Learn English online: Overview of e-learning courses and schools

There are more and more ways to learn English online, and as technology advances, so do new types of courses. All online English courses have the advantage that you can take part no matter where you are - as long as you have a stable internet connection. Otherwise, however, the courses are very different. Here we present the most striking technical criteria and differences between the various forms of online learning:

Learning environmentWhen you learn English online, you sit wherever you want and look at the screen of your computer, tablet or smartphone. Your microphone is on, depending on the environment, your webcam is switched on and pointed at you and you may be wearing headphones. On the screen you see either:

• Your real English teacher and usually also your classmates. In this case, you are in a virtual classroom on a shared platform on the Internet. You will usually receive access to the classroom as a web link by email or SMS. The teacher and all course participants can see and hear each other in real time thanks to a webcam, microphone and loudspeakers and can therefore all talk and work together (or in smaller groups). It is also possible to display digitized learning materials (texts, audio files, videos), play them back and work on them together.
• or a virtual learning environment such as a desk, an open book, etc., on which various types of multimedia learning and practice materials are available, sorted by lesson and level. In this case, you are in a language learning app or on an e-learning platform. As a rule, you don't see any people here, but learn independently by working your way through the learning units. You can use various test options to check your learning progress and receive automated feedback.

 Time models and support: In online English courses you learn either

• at specific times with a real English teacher (live tutor) in the virtual classroom. As with conventional lessons in a real classroom, the teacher works with you and your classmates towards the defined learning goal, answers your individual questions and personally supervises your learning process.
• or at any time of day or night with an app or on an e-learning platform. You navigate through the learning material (texts, audio files, videos) using menus and clicks. For individual questions, you can visit the app or platform's internal forum; sometimes there is also a chat function. A virtual teacher (cyber teacher) will often answer your questions - these are often fully automated chat bots. This usually works well for standard questions; for more individual questions, you may be left without a satisfactory answer.

Some online English courses combine different learning environments, time models and forms of support.

The providers of online English courses on our website are language schools with many years of experience in English language teaching - in real and virtual classrooms - and can give you professional advice on choosing the most suitable form of online course for you.