Going Global is a digital cross-platform resource that teaches English through real-world cultural content and current global events. Through cross-cultural topics and issues (ex.: technology, social media, identity, etc.), it aims to promote language learning in a way that is relatable and engaging to high school ESL learners in Japan.
References
Kohnke, L. (2023). Using technology to design ESL/EFL microlearning activities. In Springer briefs in education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2774-6.
McCarthy, N. (2018, November 7). Infographic: Learning the digital way in Japan. Statista Daily Data. https://www.statista.com/chart/16010/the-e-learning-market-size-in-japan/.
McNeill, D. (2022, March 14). Life in Japan: This country wastes a lot of money teaching English. The Mainichi. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220314/p2a/00m/0op/008000c.
Otake, T. (2024, June 19). Japan study downplays complex grammar in improving English writing skills. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/06/19/japan/society/japan-essay-writing-english/.
Tamura, Y. (2025, February 17). Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/02/17/japan/english-language-learning-japan/.
Tochibayashi, N., & Ota, M. (2025, April 24). How Japan is bridging its learning gaps to ensure education is fully democratic. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/04/japan-education-learning-gaps/.
Hello Didy,
From an Asian perspective, I find your pitch very convincing. Three years ago, when my former employer expanded into Japan, we quickly found it difficult to hire candidates fully proficient in both Japanese and English. As a result, we had to increase our hiring budget by 35% to attract suitable talent. In November 2022, during the post-COVID reopening, we raised the budget by an additional 25%, as the hospitality sector began offering even higher pay for bilingual workers. With this industry insight, I’m confident the “Go Global” concept will succeed!
FEEDBACK:
Thank you for your work, Didy, and your interesting venture to help improve the acquisition of English as a second language.
While I am excited about the inclusion of current cultural and global content to make learning relevant, I am concerned with its market viability. My concern that its current design is limited to English and lacks differentiation to compete against established competitors like Duolingo, especially with Going Global’s focus being solely on the acquisition of English.
What would make me more excited?
I think a tool built for the acquisition of any second language would help compete and broaden your market size and share. What makes your product different is that the content used to teach a language is both global and regionalized/localized to represent users and different cultures authentically. To add to its capacity for differentiation, its iterative design could offer users the opportunity add/adjust/correct cultural content to promote authenticity and cultural value. I actually see this as an exciting tool to help make learning indigenous languages more authentic, empowering communities that are losing their language by incorporating current content to increase their relevance while also offering control offer content creation and use.
Again, an exciting venture that I think could help make learning a language more culturally relevant and specific to each learner’s goals.
Thank you, Didy 🙂
REVIEW
Is there something great here?
Hey Didy! This venture shows great potential, and from your elevator pitch, was convincing in meeting a need specific for English education for japanese students in a “futuristic” kind of way, which is becoming increasingly important in this world. The data you provided in your analysis about wanting to upgrade English education into the world of learning technologies is timely as technology and software support through AI is there to produce microlearning nad game-based learning. As well, appreciating the current nature of education in Japan, your presentation and work reveal that the tool can have a cultural impact on learning. Gamification and micro-learning courses that focus on maintaining attention and a return to learning, especially with the content the main focus on intercultural teaching is timely and could pique interests, especially for the audience that are looking at what they could do in the world.
Can I help make it great?
I would fund this venture pending a few extra pieces of information:
Recommendations for funding would be to determine what the closest competitors to Global Language education in Japan are and what some of the strategies are to compete with them in this rapidly expanding field. As well, one of the features I could see for expansion is the inclusion of some kind of social learning, what do you think of a group learning or social networking component for this venture? The intercultural aspect and focus on motivation really excites me and could be an amazing feature to maintain in this tool.
FEEDBACK
Hello, Didy.
The Going Global venture is relevant in today’s interconnected world, where cross-cultural understanding is an invaluable skill. The presentation showcased how the platform was thoughtfully designed, aiming at enhancing English language education for ESL learners in Japan. By including real-world cultural content and global current events in its curriculum, Going Global broadens students’ perspectives while promoting language acquisition.
