Offline vs. Online – Which form of learning to choose if you’re unsure?

What to do when faced with the dilemma of which of two seemingly polar opposites is the right choice for you? Most people tend to lean towards the traditional – face to face learning that we all know from school; but is it always the best option? Let us walk you through the advantages of each form of learning.

Face to Face

We are all familiar with face to face form of education from school. The teacher and the students meet regularly at a designated location, usually at a school, at a specific time. The learning takes place individually or in groups.

How we do it

We teach small groups of 8 students max, allowing each student sufficient space to speak English and encouraging active participation in the lesson. Smaller groups give teachers more room for an individualised approach, which is important in all forms of teaching. Our lessons are lively and exciting, with plenty of space for conversation and speaking, which we achieve by limiting the number of students per 90-minute lesson to no more than 8.

Advantages of Face to Face English lessons

• You’re at the school so it is unlikely that there will be any unplanned interruptions.
• The classroom can be adapted to the students’ needs; everything you need is at hand and there are fewer sources of potential distractions
• There is no need to fiddle with audio and video settings, or worry about connection issues
• Being together in the same room is better for reading non-verbal cues and the reactions of others
• The lessons have a stronger social impact, it is easier to make friends with classmates

Online

The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology in education and online teaching has become the new norm. What began in the first weeks of the pandemic as an emergency substitute for in-person teaching has since become a fully-fledged alternative.

How we do it

The transition to virtual classrooms required professional and dedicated teachers who not only know how to teach, but are keen and willing to invest in their own education and training in new skills. To keep the lessons dynamic, our teachers must respond faster online; silence is somehow even louder on ZOOM. It is also harder for teachers to read the body language and the general atmosphere in the “room”, making it even more important to plan the lesson aims carefully so as to be able to pay undivided attention to the students.

Advantages of Online English lessons

• Learning from the comfort of your home
• You’ll have classmates from all over the world
• Save time on commuting and there’s no stress over traffic or parking
• Choose your school based on the quality of teaching, not the distance from your home
• You can take your lessons even on holidays abroad

Not all online teaching is the same

The pandemic has, more than ever, highlighted the importance of teachers. It is said that a school is only as good as its teachers, and rightly so. To provide our students with truly effective online education, our teachers have had to complete several training sessions and workshops, mastering the methods and techniques required for teaching online.

While being online is awesome, our brain still “needs people” in order to learn properly. What does that mean? It is important to have a clear visual engagement on top of having experienced and dedicated teachers.

We place great emphasis on selecting the right platform for that reason. Our criteria were for the students to be able to see each other clearly, work effectively in smaller groups, and for the platform to have a low data bandwidth.

Try online learning with us

We know that the most difficult part of learning new skills is finding the time to practice and making it into a habit. While each form of learning has its benefits and drawbacks, online education with teachers giving you as much attention as they would in a classroom clearly comes out on top. After all, time is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity for everyone these days.

Try our online English courses and save precious time by learning from the comfort of your home.