Innovative Language Learning Blog

Countdown to 200 Million Language Lessons Delivered

ill_marketing_02 — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:19:10 +0000

Peter here.

Well, you’ve gone and done it again.

It seems like just yesterday we reached 100 million lessons delivered, and now we’re currently on pace to reach 200 Million.

200 Millionth Lesson: Estimated Delivery in July 2012

Here’s a closer look at the numbers:

Audio Lessons

Current Download Total: 170 million
Monthly Average Downloads: 3-4 million

source: Libsyn.com

Video Lessons

Current view total on YouTube: 17 million
Monthly Average: 1 Million views

Source: YouTube.com

This is a remarkable feat!

Looking at these Impressive Numbers in a Different Way

So what does 200 million lessons mean, anyway?

Well…if the running time of each lesson averages 10 minutes (10 mins is conservative), that comes to 3,805 round-the-clock years of language lessons delivered. (Round-the-clock Year: all day long, every day of the year)

Note: this is just the running time of our audio and video lessons, and doesn’t include time spent on applications, website usage, Audiobooks, iBooks, and all of our other products.

So how remarkable are these numbers?

How many teachers would it take to deliver the same amount of lessons?

631.1 teachers working for 30 years could cover deliver the same amount of lessons
18,933 teachers working 1 year, or
3,786.6 teachers working 5 years (about the same amount of time we’ve been in business).

Of course, this is in NO way a knock at teachers. We have the utmost respect for educators. We’re educators too! We feel our service complements the service teachers and tutors provide. It’s a testament to the power of combining technology with the passion of a small number.

How Far We’ve Come

InnovativeLanguage.com started with 1 person (me) and now employs about 25 full-time people and a small army of part-time workers and contractors spanning over 25 languages. Over the lifetime of the company (around 5 years), products have been created, designed, recorded, edited and published by just a few hundred passionate people. We’re a small team looking to deliver big things.

Over the next few months, leading up to the 200 million milestone, I’ll be sharing more news and stories from behind the scenes at InnovativeLanguage.com to celebrate just what we do here. Thank you again, to every single listener out there that has downloaded, subscribed and joined in on our passionate language learning community!

Peter Galante is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com and he’s currently learning Chinese.

Our ‘Farewell, Pim! Welcome Back, Kim!’ Tea Party

ill_marketing_02 — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:45:01 +0000

Today, we bring you a blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and InnovativeLanguage.com Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment!

On the 17th of April here at Innovative Language Learning, we had an afternoon tea party.

Although Kim (a member of our Business Development Team) moved to Hong Kong, last week she came back to Japan for a brief visit, so it was her ‘welcome back’ party. Meanwhile, Pim (host of ThaiPod101.com) is going back to her home country to have her baby, so it was her ‘farewell’ party.

We all ate pastries, chatted, and enjoyed ourselves.

There was a choice of pastries: strawberry, green tea, custard… It was really hard to choose!

By the way, everyone, do you know what a shikishi is?

It’s a plain piece of card that measures roughly 20cm by 20cm. Actually, because it’s quite thick – about 3mm – it might be better to call it a board. It usually has a piece of Japanese paper pasted to one side of it. In Japan, when there’s a celebratory occasion, or someone is leaving, everyone writes a message on this piece of card. At ILL, too, when someone has something to celebrate or a staff member is leaving the company, we present them with a shikishi.

First of all, we write the name of the person in the middle. This time, it’s Pim. Then, so that the person we’re giving it to doesn’t see it while we’re writing on it, we put it inside the Secret File.

Everyone in the office then takes it in turns to write a message along the lines of ‘Congratulations!’ or ‘See you!’ before passing the card to the next person. Of course the company president also writes a personal message.

When everyone’s finished writing their messages, we decorate the card and make it cute and colorful.

Finally, we give it to Pim! She seemed really pleased with it. We’re going to miss you Pim!

Bonus : The True Face of ILL

5 Ways You’re Saving the World by Learning with InnovativeLanguage.com

Innovative Language — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:27:19 +0000

Can a few employees make a difference?

For Green Practices in the office, the answer is a resounding YES.

Sunday, April 22nd 2012 marked Earth Day. It provided an opportunity to look at our company’s Green Practices. When evaluating the company, I had the chance to look at several initiatives started by team members during our 5 years in business. It was very cool to see how they added up over the years, and how we continue to make contributions.

