Lingco Language Labs

Lingco Language Labs, Inc. is a Delaware-incorporated company based in Lansing, Michigan, that operates a cloud-hosted software platform for language education in schools. The platform combines a library of pre-built content and activities with course-building tools, allowing instructors to assemble and adapt courses rather than sourcing materials themselves, and to track learner progress across the learning journey.

The company positions its technology as adaptive: courses adjust to an individual student's level and learning style, and analytics are used to surface potential learning gaps and content recommendations that help teachers direct classroom progress. Its stated approach also emphasizes cultural immersion content and an "I can" method of working with vocabulary and the relationships between learned items to improve retention. Because the software processes student education records, the company operates as a "school official" with legitimate educational interests under FERPA and commits to using student information only to fulfill its customer agreements.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Seth Killian studied computer science with a French minor and had taken three years of high school French without gaining speaking ability. A study-abroad term in Paris, where courses were taught exclusively in French, moved him from beginner to advanced and shifted his view of language learning. Observing that existing language apps neglected learner proficiency level and cultural immersion, and drawing on his software background with personalization algorithms, he set out to apply a comparable adaptive approach to language classrooms.

Business model

Lingco sells access to its hosted software to educational customers under subscription orders. Its terms of service set out per-term subscription fees invoiced to customers, with payment due within 45 days of invoice receipt and no refunds.

Subscription fees paid per order term for access to the cloud-based Lingco platform.

Traction

Reported adoption in some of the largest U.S. school districts through pilots and sales as of September 2023. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is cited as a customer, with its World Languages Director describing Lingco's courses and resources as aligned to district units and its pre-built activities as time-saving for teachers.

Latest developments

In September 2023 the company was featured by LearnLaunch as an accelerator participant, with the founder describing plans to move from a handful of districts to a broader distribution strategy.