Worldwide – from Brazil to China; from Germany to Japan - billions of people find that communicating in English is not a nice-to-have but a must have. English is the official language of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN). For this reason English is the language of international business.
Eight reasons for learning English online
1. Online learning is effective
There is a lot of research to show that online learning is effective. For example, in a study carried out by the US Department of Education under the title Evaluation of Evidence-based practices in online learning a key finding of the study was that: “Students who took all or part of their course online performed better, on average, that those taking the same course through traditional or face-to-face instruction.”
2. Freedom, convenience and flexibility
You can arrange where to study. You can arrange when to study. You choose the lesson times.
3. Cost-effective
Studying English online is cheaper. To travel to England from Japan, China or Brazil is expensive. You save hundreds - if not thousands - of euros. No costs such as transport, accommodation and food. All you need is your computer or smartphone - and Zoom or Skype.
4. Self-paced learning
You determine the speed at which you learn. In one-to-one online classes you decide how much you learn each lesson. This is because the teacher focuses on your needs and wishes and designs and delivers lessons based on your specific requirements.
For example, I have had medical students from Brazil who are studying medicine using English language medical books. For this reason, part of each lesson focuses on the vocabulary of hospitals and treatment. Similarly, many Japanese students are learning English in preparation for an influx of English-speaking visitors during the Tokyo Olympics. In this case, the focus is more on the language of tourism.
5. Personalised lessons
With online learning you work closely with the teacher. You discuss the content of every lesson. It’s your language course and is structured around your needs. Compare this to a school-based language course which is based on a curriculum designed for group learning. The teacher’s attention is focused on you 100% of the time.
6. Improve your career prospects!
English is the language of business. English is the language of travel. English is the language of international communication. A good command of English can help you gain promotion at work and open many doors that would otherwise remain closed. In other words, speaking English will increase business opportunities at both home and abroad. Furthermore, travelers also have a more rewarding time when they speak better English. In fact, I’ve had a number of students from China who are working for European companies – German in particular - where they have to communicate in English.
7. You receive personal instruction from a highly qualified teacher
It is preferable for you to work with a skilled and experienced teacher who has formal academic qualifications. This means a language teacher should have a university degree, a teaching certificate and a certificate or diploma to teach English as a second or foreign language. Simply having conversation with an unqualified person will not give you a sufficient understanding of the English language. This could mean - at the very least - that you will sometimes use the wrong vocabulary, phrases or grammar rather like you have learnt English from a tourist phrasebook.
9. Improve your reading, writing, speaking and listening
To learn a language effectively you must practice four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. You may choose to stress one of these skills, but in a global business environment, you cannot neglect the others. For example, Brazilian students working for international companies have to write e-mails in English; Japanese students working in Europe must speak in English and listen – often on the telephone - to German, French and Spanish business associates; and Chinese students studying overseas often have to write dissertations in English.
