Attention! It is very important not to miss out on this interview if you, your children, or your loved ones are in the process of learning English as a second language. It is also very helpful if your English is at a fluent level but you wish to improve regardless. 

As a part of our Holoflow Tech Interviews, this time we had the honor to interview Danny Kwon, CEO of the WEDIT company. WEDIT is a dynamic and innovative 3D solutions company based in Busan, South Korea. With a strong presence in both the entertainment and engineering industries, WEDIT has established itself as a reputable leader in the field, known for its expertise and commitment to delivering tailored 3D solutions. With involvement in high-profile projects and collaborations with major corporations, WEDIT has made a global impact and contributed to the advancement of technology and creative content. In this interview, we will have a special focus on their “English Together” project—an entirely innovative and immersive metaverse app for learning English on a whole new level. Please note that they also have another option under progress: “Korean Together”, designed for non-native Korean lovers.

How to most effectively and engagingly learn a second language, specifically the universal English language, has always been a hot topic of debate in education. Stay tuned with us to gain a better understanding of the shortcomings in traditional language learning and how WEDIT has perfectly solved existing problems with the help of the metaverse.

1.  Tell us about your company, WEDIT. 

WEDIT is a dynamic and forward-looking company that has successfully established itself as a leader in the 3D solutions industry. Our contributions to entertainment, engineering, and the metaverse reflect a commitment to innovation, excellence, and the continued digitization of the real world. 

Our company has made a significant impact in the entertainment industry by contributing to various Netflix projects, including notable series such as “Reborn,” “Rich,” and the “Kingdom” series. 

We have also extended our reach into the engineering sector by collaborating with industry giants such as Hyundai, Samsung, and LG. This engagement in digital-twin projects underscores our capacity to apply 3D solutions to real-world engineering challenges, enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and innovation in these industries. 

Furthermore, WEDIT has taken a significant step forward by launching Digidog, a pioneering 3D data trading platform. This platform serves as a hub for the exchange of 3D data and models, enabling businesses and professionals to access valuable digital assets for various applications. Digidog facilitates data sharing and plays a pivotal role in advancing the metaverse ecosystem. 

With its immersive virtual environments and real-world integration, the metaverse is a cutting-edge area where WEDIT excels. Under the slogan “We digitize the Real World,” WEDIT has positioned itself as a metaverse specialist. Our expertise in this field promises to play a vital role in shaping the future of digital experiences, education, and commerce. 

2. What steps has your business made to engage with the metaverse?

We have taken significant steps to engage with the metaverse, with the development of “English Together” as an immersive language learning platform being a standout initiative. Additionally, the launch of Digidog 3D demonstrates our company’s broader involvement in the metaverse ecosystem and emphasizes our commitment to advancing digital experiences and data sharing within this innovative space. 

3. How important do you see the role of metaverse in education and why?

The metaverse has the potential to create highly immersive and interactive learning environments. Students can engage with educational content in ways that go beyond traditional textbooks and lectures. They can simulate scientific experiments, explore historical settings, or engage in practical training in a safe and controlled virtual environment. This can lead to better understanding and retention of information. Furthermore, Through the use of AI and data analytics, the metaverse can tailor educational experiences to individual student needs. It can adapt content, pacing, and assessment to match a student’s learning style and progress. Think of it: students from around the world can access the same virtual classrooms and resources, allowing for greater inclusivity and diversity in education. Education is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about developing social and interpersonal skills. The metaverse can facilitate collaborative learning experiences, group projects, and social interaction among students, even if they are physically distant. The metaverse can support lifelong learning by offering a wide range of educational resources and experiences to people of all ages. This is particularly valuable in a rapidly changing world where continuous learning is essential. However, the metaverse is still an evolving concept, and its full potential in education may take time to realize. 

4. Please elaborately introduce your “English Together” project. 

“English Together” is an innovative educational project that leverages the capabilities of the metaverse and artificial intelligence to enhance English language learning. It offers a dynamic and immersive environment where users can engage in role-playing diverse real-life situations, all while benefiting from AI-driven language support to improve their English skills. 

Key Features: 

1. Metaverse-Based Learning: English Together takes place in a virtual world within the metaverse. Users create avatars and navigate through different scenarios, which mimic real-life situations where English language skills are essential. 

2. Immersive Role-Playing: Users participate in various scenarios, such as ordering food at a restaurant, conducting job interviews, or even traveling to different English-speaking countries. These scenarios encourage learners to apply their language skills in context, promoting practical communication. 

3. AI-Powered Language Support: One of the project’s standout features is the integration of AI to enhance the learning experience. The AI system provides real-time feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary usage, helping users develop language skills more accurately and naturally, similar to native speakers. 

4. Personalized Learning: The AI adapts to individual users’ needs, allowing learners to progress at their own pace. It can identify strengths and weaknesses and offer targeted exercises or guidance to address specific language challenges. 

5. Social Interaction: English Together encourages social interaction among users, fostering a sense of community and enabling collaborative learning. Learners can engage in group activities and practice English conversation with others in the virtual world. 

