A school unable to find a French teacher for its students has solved its problem by buying copies of computer language-learning software instead. 

Madison Area Memorial High School in Maine, USA, has decided to use money allocated to hiring a foreign language teacher on Rosetta Stone software instead. 

The decision was made after nobody applied for a French teaching post at the school, principal Jessica Ward told the Central Maine. 

"It was coming down the wire and school was starting," the principal said. "This isn’t perfect, but it was the best option to move our students forward this year."

Students who have applied to study French will use the software to learn the language, with an education technician on hand to supervise their work and oversee the programme's administration. 

Rosetta Stone uses language immersion techniques to teach students a language, and a spokesman for the company says that the software is used by more than 4,000 schools in the US alone. 

“We never want to replace someone’s job,” Moomaw said. “But when you have that problem of not being able to find a teacher, it’s a way for schools to still provide that high-quality language instruction.”

The company is part of a wave of education-technology companies that are banking on teaching becoming increasingly automated. In the first quarter of 2014, around $500m was invested in education-tech startups. 

Principal Ward says she would still like to hire a real-life teacher, if and when one becomes available. 

“It’s hard to replace having a real person there to help students when they are struggling or to make the learning relevant to their lives,” she said. “Yes, they are learning the language with the Rosetta Stone program, but I worry that they are missing out on the cultural education and the personal touch of having a real teacher available.”