Marsay

TL;DR A small, innovative team from diverse backgrounds has a new approach to language learning based on comprehensible input. Quick and constant context instead of subtitles so you can stay engaged in the language, not distracted by reading. Help us prove the concept by giving feedback and signing up by emailing daniel@marsay.world.

Ready to go? Click "Start Watching" now. Or, if you've got an extra two minutes, continue reading below for the long version.

Hello!

Welcome to our test site. We are a small team interested in tech, education, and language acquisition. All of us come at this from unique positions. Some of us have learning differences like dyslexia, while others acquired their second language via the ‘silent year’ in the U.S. education system. Said a different way, we understand what it feels like to struggle, especially while learning a new language. From those experiences, we’ve created a new approach that allows for the benefits of immersion but without the two biggest challenges, travel (and the cost associated with traveling) and being overwhelmed and confused early in the immersion process because you’ve been dropped into the deep end without a lifeline.

To be transparent, we are standing on the shoulders of giants for our approach. Linguist Stephen Krashen’s theory of Comprehensible Input (CI) is at the core of our strategy. In simple terms, CI is the idea that language acquisition is an innate ability. What we need to trigger that ability is simply to be exposed to a language AND understand the context. The second part is key and what makes the early immersion process uncomfortable. You must spend hours, days, and weeks not understanding until you’ve gotten enough random exposure.

Our approach is different and simple. We take foreign-language media and supply quick and constant context so that you can understand the series or movie while staying engaged and immersed in the language. At first blush, subtitles seem to provide the same, but your focus turns to reading the subtitles, and you stop listening. We also keep our context fun and engaging, more like a watch party than a learning experience.

So, why the long build-up and explanation? Because WE NEED YOU! This approach is quite clever, and a small group of investors are interested in our concept. But they want more proof that there is ‘product market fit.’ In investor-to-real-people speak, Product Market Fit translates to proving that people are interested. So, please click below, watch the first episode we’ve curated just for you, and then give us feedback. What did you love or hate? Do you want to see the next episode?

Email our ‘head collector of responses,’ Daniel, at daniel@marsay.world. Let him know your thoughts and if you want us to continue curating episodes of this Telenovela or other foreign language media.