What I like most about Going Global is its technological integration through the use of AI chatbots and other digital tools. This reflects the technological advancements in Japan and its readiness to address communication barriers and enhance education. This feature makes learning fun and highly relatable, especially since its target users are high school learners. More importantly, I love how the multimodal approach addresses the core of language skills like reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This ensures that students learn from the platform effectively. Another great feature is its support for educators, like the dashboard for monitoring student progress and professional development sessions. This is empowering for educators.
I think that including gamification elements would increase motivation and make learning even more enjoyable.
Overall, I love your venture and am interested in investing in it!
REVIEW
Hi Didy,
This is a wonderful concept and I think you’re really on to something here. While there are many resources out there that aim to support ESL, I love that you’ve really centred on making the content relevant to the learners using this tool. Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy (or CRRP) isn’t just a buzzword in education these days, it is a proven approach that engages learners and builds understanding from a perspective that matters to them and aligns with their lived experiences. You may already be familiar with CRRP, but if not, Geneva Gay’s ‘Culturally Responsive Teaching’ is a really great exploration of how to develop resources like the one you’ve proposed here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1274828
I have limited knowledge of the Japanese educational landscape but based on my experience with Canadian schools and districts, I would recommend getting your feet wet with a few of your small/standard school implementations before the Large School/District adoptions. It takes time to build out capacity for key operational functions like sales, billing, support, success, retention. These can potentially be built and optimized on the fly for a few single-site adoptions but having some well oiled teams in place with a proven track record would be table stakes for any large multi-school purchases and you definitely want to make a good first impression when you reach that point because those “whale” accounts are the lifeblood of EdTech tools.
From my point of view, if you had those teams in place, or a clearer vision of the org structure, I think this would be a very tempting venture for investors in a market where you have identified a clear opportunity for a new entrant with new ideas to capture some serious market share. Excellent job!
FEEDBACK:
I thought this was a really great pitch Didy! I really like the idea of making language learning more accessible, authentic, and culturally immersive. I also thought you did a good job of creating something that balances the structure of formal learning with the benefits of micro-learning. One suggestion for your pitch might be to discuss what you would use the investment money for, more specifically.
REVIEW:
Hi Didy,
Great work on your venture! Here is by EVA review on your venture:
Going Global offers a practical and real-world approach to English language learning, providing global learners with functional, real-world communication skills. This venture is well-positioned in a high-demand market, with a clear focus on contextualized learning by providing culturally-relevant materials that go beyond grammar drills and textbook scenarios. The use of scenario-based learning and real-life contexts aligns with current communicative language teaching pedagogy. The platform’s design is intuitive and student-centred, with potential for integration into both formal education and self-directed learning contexts. The pitch also demonstrates awareness of diverse learner needs and cultural contexts, which is a strength amongst current language-learning platforms.
The pitch outlines a subscription model for customers, which provides various pricing tiers based on the needs of the organization. However, the pitch would benefit from a more detailed financial plan for profit-focused investors. I would also be interested to learn more about the advantages and unique selling points of this venture over its competitors.
Recommendation:
I recommend funding Going Global with the qualification that the team clarifies its unique selling propositions and provide further detail on the ROI for investors.
Rating: 8.5/10
Feedback: Really good pitch Didy, you articulate your product really well and ground it in research nicely. I also love to see your thought-out pricing model and feature set. What I think could make this Going Global pitch shine is through a more overt emphasis on the problem space. You convey that existing English learning is engaging and unrelatable, but as an investor I don’t walk away thinking “oh this is a major paint-point that could be profitable if Going Global were the solution”. I think emphasizing why a school might switch from an alternative English learning platform to Going Global would help convey to potential investors why this is an attractive venture. Hit me over the head with why current solutions are insufficient and the problem is dire enough for schools to switch!
Great work overall, and a nice use of Genially!
FEEDBACK
Hi Didy,
I thought your elevator pitch was engaging and focused! It definitely made me want to explore further. I appreciate the specificity of your target market and your solution for the pain point you identified made a lot of sense. One thing I would love to see is a concrete example of how Going Global’s content would differ from traditional learning materials currently offered.