As the global Internet industry thrives, the online learning mode of "Internet + Education" becomes the new norm for education industries around the world. Committed to the corporate mission of "Empower All to Talk to the World", English education platform 51Talk has officially gone international, embarking on a journey to reform English education.
Founded in 2011 with headquarters in Singapore, 51Talk strives to provide English teaching services around the world, targeting teen users aged 3 -18 and adult users aged 18 or above. "5"in 51Talk represents the five continents; "1" for one world with the same dream; "Talk" means the communication between people. The name "51Talk" embodies the hope for the users in all five continents to communicate in English and learn from each other, building a beautiful global village together. As such, 51Talk sets "Empower All to Talk to the World" as its corporate mission.
As an EdTech company, 51Talk's core competitiveness is its teachers. 51Talk had faced the pressing problem of finding quality teachers and in order to address this issue, 51Talk had set its sights on the Philippines market since its inception. The Philippines market have an abundant supply of English teachers as the official language of Philippines is English and over 90% of the population speak in English. Gentle and humble, Filipinos are naturals at providing quality customer service with passion. Therefore, the company had established its operation team for foreign teachers in Philippines. To ensure the quality of education and foreign teachers, 51Talk is the first to set a 5A good foreign teacher standard, with an acceptance rate of all foreign teachers at 3%. In addition, teachers must receive more than 100 hours of professional training before officially working as a 51Talk teacher. Professional teaching knowledge taught in such training includes child psychology, skills to acquire a second language and techniques for teaching children. After officially becoming a 51Talk teacher, they are subject to evaluation using a five-star rating system and supervision by a team of teacher supervisors. Cost-effective, professional, and friendly with a strong sense of responsibility, teachers of 51Talk have established an excellent reputation among students. Their abilities and professionalism are exemplary in the industry. On the other hand, 51Talk implements a competitive compensation strategy and reward system, efficiently lowering turnover rate and building a strong and lively team of teachers. Up to now, the number of Filipino and North American teachers in 51Talk have exceeded 20,000.
As the team of teachers grows, 51Talk's sales increased exponentially as well. From 2013 to 2015, 51Talk's business has grown by three times over the three consecutive years and entered a stage of rapid growth. In June 2016, 51Talk reached the milestone of successfully listing on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the earliest EdTech companies to be listed. Afterwards, 51Talk accelerated its global development, setting up branches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and mainland China. Services are provided to 50 countries and regions in Europe, America, Southeast Asia and Middle East, with the aggregate number of classes held amounting to over a hundred million.
While business grew rapidly, problems such as localization and inconsistent service have been brought under attention. To satisfy the learning needs of users from different countries and regions, 51Talk built a team of renowned professionals and in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, teaching materials are comprehensively upgraded. To provide an interactive audio and video learning platform for users around the world, 51Talk independently developed the world's first teaching system Air Class. At the same time, 51Talk adopted a proactive market strategy and became a leading education brand in many countries, realizing efficient growth in its momentum.
Over the years, students of 51Talk continued to have many inspiring experiences in talking to the world. A 9-year-old Chinese girl, Li Zilin, gave a speech in English at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, becoming a role model to many children in learning English; A 10-year-old won the overall championship in an English competition in Cambridge; 51Talk users communicate fluently in English with foreigners in Silicone Valley. Not only did students of 51Talk demonstrate their English abilities through various international platforms, they also show more people their learning results in 51Talk.
To 51Talk, the corporate mission of "Empower All to Talk to the World" is not a slogan. In the future, 51Talk will continue to provide quality education to users around the world, leading the education industry to reach new heights.