Online Language Learning Market

The global online language learning market size was USD 16.72 Billion in 2022 and is likely to reach USD 77.62 Billion by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 18.6% during 2023–2031.The growth of the market is attributed to the rising spending on the education sector and high potential for job offerings for candidates having bilingual and multilingual skills.

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Online language learning refers to an active learning process of a language primarily a foreign language using digital platforms. Development of new and innovative virtual technology has accelerated the process of e-learning and is one of the main reasons for the rapid expansion of distant learning courses. The need for a foreign language is widely anticipated as the world economy is expanding rapidly which requires a proper understanding of the cultural diversity of a country or a region at large. As global trade or cross-border trade is reaching every remote place of the globe, the need for a proper communication system emerges as a key factor to connect among diverse communities or ethnic groups living in different parts of the world. For instance, when a company or an organization expands its office locations into new geographies, they have to recruit local employees or those employees who are fluent in the particular language of the place or country to facilitate a proper flow of communication between the organization and the people or consumers of such country. Understanding a language of a particular country becomes a crucial factor for the expansion of a business operation.   

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had boosted the online language learning process due to the prolonged shutdown of schools and colleges, impacted by the emergency lockdown of governments across countries with a view to curb the virus spread. As per data released by the World Economic Forum, the pandemic had affected over 1.24 billion students globally in 2020 due to sudden closures of educational institutes. This has resulted in a significant rise in demand for e-learning courses and demand for learning foreign languages among students has increased rapidly. The pandemic has offered lucrative opportunities for online language learning service providers to expand their users base globally as they launched several innovative learning methods such as free-subscription mobile apps and others.

Market Trends, Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities

• Rapid expansion of industries and rising establishment of main offices or operation base units of several corporate organizations in different countries, impacted by globalization present key factors driving the market.

• Wide requirement for a strong workforce or employees having multilingual skills in multinational companies (MNCs) is another key driver of the market.

• Emergence of easy accessibility to online learning platforms, open online tutoring platforms, and increasing students’ interest in distance language learning are likely to propel the market further in the coming years.  

• Rising spending on consumer electronic items and wide penetration of smart devices such as smartphones and laptops among a large portion of the global population are projected to fuel the market.

• High price of the online learning courses and issues concerning technical glitches during the online classes act as major restraining factors that can restrict the market growth during the forecast period.

• Growing investment in the e-learning process and rapid integration of advanced technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in learning platforms are creating immense growth opportunities for the market.

Scope of the Report

The report on the global online language learning market includes an assessment of the market, trends, segments, and regional markets. Overview and dynamics have also been included in the report.

Market Segment Insights

Wide establishment of well-developed SaaS platforms fuels the SaaS segment

Based on products, the global online language learning market is divided into apps, tutoring, and Software as a Service (SaaS). The SaaS segment accounted for a major market share in 2021 and is expected to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period due to wide establishment of well-developed SaaS platforms for online language learning, impacted by its flexible management system. Moreover, it requires less capital expenditure for the implementation of the service, which further boosts the segment. On the other hand, the apps segment is projected to exhibit a high CAGR during the forecast period owing to the availability of free mobile apps for learning a language. Rapid development of new language learning apps for smartphone and laptop users is further likely to propel the segment in the coming years.  

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Searching for better job opportunities propels the individual learners segment

In terms of end-users, the market is segmented into individual learners and institutional learners. The individual learners segment is anticipated to register a considerable CAGR during the forecast period owing to rising use of electronic devices such as smartphones, increasing access to the Internet, and growing interest to learn different languages among individuals for better job opportunities in MNCs and other corporate organizations.  Moreover, wide availability of low-cost learning courses for individuals through distant learning presents another key factor boosting the segment.

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Expansion of Japan-based MNCs worldwide drives the Japanese segment

On the basis of languages, the global online language learning market is segregated into English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic. The English segment held a dominant market share in 2021 and the trend is projected to continue in the coming years owing to wide availability of various online platforms for learning English as a foreign language and free mobile apps for learning English. In the corporate world, a candidate having fluent in English has better job opportunities and is highly preferred by organizations particularly based in developing countries. However, the Japanese segment is anticipated to account for a major market share during the forecast period owing to the rapid expansion of Japan-based MNCs worldwide and the rising economic development of the country, which propel the demand for candidates having fluent in Japanese.

Asia Pacific to constitute a key market share

In terms of regions, the market is classified as Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is a fast-growing market and constituted a large market share in 2021 owing to high penetration of MNCs, the increasing spending on higher education, and the large presence of distant learning platforms. The regional market is expected to register a robust growth rate during the projected period owing to increasing number of the youth population searching for better job opportunities, rapid expansion of regional-based MNCs, and several governments’ initiatives encouraging digitalized learning programs. Massive geographical expansion of Japan- and South Korea-based MNCs in different locations of the globe and rising growth of tourism in these countries present another key driver of the regional market.  
 

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Segments

The global online language learning market has been segmented on the basis of

Products

• Apps
• Tutoring
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

Languages

• English
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin Chinese
• Arabic

End-users

• Individual Learners
• Institutional Learners

Regions

• Asia Pacific
• North America
• Latin America
• Europe
• Middle East & Africa

Key Players

• Macmillan Education
• Pearson ELT
• Berlitz Languages
• Duolingo
• Wall Street English
• Inlingua International
• New Oriental
• Dexway
• Eleutian Technology
• SANS Inc.
• Live Language
• Sanako Corporation
• Linguatronics
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• EF Education First
• Babbel
• iTutorGroup
• Rosetta Stone
• Vipkid
• Busuu

Competitive Landscape

Key players competing in the global online language learning market are Macmillan Education; Pearson ELT; Berlitz Languages; Duolingo; Wall Street English; Inlingua International; New Oriental; Dexway; Eleutian Technology; SANS Inc.; Live Language; Sanako Corporation; Linguatronics; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; EF Education First; Babbel; iTutorGroup; Rosetta Stone; Vipkid; and Busuu. Some of these players engage in different business development models such as launching attractive learning courses and innovative learning schemes to expand their market share and consumer base globally. For instance,

• Considering the harsh impact on the education system worldwide, Babbel announced in March 2020 that it would open up various free classes for a dozen of languages for students. It offered 3 months of free classes for the students or learners in its core markets including France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Canada, and the US. 
• In March 2020, Sanako Corporation launched a new free subscription learning model to Sanako Connect that provided a platform for language classrooms for students. Students were allowed to access classroom sessions using Sanako Connect from their electronic devices such as laptops or tablets.