<s>
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
was	O
an	O
EdTech	O
startup	O
that	O
took	O
a	O
digital	O
language	O
immersion	O
approach	O
to	O
teaching	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
operated	O
under	O
the	O
freemium	O
business	O
model	O
and	O
existed	O
as	O
a	O
Cloud-based	B-Architecture
web	B-Application
app	I-Application
and	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
available	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
its	O
beta	O
launch	O
in	O
August	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
extension	B-Protocol
for	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
saw	O
widespread	O
early	O
adoption	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
Spain	O
,	O
and	O
Latin	O
America	O
as	O
a	O
spaced	O
repetition	O
vocabulary	O
acquisition	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
publications	O
have	O
recommended	O
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
free	O
platform	O
for	O
language	O
learning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2014	O
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
launched	O
its	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
for	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
achieving	O
100K	O
downloads	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
month	O
on	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
released	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
web	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
June	O
2014	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
met	O
with	O
largely	O
positive	O
reviews	O
,	O
including	O
coverage	O
in	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
recently	O
,	O
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
released	O
an	O
iOS	B-Application
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
July	O
2014	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
quickly	O
listed	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
iPhone	B-Application
apps	I-Application
of	O
the	O
week	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2014	O
the	O
company	O
won	O
the	O
regional	O
1776	O
Challenge	O
Cup	O
's	O
Innovation	O
in	O
Education	O
Award	O
for	O
its	O
patent	O
pending	O
algorithm	O
and	O
language	O
learning	B-Protocol
platform	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2014	O
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
was	O
selected	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
eight	O
global	O
finalists	O
for	O
the	O
Challenge	O
Cup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
traditional	O
language	O
immersion	O
entails	O
a	O
target	O
language	O
rich	O
environment	O
where	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
exposed	O
to	O
ample	O
linguistic	O
input	O
from	O
various	O
sources	O
,	O
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
utilizes	O
digital	O
language	O
immersion	O
,	O
a	O
method	O
of	O
employing	O
a	O
virtual	B-Protocol
learning	I-Protocol
environment	I-Protocol
to	O
simulate	O
the	O
language	O
learning	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Duolingo	B-Application
is	O
another	O
example	O
of	O
language	O
education	O
tech	O
startups	O
that	O
also	O
partially	O
relies	O
on	O
a	O
digital	O
language	O
immersion	O
approach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
language	O
immersion	O
is	O
the	O
E-learning	O
extension	B-Protocol
of	O
these	O
trends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
relies	O
on	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
applied	O
linguistics	O
principles	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Natural	O
Approach	O
and	O
Krashen	O
's	O
Input	O
Hypothesis	O
,	O
which	O
argues	O
that	O
fluent	O
language	O
learners	O
benefit	O
most	O
from	O
language	O
they	O
acquire	O
through	O
exposure	O
rather	O
than	O
direct	O
instruction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ly	O
's	O
platform	O
contains	O
an	O
online	O
and	O
mobile	O
dictionary	O
powered	O
by	O
Babylon	B-General_Concept
that	O
learners	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
look	O
up	O
words	O
from	O
the	O
web	O
in	O
their	O
target	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lingua.ly	B-Protocol
is	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
growing	O
trend	O
of	O
digital	O
language	O
education	O
startups	O
including	O
,	O
Memrise	B-Application
,	O
Busuu	B-Application
,	O
Babbel	B-Application
and	O
Duolingo	B-Application
that	O
are	O
attracting	O
significant	O
investment	O
funding	O
and	O
unseating	O
former	O
industry	O
leader	O
Rosetta	O
Stone	O
.	O
</s>
