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University Of Arizona Launches Multimedia Language Learning Program, Language Canvas

Scott Brill, CEO of Language Canvas and former research engineer with the UA Critical Languages Program.
Paul Tumarkin/Tech Launch Arizona
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handout | agency
Scott Brill, CEO of Language Canvas and former research engineer with the UA Critical Languages Program.

The University of Arizona has developed interactive, multimedia programs to help teach some of the world’s less common languages. The school has licensed some of the courses to the startup company Language Canvas.

Scott Brill is the CEO of Language Canvas and helped develop the programs as a research engineer at the University of Arizona. He said programs to teach Ukrainian, Turkish and Kazakh often lack video visuals. Brill said there are a variety of reasons people may want to pursue such languages.

“Everything from students that want to study abroad to people who want to talk to their spouse or, you know, they want to adopt children from another country or they want their business to expand into these countries," Brill said.

Brill also said Language Canvas places a heavy emphasis on correct pronunciation, which many foreign-language programs lack.

Elly Lundberg was an intern at KJZZ in 2018.