Top 5 Ways You’re Saving the World by Learning with InnovativeLanguage.com

1. Paperless Lessons: Forget about wasteful textbooks! Learn Japanese on your mobile phone, iPad, PC, or iPod. Think of all the paper you save when you switch to online Flashcards!

2. Paperless Communication: All communication, transactions and customer interactions are done electronically, the way it should be.

The first two are related to the nature of our product. We’re really happy about this, and choose to believe that green electricity is used to power student’s devices when using our programs. And while we know that we’re not there yet, we are hopeful that we’ll get that some day.

3. Green Office Practices (plus some pictures from around the office):

Separation of trash: It takes a bit of practice and discipline, but makes a big difference in the big picture (the Japanese government gets credit for this one)
Lights off during bright times of the day: Using what nature provides us, the essence of going green! (Team Member)

Using Paper on both sides: We use every inch of paper before putting it in the recycling bin (Team Member)

Office Thermometer: To help us regular office temperature and reduce power (Team Member)

4. Green Office Admin:

Electronic pay slips (Team Member)

5. Green Commuting Incentives:

We pay for transportation, so if you bike to work, you keep the stipend (Team Member)

Of course, our environmentally friendly initiatives don’t stop there. Earth Day is a great reminder to reevaluate our practices and be more responsible citizens of the world.

Peter Galante is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com and he’s currently learning Chinese.

You’re on the front page of iTunes with InnovativeLanguage.com!

Innovative Language — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:10:25 +0000

You did it!

Did what exactly? Well…

You’ve downloaded. You’ve tuned in. You’ve learned.

And iTunes has noticed!

Today, InnovativeLanguage.com is featured on the front page of the US iTunes Podcast section. The InnovativeLanguage.com iTunes page brings together 21 language 101.com sites, 19 Survival Phrases series, over 300 mobile apps, and much more.

But it’s not only a collection of language lessons, it’s a community of passionate language learners like you that download, tune in, and learn regularly. And we wouldn’t be on the front page without you.

Whether you tune in on iTunes or with a Free Lifetime Account on one of our websites, thank you for learning with us!

JapanesePod101.com, our Japanese language learning site is also featured in the New and Noteworthy Section! Check it out!

It’s kind of crazy to think that it all started with one podcast in one language back in 2005.

So once again, THANK YOU. You made this possible. Also, we’d like to thank Apple. We truly appreciate your products, services and support.

Wall Street Journal covers Advanced French for iPad

ill_marketing_02 — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:15:52 +0000

Innovative Language is back in the news! This time, it’s our French that is put to the test.

A Wall Street Journal article, Brushing Up on Your Japanese on a Small Screen, reviews a number of mobile apps for language learning and includes our own FrenchPod101’s “Advanced French for iPad” App.

Here’s an excerpt:

“An app that included basic French grammar was Advanced French for iPad, described as an “audio e-book.” The course consists of 25 audio blogs, each less than two minutes long. They included blogs from a French narrator, who goes by just by [sic] the name Christophe, on his country’s health-care system, rappers, telethons and foods.

The content is breezy and fun, though the brief, au courant English introductions from a young American woman in Paris can be silly. We liked the function that let us hear just one line at a time, allowing for pauses for speaking practice and to go over vocabulary lists and sample sentences.”

There are over 690 Innovative Language Learning apps like “Advanced French for iPad,” and they span over 40 languages and cover every level from Beginner to Advanced. Each app is designed to bring practical, fun, and real-world style language lessons as well as their relevant vocabulary and grammar, to smartphones and tablets.

We’re happy to have been included in this review and will continue improving our mobile apps to teach language in the fastest, easiest, and most fun way.

Click Here To Read The Article!

Click Here to Get the App!

InnovativeLanguage.com iTunes Provider Page Goes Live

Peter — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:16:46 +0000

Last week, the InnovativeLanguage.com iTunes Provider Page went live! (Click here to view.)

The good folks at Apple allowed us the opportunity to showcase all of our language learning podcasts on one page! Presented with this incredible opportunity, the graphics team put together a pretty impressive page, if I do say so myself.

Some of the highlights:

InnovativeLanguage.com themed Provider Page
links to 21 our language course podcasts on iTunes
links to 19 Suvival Phrase podcasts on iTunes
showcase of all new artwork added over the past six months
complete revamp of Survival Phrases artwork

In addition…

The page also centralizes a lot of our Apple product related activity. From the InnovativeLanguage.com Provider Page you can reach our iBooks, Audio Books, iOS Apps, pages on social networking sites and 101 websites.