6. Progress Tracking: The platform provides tools for users to track their progress, set goals, and receive recommendations for further improvement. This helps learners stay motivated and focused on their language-learning journey. 

Benefits: 

– Language Fluency: By simulating real-life situations and providing AI-driven feedback, English Together aims to help users achieve a high level of fluency and confidence in using the English language. 

– Accessibility: The metaverse environment eliminates geographical barriers, making it accessible to learners worldwide. This inclusivity promotes cross-cultural learning and exchange. 

– Engagement: The immersive and interactive nature of English Together makes learning English enjoyable and engaging, potentially increasing motivation and retention. 

– Lifelong Learning: The platform’s adaptability and flexibility cater to learners of all ages and proficiency levels, making it suitable for both students and working professionals seeking to improve their English skills. 

– Innovation: English Together represents an innovative approach to language education, combining emerging metaverse technology with AI to create a unique and effective learning experience. 

It’s important to note that the success of such a project would depend not only on its technological capabilities but also on effective pedagogical strategies, content quality, and user experience design. Continuous improvement and adaptability to user feedback will be crucial for its long-term success.

5. What shortcomings and gaps in the existing English learning system drove you to consider creating English Together?

Well, for the start, lack of practical application is one. English language learning often focuses heavily on grammar and vocabulary but may not provide enough opportunities for learners to apply these skills in real-life situations. 

Inconsistent feedback is another one; language learners often lack consistent and immediate feedback on their pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary usage. 

Accessibility, geography, and limited interaction are some other examples. Traditional language schools and courses may not be accessible to everyone due to geographical constraints or financial limitations. Virtual metaverse-based platforms can offer more accessible and cost-effective alternatives. And many language learners struggle to find opportunities for meaningful interaction with native speakers or even fellow learners. Virtual environments like “English Together” can provide a platform for regular, interactive communication in English. 

Engagement and a lack of real-world context are two more gaps that come to mind. Keeping learners motivated throughout their language-learning journey can be challenging. And language learning is most effective when it occurs within a meaningful context. Traditional classroom settings may not always provide relevant, real-world situations for language practice. 

Last but not least, addressing diverse learning styles and personalization is very important. Something that the traditional English learning system fails to fully understand. Not all learners benefit from the same teaching methods. Every learner is unique and progresses at their own pace. Traditional education systems may not always cater to individual learning styles and needs. 

6. How does “English Together” strive to fill in those gaps?

Here is how “English Together” aims to fill several key gaps and shortcomings in traditional English language learning: 

1. Lack of Practical Application:
– Solution: “English Together” offers immersive role-playing scenarios that simulate real-life situations where English language skills are crucial. Learners actively engage in conversations, make decisions, and solve problems, providing practical application of their language skills. 

2. Limited Interaction:
– Solution: The platform promotes interaction among users within the virtual metaverse. Learners can engage in conversations with other users, native speakers, or AI-driven characters, creating a dynamic and interactive language learning environment. 

3. Inconsistent Feedback:
– Solution: “English Together” employs AI-powered language support to provide immediate and consistent feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary usage. This feedback helps learners correct their mistakes in real time, facilitating more accurate language acquisition. 

4. Accessibility and Geography:
– Solution: By existing in the metaverse, “English Together” eliminates geographical barriers. Learners from around the world can access the platform, making it more accessible and inclusive for a global audience. 

5. Engagement and Motivation:
– Solution: The immersive nature of “English Together” creates an engaging and motivating learning environment. Learners are actively involved in scenarios and role-plays, which can increase their enthusiasm and commitment to learning English. 

6. Personalization:
– Solution: The platform leverages AI to adapt to individual learners’ needs and progress. It identifies strengths and weaknesses, offering tailored exercises and guidance to address specific language challenges, ensuring a personalized learning journey. 

7. Addressing Diverse Learning Styles:

– Solution: “English Together” offers a range of learning experiences and scenarios that cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. Learners can choose activities that align with their interests and needs.

7. How is AI used in the app to make the learning process, especially speaking and writing English, more accurate and native-like? 

The app uses TTS for native pronunciation. TTS technology provides native-like pronunciation examples. Learners can listen to these examples to develop a better understanding of correct pronunciation, intonation, and accent. The app also uses AI-driven speech recognition to analyze learners’ spoken English. When learners practice pronunciation, the AI assesses their speech and provides immediate feedback on accuracy, helping them correct any mispronunciations. It can also be programmed to adapt to specific accents or dialects, allowing learners to focus on their preferred pronunciation style. 

Furthermore, AI-driven chatbots or virtual characters engage in conversations with learners. These AI chatbots are programmed to simulate realistic, native-like interactions, offering a conversational practice that feels authentic. During conversations, the AI chatbots can correct learners’ grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation errors in real time, guiding them to speak more accurately and fluently. 

When it comes to writing assistance, AI analyzes written responses, identifying and correcting grammar errors, vocabulary misuse, and sentence structure issues. It even offers suggested edits and improvements to written work, helping learners write more accurately and coherently. 

