Whether you budget is null or fifty thousand Euro, you too can bring online learning to your language school. Learn how to do that.
More and more schools start to see the potential of e-learning, which results from growing demand for such services. World wide web is a natural place to learn for many people and on-line learning of foreign languages has become a viable (or rather virtual) alternative to intramural learning.
Learning over the Internet is an effective method to reduce the costs of operations and to expand the target group, for example to people working abroad or living in small towns, without access to stationary courses.
Lessons over Skype
A good solution for newcomers to on-line teaching is using services of an Internet telephony provider, e.g. Skype. The most basic functions of this programme – video conversation and chat – are available for free. After purchase of the Premium option we can also provide lessons to a greater number of people in the form of a video conference.
Skype is perfectly complemented by Google Docs tools, which enable making files – e.g. exercises – available to students and follow the progress of their work on-the-go.
The course instructors who have already had some contact with learning over Skype underline that remote classes are more tiring for both sides than traditional ones. Teachers need to be well-prepared for such classes – the best method is to have a scenario ready with breakdown into almost every minute plus prepared materials. Instructors should use clear and simple sentences, particularly when explaining grammar or other, more complex issues.
E-learning platforms
Even more options to teach foreign languages are offered by e-learning platforms. They provide students with access to exercises and entire e-courses, and with an option to consult course instructors or talk to other learners. Their progress can be monitored on ongoing basis and reported by the teacher.
When opting for on-line learning in our school, we can purchase access to an existing e-learning platform. There are many companies in the marketplace supplying turnkey solutions and charging subscriptions with costs ranging from a few to several hundred Euro monthly. We can also order creation of a customised platform from scratch. The latter option is of course much more expensive, but it does give you full freedom in shaping up such tools. Consequently we get a product perfectly matching out needs.
Investments in equipment
If we are ready to invest some extra money in proper school equipment, we can offer classes in the form of a webinar with the use of multimedia boards. Course instructors conduct such classes on the basis of a presentation, they can also make notes on the board, and both are displayed on the screens of training participants. Students can also write remotely on the board, while course instructors manage the entire class and can launch new tasks and decide who can speak at a given moment. Such form of teaching can be provided also with the use of LangLion Platform. You can read more about this function on our web page or just send us your questions.
Blended learning
And what if we blend the best of both worlds – stationary and on-line learning? Such methods are already available under the name of blended learning. The idea is that students receive part of the course on-line and another part during stationary classes. This is how they get convenient access to multimedia materials and learn whenever they have time at hand. But they can also meet the course instructor and other student personally and practice what matters most in foreign language learning – live communication with other people.
What does it look like in your school? Do you teach on-line, or only in the real world?