While putting together this page, we reminisced about our roots of being a one podcast company. It made us appreciative of all of our users, who made this possible with their support, and team, who made this possible with the passion and performance.

So, this is a pretty good snapshot of what we’ve been up to for the past few years.

View our iTunes Provider Page by clicking here.

Looking forward to adding to a lot more to this page in 2012 and on.

Language Learning Everyday in 2012

kmn55 — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:59:56 +0000

Oh, hello there listener! We haven’t seen you in awhile! Is that a new haircut? Did you get contacts? Or maybe a tan from your winter vacation! In any case, it’s nice to have you back!

You may have stopped by today because you’re thinking about picking up your language studies in the new year. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Starting January 2nd, 2012, we’ll be publishing some really great lessons that are sure to keep you busy and entertained all year long!

Here’s a quick look at what to expect on our 101.com sites:

For free audio and video lessons to any of these languages, click here to sign up for a Free Lifetime Account! You’ll get 7-days of Premium Access, plus the Word of the Day, access to our newest lessons and the Core 100 Word List!

Good luck!

The Innovative Language Story

kmn55 — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:50:05 +0000

It all started with JapanesePod101.com, back in December of 2005.
6 years later, Innovative Language Learning is up to 22 language sites, 2 million registered users, and 4 million app downloads. But what does it all mean?

It means we couldn’t have done it without you. It means we’re very lucky to have a community of language lovers. It also means the world sees beauty in languages and cultures, and people wish to communicate with one another. And we’re happy to help.

Here are some key stats:

December 2006 – 10,000 members
December 2008 – 100,000 members
April 2010 – 101 Million lesson downloads
November 2011 – 2,000,000 members

So how exactly does a Japanese podcasting website grow? And how does it spread out to languages like Korean, Spanish, Arabic, and Dutch? Well, it’s quite a long story to tell. If you’re really interested, we can set some time aside, get some hot cocoa and tell the tale by the fireplace. But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Click here to see the Timeline of Innovative Language Learning.

Learn A New Language with the NEW Innovative Language Learning

kmn55 — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:25:39 +0000

Good design is important. It communicates in ways text can’t. It is the visual delivery of what a website is about. With this in mind, the Innovative Language Learning website has been redesigned. We’ve thought about how we could best portray who we are and how we can help language lovers like you. And after long hours of tinkering in the lab, here is the result!

Visit the Innovative Language Learning Homepage!

The sleek new design gets right to the point – you want to learn a foreign language. We help you master over 38 languages – including some rare ones like Mongolian and Swahili – in the fastest, easiest, and most fun way. However, fitting all of this under one roof and keeping it focused was no easy task:

21 language learning websites

Over 200 iPad iBooks, Kindle Books, Nook Books, and Audio Books in 38 languages

Over 700 iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android mobile applications in 38 languages

Over 120 Mac and Mobile desktop applications in 38 languages

Survival Phrases courses available in 20 languages

But there’s more to the website.

Get quick links to all of our products – we admit, we have a lot of language learning material. This lets you access and browse through them easier.

Search either by language or product – to master as much material as possible for a certain language or if you’re going mobile and would like just the apps!

Like free stuff? Who doesn’t! – check the free resources section with free subscriptions to our language sites, apps, audiobooks, kindle books and more!

Harper Collins Dictionary Powered by Innovative Language Learning

kmn55 — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:42:21 +0000

Harper Collins has joined forces with us, Innovative Language Learning. One of the world’s most respected publishers meets the world’s biggest language learning app maker.

They bring over 175 years of expertise. We apped it up.
The result is the best in dictionary software for the Mac.

After much tinkering in the lab together, we’ve brought the English Dictionary and Thesaurus to the Mac - the Collins Unabridged English Dictionary and the Collins Thesaurus of the English Language. And there’s more to come.

Most dictionary apps add on bells and whistles. The Collins Unabridged Dictionary and the Collins Thesaurus, however, have been designed, refined and streamlined for elegance and simplicity. With over 390,000 and 310,000 words, references, and examples in the dictionary and thesaurus respectively, they simply do what you need.

- Instant search: Begins when you type
- Bookmark words for later review
- Browse words by letter tabs
- Browse History: For stubborn words that refuse to be remembered
- Web Browser interface & navigation

The Collins Unabridged English Dictionary and the Collins Thesaurus of the English Language are both available for purchase now at the Mac App Store. Find out more details on our site here