Making Accessible, Affordable, and Effective English literacy a Reality!

EnglishHelper is an edtech company that helps people improve their English using AI-powered tools. They work with schools, colleges, and individuals to make learning easy and accessible. Their idea is to make English learning affordable, practical, and adaptable to real textbooks or workplace needs. They also offer their services to students from IITs and employees of various companies, helping them improve reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

Deepak Verma, CEO, EnglishHelper explains through an interview with VARINDIA of how their app  - RCA works and how it can be further integrated with the current curriculum -

What is the app, and how is it different from traditional methods of learning English?

Reading & Comprehension Assistant (RCA) is an AI-powered application that helps students of all levels build foundational skills in English, from phonics all the way to listening, speaking, understanding, writing, and thinking.

Its key features include:

● Instant Feedback: Provides immediate feedback on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills

● Personalized: Learning engine that customizes to the learner

● Artificial Intelligence: Explainable, transparent, stable, non-hallucinating AI that also provides active assistance

● Interactive Tools: Allows users to translate learning content into different languages, adjust accents, and modify the speed of reading aloud of passages

● Curriculum Agnostic: Aligns with multiple curriculums including Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

Unlike traditional methods that rely heavily on textbooks, learning by memorization only, or teacher-only instruction, RCA offers a multi-sensory experience with real-time feedback, audio-supported reading, learning through mother-tongue, and guided practice. The platform provides instantaneous feedback, immediate explanations, translations, and pronunciation support. This makes English learning more accessible, equitable, and engaging for students at all levels - even in low-resource environments. The application is underpinned by non-hallucinating, transparent, explainable NLP models based on computational linguistics.

How does the app ensure continuous learning and skill retention?

RCA ensures steady progress through structured practice, spaced repetition, and short interactive tasks to reinforce learning. Students receive instant feedback on mistakes, helping them correct errors early. The application also tracks usage, progress, and skill growth, prompting learners to return to incomplete modules or revisit weaker areas. Periodic checkpoints and revision cycles support long-term retention, while teachers and administrators can monitor engagement through dashboards and encourage consistent use.

RCA extends beyond English learning. It also supports Subject-Based Learning (SBL), a module designed to improve comprehension and learning of any subject material in English. While SBL can be used by all learners, it is especially valuable for ESL learners.

SBL improves learning comprehension of all learners by offering multiple learning modes - text, audio, visual - to cater to multiple learning styles. It also helps learners understand the language of the subject and get more confident with domain-specific subject material. Subject-based learning breaks down the learning material to the concept level. Learners can mix multiple modes for the same learning material. Through automated translation, SBL enables learners to learn in their mother-tongue or language of choice, and speed modulation of the audio. Videos can also be generated in the language of choice. Learning content can be supplemented through material available in the public domain.

RCA allows learners to build their English proficiency and develops their ability to learn continuously.

What age groups or learning levels does the app cater to?

RCA supports learners from ‘K to Gray’. 

For K12 students, RCA supports rigorous curriculum-aligned courses, designed to supplement grade-level learning. RCA develops foundational literacy through all four domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. It offers curriculum-aligned lessons that help students build fluency, pronunciation, communication, comprehension, and confidence. The application ensures that each student starts at the right level and progresses at a pace that matches their ability.

For college-age learners and adults who need to strengthen foundational English, content is aligned to CEFR levels (A1–C2), making it suitable for absolute beginners as well as advanced learners. The platform delivers personalized and adaptive learning pathways that support learners from novice to advanced levels, ensuring that each student progresses meaningfully at their own pace. RCA provides self-paced, one-on-one instruction and supports learners who must use English for academic content. It builds vocabulary, comprehension, and communication skills required for higher education and employability pathways.

For adult learners, RCA strengthens workplace communication, functional English, and professional fluency. Adults can learn in context, using content relevant to their roles and daily interactions.

Across all age groups, RCA uses transparent, explainable AI to generate instant, granular, actionable feedback, making it an effective tool for learners at any stage – whether they are beginning their English journey or preparing for higher-level proficiency.

How user-friendly is the app, and how does it keep learning engaging, especially for young learners?

RCA is designed to be intuitive, supportive, and engaging for learners of all ages. Clear visuals, simple navigation, audio instructions, and bite-sized lessons make it easy, even for young learners, to explore and learn independently. The application helps students develop all foundational literacy skills using interactive read-aloud tools, speaking practice, word games, micro-videos, and instant feedback.

RCA also offers personalized and adaptive learning pathways, guiding learners from novice to expert levels. Every interaction generates instant, granular, and fully explainable feedback that highlights strengths and pinpoints areas needing improvement. This helps students stay motivated while reinforcing correct usage through supportive nudges. The application breaks complex skills into manageable steps so that even first-time users can quickly understand how to proceed.

The application delivers one-on-one self-paced instruction, allowing every learner to progress comfortably at their own speed. RCA presents content in contexts familiar to students, helping them relate to lessons and feel confident as they progress. By improving fluency, pronunciation, communication, comprehension, and self-confidence, it ensures a rich and engaging experience for K-12 learners, college students, and adults.

Does the app offer personalized learning pathways based on a student’s current level?

Yes. Students begin with a diagnostic assessment that identifies the current proficiency of students. Based on these results, RCA curates a personalized learning pathway and recommends lessons that strengthen weaker areas while building on existing strengths. The application adapts dynamically as the learner progresses, ensuring that every student receives the right level of challenge and support.

How can schools or colleges integrate the app into their existing curriculum?

RCA is curriculum-aligned and can be integrated seamlessly into classroom timetables or language periods. Schools can use it as a supplementary digital language lab, as part of reading and comprehension lessons, or for self-learning periods. In a large state-wide implementation, RCA is being used by students at home. Awareness of the application and measures for adoption and engagement are achieved through special parent-teacher meetings and through WhatsApp message boards with teacher and parent groups.

Teachers receive detailed reports on usage and performance, enabling them to plan targeted support during classroom instruction. Because RCA works on mobile devices, browsers, and offline (via app), institutions can adopt it without additional infrastructure or changes to their teaching schedule.

A key advantage for schools and colleges is that RCA is built on transparent, traceable, and fully explainable AI, unlike platforms that rely on opaque LLMs susceptible to hallucinations. RCA uses purpose-built NLP and computational linguistics models developed by Gyan.ai, ensuring that every feedback point is grounded in sound linguistic rules and proven learning science. The system is safe for students; it produces no off-topic or inappropriate content, and all user data is ring-fenced, never used for model training and protected against leakage. This makes RCA ideal for educational and government settings where reliability, safety, and accountability are essential.