Learning Languages Online – not me!

“Too impersonal!”

“Too difficult to understand!”

“Too boring!”

“You can’t learn a language that way!”

Many people’s idea of learning a language online are far from reality. Of course, like in the idiom, it is not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ to learn a language with an app. It can also be a little lonely to learn from a programm on your computer at home with very little or no interaction with a real trainer.
Some who are really disciplined and highly motivated will really manage to learn a language this way.

Motivation

After all motivation is a key factor in learning anything! Do I personally want to learn how to repair my car?

No, absolutely not. It doesn’t appeal to me at all. My life is too short to spend my precious time learning about something I am neither interested in nor can do. I’ll leave that to the mechanic who has learned it and just loves “playing around with cars”.

So, whether it is online or offline, motivation plays a decisive role in what we learn. Emotions, too!

Just imagine that instead of doing a course where you have exercises, learn idioms and vocabulary and explore grammar,  you have real life members of your group, a real-life trainer and interaction just as in the classroom.

Saving costs

You not only save on costs when you don’t have to get in your car or take the train to actually get there. The time spent on the journey is also saved and you have all the advantages of being able to stay at home or in the office and do your course.

And as for the hectic you used to experience finding a parking space – gone! You can simply make your favourite coffee, sit in your favourite chair, even wear your jogging pants (but make sure your camera has the right angle not to capture those!).

True, if you are in a hotel – finally out on a business trip again – you may not be able to get your favourite kind of coffee and take part in your course nevertheless.

And what if you have moved back to another country and still want to carry on – no problem, it’s the same procedure, wherever you are. The continuity is ensured!

Technical possibilities

But the thing I think is the most exciting about online lessons is the technical possibilities they offer you. There’s nothing to beat them. The various technologies available enable you to lead your students through the lesson like never before, making your lessons full of surprises, full of exciting moments and offering the chance of games, competitive group work or the integration of company graphs and reports and all together making the experience much more invigorating most classroom activities.

I have become a real fan of online classes – I know that all the time (surprisingly little) I spend getting ready for a lesson or some personal coaching is so well spent when the end product is not only fun for the learner but also for me!

So, if you are still wondering if ‘online’ lessons are really the answer for you – go ahead, just try it out!

We would love to hear from you!

Also check out our other resources:
Tips & Tricks, Idiom Magic, False Friends, Business English Phrases and many more.