Taking Language Learning into the Battle Arena

After what happened this past weekend, I can see that there's no doubt Viglo is about to create a major new path in the language learning world. Viglo is about to be a major disruptor, bringing something the language learning world has never seen before. Language learning is about to have a community that's never been tighter, all thanks to the new competitive approach that Viglo is going to take.

It's been about 4 days since Viglo held its first Spanish competition. I haven't written anything about it though because I have been way too excited planning and preparing a huge pivot in how Viglo works. I mentioned how my attempts at getting people to try Viglo have been an absolute failure over the last few months. People are simply not interested in trying a new video chat program for their Spanish needs. So, I decided to take a more indirect approach and developed a Spanish competition that would bring users to the Viglo platform. This marketing strategy has now become Viglo's entire focus.

So what happened during the competition that's got me so jazzed up? Especially considering the fact that it started off as a chaotic mess, and one of the competitors even broke down and cried due to the stress. First off, all of the participants have already expressed a desire to do this again and registered for the next event. (Yes, even the individual who cried during the competition wants to join us for the next one. She said that the idea is really good, and she wants to give herself a chance to improve.) Secondly, the competitors all told me afterward that they learned a bunch of new words, and they see Viglo as a very valuable way to improve their Spanish. And finally, as I was watching the event play out, I truly realized that I'm witnessing the first steps of a new path being developed in how people learn languages.

Right now, there are several standard responses to the question, "How are you learning a new language?" The most common responses would be something like, "I'm using an app to help me learn," "I'm taking classes," (these can be in-class lessons or online lessons), or general immersion in the language (like living in the country that speaks that language, or watching movies and listening to music in that language, etc.). Viglo is about to add a new standard response to that question, and that new response is going to be, "I'm learning competitively."

While I genuinely believe that Viglo was creating the best platform to practice a new language on, it was still simply creating a variant of a well-established model of language learning (online tutoring). Viglo is taking what's already being done and doing it better. But now, Viglo is forging a path that isn't being done at all in the language learning world. I searched for language competitions, and though they exist, the format most similar to Viglo's involved submitting videos of the competitors answering questions presented to them by the host organization. All the other competitions involved submitting written works of various kinds. The live role-playing competition did not exist until Viglo brought it to life this past Saturday. And I can't begin to describe the absolute excitement that forging this new path brings me. I find myself constantly daydreaming about future potentials of this idea.

When I close my eyes, I can see the Spanish competitions being streamed by tens of thousands of others who are trying to learn Spanish as well. I see the viewers listening to the guide and student interact, thinking of their own responses, or yelling at the screen when the competitor can't think of how to say a certain word, or getting a rush when they hear a competitor provide a really good response using a word that the viewer just learned that morning.

I can see the reluctant Spanish learner finally deciding to jump in and give competitive learning a try, and after officially signing up, becoming bold and driven to practice their Spanish harder than they ever have in order to make a good showing at their competition. And I can see some of these competitors having a really bad day, not getting past the first round of the competition, but then putting in the extra work and experiencing complete elation when they finally advance for the first time to the next round, and have this huge grin on their face as fluency in their new language becomes an inevitability for their future, and they eagerly sign up for the next competition.

I can see certain Spanish guides gaining massive popularity amongst the viewers, and tens of thousands of people getting a massive thrill when a Viglo notification pops up on their phone stating that their favorite guide is hosting a competition in a few days. Or even certain students gain a minor celebrity status within the Viglo community, and viewers tune in to see if they can outperform their favorite competitors in the live stream. Or, imagine the excitement when the host of the YouTube channel that you adore and watch religiously to improve your Spanish is announced as a special guest guide in an upcoming competition. Not only will the participants in the competition be practicing their Spanish, but this one competition will be helping thousands of viewers also boost their Spanish capabilities.

I can see that calling oneself a Viglo competitor will be a source of pride in the language learning community. To say that you're a Viglo competitor will show that you take language learning seriously, and everybody will know that fluency is only a matter of time for those who compete in Viglo.