Project Name: English Dost
Organisation: Blue Hat Education Pvt. Ltd
Project Location & Coverage Area: Pan India
Project URL: www.englishdost.com
Area of intervention: Education

The lack of proficiency in spoken English often is a hurdle to better prospects. Given this scenario, the need for effective language teachers is on the rise – both virtual and physical. English Dost is a mobile app that helps people from smaller towns and cities to learn to speak English fluently. English Dost is an Android app developed by Blue Hat Education Pvt. Ltd. to help people in the age group of 16 – 25 years and measure their English speaking ability through a score and improve it with targeted practice. The app is specifically designed for those who know a little English, but have trouble speaking. English Dost primarily trains the listening and speaking skills –most used while communicating and helps people become fluent in English. This involves training the auditory centres of the brain as opposed to visual centres, which are required for reading and writing.
The training app is in the form of a speaking game (in English, of course) where the user plays the role of a person starting a new job. The app takes the user through a story where he/she participates in simulated conversations with colleagues, friends, and family. At every stage when the user speaks,the app uses speech recognition patterns to identify the player’s mistakes and then provides targeted feedback.
A ‘conversation’ thus is the main learning unit. The learner listen to the other party speak in English, gets a native language prompt and translates it and speaks back to the app in English. The learner is then presented with immediate feedback and score depending on accuracy (grammar) and fluency (speed of response). The conversations are contextual and reallife based and helps the learner in actual life. The app uses gamification techniques and makes learning fun with points and badges rewarding better performance. The user data is used to personalise the content and change it based on learner skill level for best learning.

                                                   Reach & Road Ahead

The company has invested US$25,000 for the development of mobile app. Within three months, the app has recorded 10,000+ downloads, and initiated 35000 conversations practiced; 500,000 sentences spoken. The app can be downloaded from Google Play https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.bluehat.englishdost2