It is important to note that the AI system adapts to each learner’s proficiency level and learning pace. It can identify areas where a learner requires improvement and offer tailored exercises and lessons. The AI tracks learners’ progress over time, providing insights into their strengths and weaknesses and recommending specific areas for further study or practice.

8. I am aware that learning takes place in the virtual city of Lumington in an interesting way. What can you share with us regarding the setting, stories, and characters?

Lumington is a vibrant and dynamic metaverse environment where learners can explore and interact. It offers a diverse range of virtual locations, mirroring real-life settings like city streets, parks, cafes, shops, and more. The metaverse city is designed with realistic and visually appealing graphics to create an authentic environment that feels like a genuine English-speaking urban area. Lumington is filled with immersive scenarios and stories that learners can participate in. These scenarios simulate real-life situations where English language skills are essential. The stories cover a wide range of situations, including ordering food at a restaurant, traveling, job interviews, and everyday conversations. Each scenario is created to provide learners with practical language practice. 

Within Lumington, learners interact with AI-driven characters who play various roles in the scenarios. These characters are integrated into the storytelling aspect of Lumington and are designed to provide engaging conversational partners and simulate real human interactions. The AI characters represent a diverse cast of individuals, reflecting different backgrounds, accents, and personalities. This diversity ensures learners are exposed to a variety of English language styles and cultural contexts. AI characters serve as conversation partners, guiding learners through dialogues and conversations. They can respond to learners’ input in real-time, offering feedback and corrections to improve learners’ language skills. 

9. Can users customize their avatars? And why do you think this ability is important? 

Yes, allowing users to customize their avatars in the “English Together” app is an essential feature for several reasons: 

1. Personalization: Customizing avatars enables users to create a virtual representation of themselves that reflects their personal preferences, style, and identity. This personalization fosters a sense of ownership and engagement with the virtual learning environment. 

2. Engagement: Customizable avatars make the learning experience more engaging and enjoyable. Users are more likely to invest time and effort into learning when they can identify with their avatars and feel a sense of connection to their virtual selves. 

3. Cultural Sensitivity: Customization options can accommodate diverse cultural backgrounds and preferences. Users from different cultures and regions can create avatars that align with their cultural norms and values, enhancing inclusivity and respect for diversity. 

4. Creativity: Allowing users to customize avatars encourages creativity and self-expression. Learners can experiment with different looks, outfits, hairstyles, and accessories, fostering a creative outlet within the metaverse. 

5. Emotional Connection: When users personalize their avatars, they develop an emotional connection to their virtual selves. This connection can motivate them to return to the app regularly and engage in learning activities. 

6. Identity Exploration: For language learners, avatars offer a platform to explore different aspects of their language skills and cultural understanding. They can use avatars to try out various language styles and identities in a safe and controlled environment. 

10. Can users interact socially with other users in the metaverse app’s environment?

Of course, users often create avatars to represent themselves within the app. They can move, talk, and interact with other users’ avatars. They can explore virtual spaces, discover new locations, and meet other users along the way. Users can communicate through voice or text chat, allowing for conversation, discussion, and socializing within the virtual environment. They can engage in a variety of collaborative activities, including games, learning experiences, concerts, virtual meetings, and more. Furthermore, the app includes social features such as friend lists, private messaging, and group chats to promote social connections. We even often host events and gatherings, allowing users to attend concerts, conferences, parties, and other social events. 

11. Games are a wonderful tool for learning English. Are games that teach English in the metaverse included in the learning process? 

Integrating games into the Metaverse learning experience adds fun and interactive elements, making language learning more engaging and enjoyable. It can also increase the effectiveness of English education in the metaverse by providing opportunities for real-world language use and practical application. 

To briefly introduce the game content, we have a jigsaw puzzle, which is a game that focuses on improving listening skills by matching hidden images. It is a game where you have to guess the hidden image behind it by removing it in a puzzle form along with voice hints. And we have OX Survival, which is a Quiz game content that aims to teach English words and gain knowledge. It is a simple game format where you select O and X for quizzes in various areas. Anyone can easily participate, and the goal is to survive until the end and become the last person standing. 

12. What age range is the app suitable for? 

It is absolutely suitable for learners of all ages and proficiency levels.

13. Can users monitor their own learning progress? 

Certainly. First, users undergo initial assessments to determine their language proficiency levels. As they progress, these assessments can be retaken to measure improvements and adjust learning paths accordingly. The app generates regular or on-demand progress reports for users. These reports may include information on completed lessons, quiz scores, time spent learning, and areas where improvement is needed. The reports are provided on a dashboard or profile section where users can access data related to their learning journey.

14. And last, Mr. Kwon, do you ever wish that you had begun studying English using an immersive app like this? 

When I was younger, the only way to learn English was through books. I had no choice but to learn formal written language rather than words and sentences used in everyday life. Therefore, there were many difficulties and limitations in learning the latest and most popular English expressions and various English accents. I think the easiest and quickest way to learn English is to make friends who speak English. You can make English friends easily and have fun at English Together. Accordingly, I am confident that educational equality due to national and spatial restrictions will be resolved through the metaverse environment and English Together. 

Many thanks!