In 2015, David Bradford retired as the CEO of HireVue to build a language learning company based on the doctoral research of his wife, Linda. The idea for the company was turning video game technology and virtual reality into an educational platform.

Now, FluentWorlds, the app born of Linda Bradford’s research and David Bradford’s business savvy, has been downloaded over 500,000 times and has thousands of paying subscribers. David Bradford said in an interview that from 2017 to 2018, sales increased 300%, and that things are looking to only get better from here.

“I’ve had three great winning companies previously and I hope this is the fourth,” David Bradford said.

FluentWorlds is an app that takes the user through virtual worlds and has the user interact with other game players who ask questions, to which the user responds in English. David Bradford explained the app then gives the user real-time feedback on their language skills, including pronunciation.

“Studies have shown that when you’re studying in a 3D world, versus a physical classroom, the learning outcomes are actually superior in many instances,” Bradford said, “because the user is immersed.”

Haris Rozajac, a student from Bosnia who just finished his first year of studies at Brigham Young University, said FluentWorlds is the best English-learning app he’s ever used.

Rozajac began studying English at a young age while in school in Bosnia, and while he said he enjoyed learning it, several of his classmates didn’t, and he wondered if there was a better way to learn English that would be more fun and engaging.

“This app allows you to see this virtual world,” Rozajac said. “Basically, you are playing a game … and because (the app) is based on a gaming platform, that makes people more excited.”

Rozajac said his brother and his brother’s wife, who both still live in Bosnia, have been using the app to learn English so they can get more education.

“Even though my brother was never really excited about learning a second language, through the app, it’s fun learning, rather than just sitting in a classroom and trying to memorize words,” he said.

Rozajac said the BYU Pathways program was recently established in Bosnia, but in order to use it of course, people need to know English.

“I’m really excited to just spread the word in Bosnia about the app with people because I know, I have cousins who are paying probably five to 10 times for English classes than what they would pay if they just (used) the app,” Rozajac said. “And so many people want to learn English, but they just, they find learning in a classroom boring, they don’t feel they’re learning much or some people are just shy. And of course you have to travel … with the app you can just practice and pick it up really quickly.”

Rozajac said the experience with FluentWorlds is better than other apps he’s used, because it offers the chance to interact and have conversations with other users, providing a real-world experience.

Bradford explained that while the app at this time only teaches English, users can see the instructions in their native languages. FluentWorlds currently offers instructions in 20 different languages. Bradford added that they are working to add additional languages users can learn to the app, such as Spanish. Also coming up in the next few months is a live tutoring system which will connect users to native English speakers.

FluentWorlds is also expanding its team, with the most recent addition of Tim Doner, a polyglot who speaks five or six languages, and has a basic knowledge of over a dozen more.

Doner first met Bradford in 2015 and became a brand ambassador for FluentWorlds, but following his graduation from Harvard in the past year, he has since become the vice president of business development and strategy. He said the app uses language learning strategies, such as the real-world applications, that he himself uses to keep the languages he knows “fresh.”

One of the major differences Doner sees between FluentWorlds and other language apps on the market is the pronunciation tool.

“(It helps) break down words … (to) a very basic sound level,” Doner said. “So it has really cool potential for accent production.”

FluentWorlds is available to download for both Android and iPhone users. There are a few free games users can play, and then for $10 a month they can have access to the full range of 65 different “experiences” for language learning. Learn more at https://www.fluentworlds.com.