Language courses are one of the biggest assets of the educational sector. In the present scenario, learning a language has become much streamlined than the previous times due to easy accessibility and availability. Moreover, with the dawn of the internet, one can instantly access a catalog of language courses allowing you to Learn Tagalog, German, Spanish or any language you desire, with just a click.
This prompt accessibility to the internet encouraged Marina Tognetti to establish mYngle in 2008. Marina has explored several countries along with their languages and culture. Having explored diverse cultures, she experienced the first-hand difficulty faced by individuals while learning a new language and culture. This sparked the initial idea of establishing mYngle. Marina looked at China for opportunities and concluded that the first step was learning Chinese. Swamped with work, she was unable to find a convenient way to learn Chinese.
From undertaking evening classes to seeking assistance from language teachers, she tried everything at her disposal. She pondered that it would not have been a daunting task for her to find a good teacher had she been living in China. Marina realized that teachers around the world can be connected with students using the power of the internet. Hence, mYngle was born. Since its establishment, Marina has been spearheading the company as the CEO and propelling it to great heights.
Customized Language Learning Platform
mYngle offers customized language training programs through video conferencing in 45 different languages that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. It provides one-on-one lessons delivered by highly qualified native coaches. The lessons are related to the learner’s job position. Moreover, mYngle virtual classrooms enable learners to take classes 24/7.
mYngle provides the solution for busy professionals who need language training to be successful in their international business. The solution is also useful for companies that want great learning results and a transparent and controllable learning process to make their investment a success.
Marina strongly believes that the key to success is not constantly comparing with competition but aligning with what customers want. That being told, constant focus on customers and their needs form one of the pillars and key strengths of mYngle. Marina asserts that focusing on customers is particularly important in the online education industry which is in a transition or evolution phase and where the main challenge is not competition but the inexperience of customers.
Spearheaded by Brilliant Mind
Marina plays a crucial role in steering the growth within the company. Being at the helm, her role is to primarily develop the long-term vision and drive mYngle towards it. She also fosters the company culture and values, while guiding and aligning the team. Marina represents the company in the outside world, amidst investors and stakeholders, and with the education industry in general.
Marina acknowledges that building a business from scratch is always challenging. There are several resistances that one needs to bypass during the journey of building a tech startup. Currently, online language education is setting the standards in terms of quality and flexibility, and mYngle has been a part of that. “This has been for me the greatest professional achievement to date,” mentions Marina.
Perks of Online Education
Marina remarks that customers are presently discovering advantages of virtual education over traditional education in a physical classroom. Although the benefits are often similar to those offered by face-to-face lessons, Marina states the following exclusivities offered by online education.
- Significantly more convenient than physical classrooms in terms of flexibility— with lessons 24/7 and flexible scheduling;
- Enables the possibility to take lessons from any location, even when traveling;
- Enables the possibility of benefitting the skills of teachers that are not located in geographical proximity; and
- This flexibility can allow more frequent lessons, increasing retention of information and therefore taking less time to achieve results.
Marina believes that these benefits will go beyond the short-term limitations induced by the lockdown and modernize the world of education.
Pioneering Digital Transformation
Before the pandemic, the (language) training market was already in its transitional phase—shifting from offline to online mode—and this shift has accelerated in the past years. Marina states, “This age of quarantines, social distancing, and remote working fast-tracked the trend, online education becoming in many cases the only possible way of learning.”
In response to the increasing demands for online training, many traditional offline players have been seeking quick solutions for incorporating digital transition. According to Marina, good remote training is not just a matter of adding a tech solution for the virtual classroom and shifting from physical teaching to computerized teaching. It requires a whole new set of expertise and capabilities—different from those of offline education. Moreover, aspects such as the delivery of training, teaching, content, interaction, and others need to be changed for providing good user expertise.
mYngle was one of the pioneers in live online language training. Marina states that since the company is at the cross-road currently, it can benefit from several years of experience and proven capabilities to deliver successful online training. During its initial period, mYngle was pioneering—being amongst the first to provide one-to-one teaching of all languages over the internet. By understanding the customer and diversifying its offer in terms of teacher- content- frequency, mYngle matches each specific need. While the COVID-19 induced disruptions challenged several traditional offline businesses with the sudden shift, mYngle was already in the ‘right place’. The company is making an impact—staying ahead in the digital transformation—by constantly innovating and pursuing the best possible quality and results, educating the market on the difference between improvised solutions and years of expertise.
Dawn of Online Education
mYngle understands the proximities of migrating classroom training programs to digital platforms and the impacts and requirements induced by the transition. The company aims to improve the experience while aligning with the growing market trends.
Marina asserts that online education is here to stay and has proved the only possible way of training during lockdowns. She believes that the adoption of online solutions will continue post-pandemic and that online learning will accelerate in the upcoming days. She adds, “After years of encouraging eLearning and virtual classroom approaches, the pandemic has helped move the needle on technology acceptance, for learners and L&D professionals alike.”
Additionally, Marina remarks that L&D budgets will shift from offline to online learning—the only viable option with remote working. Learners who embrace online learning during difficult circumstances will continue relying on it post the pandemic.
