETPACK SHOWS SIGNS 14 ANIMATED CONTENT DEALS WITH BROADCASTERS WORLDWIDE". Senal News. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Meet the Israeli startups joining Google's Growth Lab". Calcalist. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  17. ^ "2022 Finalists & Winners. The EdTech Awards 2022". EdTech Digest. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  18. ^ Duffy, Jill (3 August 2021). "Lingopie Review". PCMag. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  19. ^ Hyder, Shama (9 April 2021). "How To Win The Retention Game: A Case Study With Lingopie". Forbes. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
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