How It Works

English Lessons Online- How It Works

The Twenty-first Century classroom is no longer in front of a dusty blackboard, but behind a crisp, clean, high definition computer screen.

The advantages are innumerous. 

Globalization is occurring in all aspects of life, and communication is the key to success.  The international language is English, and the race to learn it is on.  However with busy lives, hectic schedules, and rising gas prices, language schools may not be the answer. 

A wealth of information is now at our fingertips, the internet a portal to vast resources, and instant connections.

Skype has fast become the most popular VoIP software around the world, with over 100 million users, and is an excellent teaching tool.  VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol, and simply means communication through the spoken word using the internet.  Other VoIP software programs include Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, and TeamSpeak.  

Along with being able to talk to people for free, the option of seeing them using video is also offered. There is a text box, which can be used to type in information while simultaneously speaking or teaching.  The benefit of this over teaching in person is that weaknesses can be identified and addressed instantly by the teacher. 

In the case where a student is having difficulty in a certain area, such as properly using the present simple tense, the teacher can send links to online resources that they can go over together during the lesson, and can also be referred to later by the student on his/her own. 

Other free resources online include dialogues, idiom exercises, TOEFL preparation, and even current event articles, with practice exercises following.  Breaking News ESL is an excellent resource, with recent news stories written for speakers of English as a second language.  Topics of interest hold the student’s (and teacher’s) interest, new vocabulary is learned, and sentence structure improved.  Conversation flows easily, providing the learner with the opportunity of having a real life discussion with a native speaker, and pronunciation issues can also be addressed by the teacher as needed.  Utilizing the text box for this, words can be written down (often while the student is speaking without him or her knowing so as not to interrupt the dialogue) and then sent to the student.  For example, if a student is having difficulty pronouncing the word “thorough” the teacher can type the word in the text box, along with a phonetic spelling (not necessarily using the phonetic alphabet as not everyone is familiar with this) “thur- o” and then go over the word with the student, practicing it together.  The student then has the word saved in his text box for future reference, and can practice the word for the following week. 

Writing can be worked on as well, as files can be sent via the text box, and corrections can be made and explained during the lesson, providing the student with conversation and structural instruction simultaneously.  And as the teacher identifies repetitive mistakes or problem patterns in the writing, links to work on these areas can be sent to the student providing him/her with innumerous resources instantly.  No more time is wasted hunting through bookshelves, or making photocopies. 

International conference calls are now commonplace in the boardroom, and most often made in English as the global economy expands, and foreign markets merge.  Skype becomes more than just a convenient, effective teaching tool for the executive, but a common source of communication at work and school. 

Most companies have their own VoIP system they use for conference calls, however Skype also provides this feature, and it’s free for all Skype users, making group lessons online possible as well. 

Talk and Write is a free software program provided by Skype for business and education.  Providing a mutually shared white board and meeting room, it enables users to communicate instantaneously, as they can write in the same space at the same time, point out certain areas on the screen, highlight texts, and erase annotations. 

Payments for lessons can be made using Paypal, bank transfers, or other methods as agreed upon by the student and teacher.  Teachers should be experienced professionals, and native speakers.  A fifteen minute free trial lesson is often offered to make sure students are comfortable with their new teacher.  If lessons are being offered at a very low cost, the buyer should be wary.  However, people living in large cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong may be surprised at how much less the cost for an online lesson is, when doing comparative shopping with local language schools, which can run up to twice the amount of an online lesson.

Convenient, effective, and efficient, online lessons with the right teacher can be an enjoyable and lucrative experience for anyone wanting to get a head start in the global race of international communication. 

Rebecca Wolbach Silva



Contextual Language Method

The exercises I have developed for students target three specific areas: vocabulary, sentence structure, and using context to facilitate developing an ear for a language.  All three of these areas lead to an improvement in conversational skills.
Using video clips from popular "sitcoms" (regularly aired comedy programs) key vocabulary is extracted from the clip and explained, as it is pertinent to grasping the general meaning of the scene.  Idioms are often included in these vocabulary explanations, which are common obstacles in becoming conversational or fluent in a language.
Questions to develop listening skills are asked, and students are encouraged to watch the video clip as many times as possible to come up with the answer.
As students become familiar with the storyline of the program, as well as the characters (people), they are often even able to anticipate what someone will say, or guess the essence of what is being said or discussed.  Even if someone doesn't know or understand every word in the clip, being able to grasp the context of what is being discussed can be rewarding, helping them to progress at a faster rate.  Taking an interest in understanding something is profoundly compelling in accelerating the learning process.
This method is effective, providing students do their homework.  Of course practicing with me and discussing the exercises online makes it even more effective!  Contact me for online lessons today!  silvaenglishonline@gmail.com