It’s an important topic. A lot of ELLs are anxious before taking online lessons for the first time, the same way they were anxious before their first day of school. New is scary. But this feeling ought to be overcome because there are many reasons why to take English lessons online.
Time
The one thing we can’t get more of: time. Modern life is busy, and it gets busier and busier as we get older, especially when we live in the city.
How does taking English lessons online save time? The answer is simple: no transport. It can take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour (including getting ready to go, walking, transport, and arriving) to get to the nearest English school. That means, for each 1-hour class you take, there is 1-2 hours of getting there and getting back. A 1-hour English lesson takes 2-3 hours of your life.
Taking online English lessons only has setup and possible connection issues. Setup is usually 1 minute for the student, turning on the computer or phone and sitting at a desk. After getting everything in order the first time, connection issues usually only take away 30 seconds from an average class. It usually happens like this, “Hmm, you’re frozen, let me call you again,” and then, “Ah! That’s better!”
Every once in a long while, there is a connection issue that takes away a big chunk of class time, but this actually happens far less often then traffic jams and snowstorms!
So, when you go to a face-to-face class, you are actually paying for a 2-3 hour lesson with more than half the time not spend learning English. That makes time one of the biggest reasons why to take English lessons online. And time is money.
Money
There are a few ways taking English lessons online can save you money. As you save time, that indirectly effects your finances as you are free to use that time for other things, such as leisure or business. If you have good leisure habits, this extra time will improve your productivity while working. If you use the time for business, and you have good business practices, this extra time will help you make more money.
But, since we already talked about time, let’s talk about how English lessons directly save you money when taken online. The most obvious way is that you don’t have to pay to get to and from the class, whether you go by taxi, bus, car, or whatever. The only cost is internet, which you are most likely already paying.
Besides that, there are satellite costs to having face-to-face class. What I mean by satellite costs is costs that come from things surrounding the classes but not the classes themselves. These can include the food and drink you have because you are out of the house, a backpack to carry your things, a nice travel mug for your favorite hot drink, and other similar expenses. It’s cheaper to stay, eat, and drink at home.
Speaking of homes, there’s another cost you don’t realize you are paying for when you buy face-to-face classes: the building. When you go to an English school, you pay for the school building, the teachers’ salaries, materials, desks and chairs, and everything else that’s part of the school. English lessons tend to be cheaper online because you don’t have to pay for lots of these. You just pay for the teacher’s salary, which is enough for their home, but not an extra building. This can make online lessons much cheaper.
Convenience
Do you live in a cold wintery place? How about a hot desert? Wouldn’t it be nice to stay at home when the weather is bad? Say hello to online English lessons!
If you really want to talk about why taking English lessons online is great, you have to talk about convenience. It’s really a minimal effort solution to learning. You don’t even have to leave your house! Do you want to sit outside and have a smoke while learning? Sure! (Although I wouldn’t recommend it because smoking is unhealthy.) Do you want to have class on your couch in your pajamas? Why not! Are you stuck in traffic on the way home from work on the bus and won’t be able to get home in time for class? Headphones + phone = No problem! Taking English lessons online is the most convenient way to learn English.
Focus
This is something that experienced online teachers and students understand that others don’t usually get. Compared to face-to-face lessons, online lessons tend to be more focused on the language content. When online, teachers and students feel like every minute counts more than when learning face-to-face. The result is that both are more focused on the actual language learning, and less focused on unimportant things that tend to make their way into lessons. With a good online teacher, this makes learning English online more efficient. This reason why to take English lessons online is related to the money and time arguments, because you get more from the same amount of time and money.
Flexibility
Another big reason why to take English lessons online is flexibility. This flexibility relates to many areas. The one we already mentioned is flexibility of location. You can learn from your bedroom, your porch, your backyard, your neighbors, your office, your hotel room, and anywhere in else in the world with an internet connection. It’s actually harder to think of a place you can’t have lessons than to think of a place you can! Face-to-face English lessons can only happen at one place: where you booked them.
There is also flexibility in time. Online teachers tend to have more flexible schedules since they aren’t tied to an institution, and that gives you more time slots available. A brick-and-mortar English school has set business hours that all of their teachers adhere to. Online schools tend to have teachers that work at different times, since they can live in different time zones, and that means you could find a teacher and study any time of the day you want.
Speaking of other teachers, flexibility in choosing a teacher is another reason why to take English lessons online. Within an hour of your house, you might have a handful of English schools. When you go to them, you’ll find that you probably won’t get to pick a teacher, but they will pick one for you. That’s how most schools work. But online, it’s the opposite. Most of the time you get to pick your teacher. And you have access to thousands (probably tens of thousands) of teachers around the world. It’s easier than ever to find the right teacher that works for you. You just have to go through a number of free demo lessons to find the right one.
Not only that, but if you find freelance English teachers who aren’t tied to a school, they have more flexibility in what they can teach. Schools have set curriculums and teaching methods that the teachers have to follow, even if they don’t want to or find a better way. Independent online teachers aren’t restricted by their schools. Taking English lessons online is flexible.
Why not take English lessons online now?
There you have 5 great reasons to take English lessons online. They save you time and money; they are more convenient and focused; and they are flexible in many ways. If you’ve never given it a try, you have to at least once to see how much your English can grow from learning English online.
You can search for online lessons, or you can try out a free lesson for adults with us by booking a free demo right now and learn from a professional English teacher. You won’t regret it!