Number of active users using a mobile-learning app in Việt Nam significantly jumped. — Photo taken from Duolingo report

HCM CITY — Lâm Kim Ngân, a student in HCM City, recently surprised her friends and family by passing HSK3, a Chinese language proficiency test, with a score of 285 out of 300.

The surprise was not because of her high score but the way she had prepared for it: Instead of going to classes, she had opted to study on an e-learning app.

Ngân is now learning three other languages simultaneously.

With the world caught up in industry 4.0, technology including AI is used widely in all walks of life.

The education sector is no exception, with innumerable websites and mobile learning apps offering busy young people solutions for learning online.

By accessing the internet on a tablet or mobile phone, a user can study everything from music to maths and foreign language to acting or set up a website to do business.

According to a report on businesswire.com, the global e-learning market is projected to reach a value of over US$491 billion by 2028 from $232.5 billion in 2022.

It attributes the growth to increasing demand for internet-enabled services and the introduction of 5G technology.

Experts agree that the Vietnamese market has huge potential for e-learning, especially mobile learning.

The e-learning market has developed since 2010.

Many websites have been launched since then including Violet.vn, Hocmai.vn, Topica, Onluyen.vn, and Mathplay.

In current years mobile learning apps such as Duolingo, Unica, Edumall, Easy Class, Mona elMS, and VNPT E-Learning have developed strongly.

The “We Are Social” report by Datareportal said that as of January this year there were 77.93 million internet users in Việt Nam and 94.5 per cent of them access the internet via mobile phones.

More than 39 per cent of internet users browse for education and study-related purposes.

A Statista report said between January and September last year Việt Nam had 11.1 million downloads of language learning apps, the highest number in the Asia-Pacific.

According to the 2022 Duolingo Vietnam Language Report, Vietnamese users spend 15 minutes a day on average learning on Duolingo.

The number of active users has increased five-fold in three years.

The company also has a large fan base, with a Facebook group attracting over 150K learners.

“Việt Nam is one of the most important international markets for Duolingo. So we would further invest in the country,” Haina Xiang, marketing director, APAC of Duolingo said.

Ngân said that she had held 547-day streak on learning four languages at the same time.

“I frequently explore educational content on YouTube, participate in study groups and use various textbooks and teaching materials to further enhance my language learning journey.

“I find that I can grasp new words, grammar and sentence structure in the most natural way possible. Learning new vocabulary and grammar through Duolingo lessons helps me reinforce my understanding through repetitive practice.”

She attributes her success in HKS3 to practice but also the well-rounded knowledge provided by the Duolingo lessons.

The HSK3 exam means she gets 15 elective foreign language credits waived at university.

“This has helped me save money, and obtaining a language proficiency certificate at this point has provided me with additional motivation.” — VNS