GoStudent, one of the world’s leading tutoring providers and Europe’s highest-valued EdTech company, has recently unveiled GoVR, a pioneering, immersive, virtual reality language learning platform designed specifically for students aged 13-18. This innovative education offering has been created in collaboration with Immerse, an award-winning VR training platform, and supported by Meta via a hardware donation of Meta Quest 2 VR headsets. This groundbreaking launch aims to transform language learning for students.
GoVR offers tutor-led virtual reality group language learning experiences, enabling students to enhance their foreign language speaking abilities and confidence through immersion into foreign environments and ‘real-life’ settings. Tutors join the sessions from their desktops, while students can join via VR headset or desktop, creating an immersive learning environment designed with the specific needs of both tutors and students in mind.
Speaking about the initiative, Co-founder & CEO of GoStudent, Felix Ohswald, said:
GoVR represents a quantum stride in language learning. We’ve transformed the traditional classroom into an engaging playground where students can experience, interact with, and learn languages in fun and effective ways. Our partnership with Immerse and Meta further cements our position as a leading EdTech player, and we are confident that GoVR supports our mission to provide students with innovative and personalised learning experiences.
GoVR encourages social interaction and collaboration, fostering a supportive environment for students to practise speaking with native-language tutors and their peers. This immersive approach enhances memory retention and bolsters confidence, making students feel less anxious and more empowered. The profound benefits of VR technology in language learning are evident in research conducted by Immerse. Their studies show significant improvements in listening and reading skills following VR experiences. A striking 98.8% of students reported improved English speaking skills thanks to Immerse.
GoVR offers a unique VR learning experience, with each lesson designed to cater to the learners’ specific needs. Assignments are of 50-minute, and each class comprises one- eight students to ensure an interactive, immersive, and personalized learning experience. Its courses are affordable, between 25€ and 27€, making this cutting-edge technology accessible to a broad spectrum of students. Existing GoStudent customers can book a GoVR session instead of a regular tutoring session through their subscription.
Through GoVR, students can access more than 40 virtual locations, with scenarios centred around teamwork-based exercises. Environments span restaurants and comedy clubs to TV studios and a desert island. New sites will be added monthly to keep students’ experiences fresh and motivating.
Gregor Müller, COO and Co-Founder of GoStudent added:
Envision yourself as a soccer coach, passionately delivering a half-time locker room speech to your favourite team, all while honing your English. Or picture yourself in Paris, practising your French as you order a delicious crepe underneath the Eiffel Tower. With GoVR, scenarios like these transform from mere fantasies into interactive learning environments that students want to engage with. Early users of GoVR have been overwhelmingly positive about their experiences. As education providers, we have a responsibility to innovate in response to the needs of students, so they can truly unlock their potential.
Meta is focused on building an ecosystem to support learning in the metaverse. This includes empowering the next generation of AR/VR creators, transforming how we learn through high-quality immersive experiences and increasing access to education through technology.
Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, Meta, commented:
For most of us, learning is social – we learn from and with others and from each other’s experiences. That’s why the unique feeling of presence and immersion these technologies create can be so transformative for education. Partners like GoStudent will help us understand how teachers and students can get the best out of these technologies.
Founded in 2016 by Felix Ohswald (CEO) and Gregor Müller (COO), GoStudent has expanded its offering over the past two years with the acquisition of three EdTech companies – Seneca Learning, Tus Media and Fox Education – and offline tutoring business, Studienkreis. These companies aim to unite the best online and offline worlds to unlock every child’s potential. Across its portfolio, the company employs over 1,500 staff and supports more than 5 million families monthly. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, GoStudent has raised more than €590 million from investors, including Prosus and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
