The digital language learning market on a global scenario was valued US$ 6300.4 million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period, to account to US$ 17333.4 million by 2027.

The growing penetration of smart devices and the internet especially in the developing countries is one of the major factors propelling the digital language learning market globally. The emergence of advanced technologies aids in easier access to the global knowledge hub by providing virtual classrooms and various learning resources. The evolving disruptive technologies are being integrated to provide personalized as well as a user-friendly online platform to provide an efficient learning environment to learners. The digital language learning market is witnessing tremendous demand, as these solutions comprise digital content and the platform that facilitate easy learning through the use of various interactive tools. These tools include mobile applications, e-books, audio clips, videos, games, digital software, and online tutoring, etc. Furthermore, the growing number of private and multinational companies having operating units in different countries focus on having employees with language proficiencies or the language experts and translators for easy communication with the clients. The corporates are providing compulsory training to their employees for the enhancement of their skills and knowledge, which includes the digital language learning classes as well. The governments of different countries are taking initiatives for providing platforms for a second language learning platform to students.

Based on end user, the digital language learning market is categorized into academic and non-academic. The academic segment led the market in 2019 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. With the advancements in technology, the adoption of digital learning by schools, universities, colleges, and corporates organizations is increasing. The acceptance of digital education across schools and colleges, especially in developing countries, is boosting due to the mass interest shifting toward advanced technologies. The digitalization of schools is encouraging them to procure different types of digital language learning platforms. The academic segment is further fragmented into different age groups. Parents nowadays are familiar with the advancements in technology; they want their child to learn languages independently by using smart devices through digital learning games. The digital learning platforms permit the children to devote more time watching educational videos or playing educational video games.

Geographically, the digital language learning market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South America (SAM), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). APAC held the largest share of the global digital language learning market, followed by Europe and North America, in 2019. The countries in APAC are significantly procuring advanced and innovative learning techniques in response to the increasing addition of language learning courses in the school curriculum and the greater implementation of e-learning classes than other countries. APAC comprises countries with developed educational sectors, including China, Australia, India, Singapore, and South Korea. These countries are leveraging every possible method and model to enhance English proficiency with an aim to increase the number of English-speaking individuals. In APAC, the trend for learning foreign languages is changing noticeably. Owing to the scarcity of proficient English teachers across the region, students are now opting for digital modes, mostly through smartphones and tablets, for learning languages. Moreover, the smartphone penetration in these countries is very high; also, the youth is incredibly tech-savvy, and thus, the adoption of digital learning apps in the region is high.

Busuu, Ltd.; Fluenz; Lingoda GmbH; Pearson PLC; Preply, Inc.; Rosetta Stone, Inc.; Verbling, Inc.; Yabla, Inc.; Babbel; and Living Language (Penguin Random House, LLC) are among the major players present in the global digital language learning market.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Language Learning Market

The recent outbreak of the pandemic has brought considerable positive disruption in the existing education sector globally during the past few months. Factors such as social distancing and government-imposed nationwide lockdown have contributed significantly in influencing structural reforms into the current mode of communication and overall learning process through notable penetration of online learning platforms and digital solutions among various academic as well as non-academic institutions globally. Furthermore, the disruption in the conventional educational institutions and class-room based learning techniques witnessed a surge in adoption of robust and efficient online and digital learning solutions is projected to continue powering the market's growth beyond the pandemic in the coming years. For instance, UNESCO along with several leading representative from technology enterprise and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) collaborated to emphasis the economic significance of adoption of digital technologies in learning to enable swift learning capabilities among the larger audience without considerable investment into physical infrastructures among the emerging economies.

Whereas, in a separate survey conducted by the Cambridge University, over 1,200 respondents identified an increased propensity to continue with digital learning technologies among their 60% of the survey candidates in the coming years. Hence, the recent outbreak has facilitated a surge in the adoption of the digital learning technologies, which, in turn has positively impacted the market growth in the past few months.