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Alan Schwartz

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New Career English (ESP) Courses Now on EnglishCentral

New Career English (ESP) Courses Now on EnglishCentral

We have launched a series of new Career English (ESP) courses, based on the industry leading series Career Paths, from Express Publishing and several titles from Cambridge University Press.  These special purpose courses are designed for professionals and students in vocational schools and colleges to help them develop the language skills they need to succeed in a professional work situation.

Olympic Sports

This  course is a resource for sport-event support staff who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to the Olympics.

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Information Technology

This course is a resource for information technology professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to the computers and IT.

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Software Engineering

This course is a resource for software engineering professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that addresses topics including software development, software testing, the user interface, modeling and career options.

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Engineering

This  course is a resource for engineering professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of tools, engineering concepts, conversions and career options.

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Call Center

This course is a resource for call centers professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to call centers and customer care.

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Computer Engineering

This course is a resource for computer engineering professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that addresses topics including numbers, computer accessories, hardware, software and operating systems.

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Navy

This course is a resource for navy professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to navigation and marines.

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Military Command and Control

This  course is a resource for people who are and wish to become military professionals. It contains entertaining and educational videos that addresses topics related to the armed forces.

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Merchant Navy

This course is a resource for merchant navy professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to navigation and marines.

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Airforce

This course is a resource for air force professionals who want to improve their English in a work environment. It contains entertaining and educational videos that comprise of work conversations, emails, news and articles related to aviation and air armies.

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There are over 70 Industries covered by the Career Path Series.

Each course contains:

  • Videos.  Interactive Video with bilingual subtitles and clickable in-content definitions.
  • Vocabulary Training.   Students learn vocabulary in-context with fill in the blank activities and vocabulary quizzes.
  • Speaking Practice.  Students practice speaking, getting instant feedback on their pronunciation with EnglishCentral’s IntelliSpeech assessment system.
  • GoLive!.   Students can take 1-1 lessons with a tutor.  Each video lesson in the course comes with a lesson plan (see sample) and with a transcript, featured vocabulary, discussion and comprehension questions.
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VNPT and EnglishCentral Partner in Vietnam

Hanoi, Vietnam  October 11, 2017  – Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), one of the largest telco providers in Vietnam with more than 80 million mobile subscribers,  today announced the launch of its version of the EnglishCentral Service in Vietnam under the brand “MyEnglish“.

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Mr. Ngo Dien Hy, CEO of VNPT Media, and Alan Schwartz, CEO of EnglishCentral, announce the partnership in Hanoi on October 11, 2017

The launch this year is the 1st phase in the partnership whereby VNPT has become the exclusive provider of the EnglishCentral Service to consumers, schools and businesses in Vietnam.

The new MyEnglish service is targeted first at consumers in Vietnam.  VNPT has a history of building successful multimedia consumer services in Vietnam, including its IPTV service “MyTV“, which quickly became the number one IPTV service in the market with over 1.5 million subscribers.    As with its MyTV service, the new MyEnglish service will use the billing network of VNPT to provide a frictionless payment system for users as well as VNPT Media’s own content delivery network (CDN) to provide high quality and robust video delivery.

As part of the partnership, VNPT also plans to target the school market through its educational subsidiary, VnEdu.  VnEdu is already the #1 education platform provider in Vietnam with over 1500 schools using its learning management system (LMS) called “MyHomework” in Vietnam.

The launch event was attended by 14 journalists and 2 television personalities,  including Khanh Vy, the Headmistress of Newton Middle School, Dr. Le Thi Chinh, Deputy CEO of VNPT-Media, Nguyen Van Tan as well as various news outlets.

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A panel of industry thought leaders, Khanh Vy, EnglishCentral CEO Alan Schwartz, Deputy CEO of VNPT-Media Nguyen Van Tan and Headmistress of Newton Middle School Dr. Le Thi Chinh lead a Q&A with journalists.

The event also featured a panel of key opinion leaders including Khanh Vy, who currently hosts two educational programs on Vietnamese television and YouTube.   She’s a celebrity in Vietnam EdTech space, partly based on her being a polyglot who mastered 7 languages as a college student.  She commented that “the power of the new service is how it makes speaking fun and motivating for learners, while at the same time boosting their confidence with instant feedback. “

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Khanh Vy, an edTech thought leader  in Vietnam, was at the launch event to opine on how it would change the face of English learning in Vietnam

“We are thrilled to be working with the team from VNPT Media”, said Alan Schwartz, Founder & CEO of EnglishCentral.   The team brings some very impressive assets to help build a customer base in Vietnam, including one of the best brands in the market,  deep experience in launching and marketing services in both the consumer and school markets, and considerable technical skill in payment and video delivery.

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The MyEnglish launch team including in the middle, Alan Schwartz, CEO of EnglishCentral, Mr. Ngo Dien Hy, CEO of VNPT Media, and Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy CEO of VNPT-Media

Mr. Ngo Dien Hy, General Director of VNPT-Media commented that “we reviewed many potential solutions for launching our EnglishCentral, and chose EnglishCentral based on its combination of extensive content offering, unique speaking technology and high quality one-to-one live teaching. We believe the seamless integration of these three elements is key to creating a motivating and engaging learning experience for students.”

More coverage for the event in the Vietnamese Press can be found at:

[wpvideo XMXNgbi5]

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Classi to launch EnglishCentral for High Schools in Japan

Classi Partnership brings EnglishCentral to over 770,000 students in Japan

Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2019  – EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, will become a default option on Classi’s cloud- based learning platform, expanding EnglishCentral’s reach to over 2,000 schools and 770,000 students in the K-12 market in Japan.

Started in 2014, Classi is the largest provider of learning platforms to the K-12 market in Japan.   read more

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EnglishCentral Partners with Cambridge University Press for Career English Courses

Three new career English courses from Cambridge University are now available on EnglishCentral, localized into Japanese, Turkish, Korean and Portuguese.  These courses include Good Practice: Communication Skills in English for the Medical Practitioner, Be My Guest: English for the Hotel Industry, Flightpath: Aviation English for Pilots and ATCOs.

Features of these courses include:

  • Videos with Interactive Captioning. Over 70 interactive video lessons, with bilingual transcripts and in-context definitions;
  • Vocabulary Training.  Vocabulary learning based on a set of industry and course specific words and phrases, including fill in the blank activities and quizzes;
  • Speaking Practice.  Interactive speaking practice allowing for productive use of such vocabulary in context.
  • GoLive! An option for live 1:1 tutoring, each with a lesson plan (see sample)
Good Practice: Communication Skills in English for the Medical Practitioner

This course focuses on the language and communication skills that doctors need to make consultations more effective and demonstrates the impact of good communication on the doctor-patient relationship. Adapted from the book Good Practice: Communication Skills in English for the Medical Practitioner by Marie McCullagh and Ros Wright.

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My Guest: English for the Hotel Industry

This fifteen-unit course deals with the many situations in which hotel employees meet guests, including reception, restaurant and bar work, answering the phone, dealing with guests’ problems, and much more. Adapted from the book Be My Guest: English for the Hotel Industry by Francis O’Hara

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Flightpath: Aviation English for Pilots and ATCOs

This course focuses on the language and communication skills that doctors need to make consultations more effective and demonstrates the impact of good communication on the doctor-patient relationship. Adapted from the book Good Practice: Communication Skills in English for the Medical Practitioner by Marie McCullagh and Ros Wright.

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English for Aviation: Flightpath

 

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 Flightpath

Based on the curriculum developed by Cambridge University Press, Flightpath is the definitive course for pilots and Air Traffic Controllers who need an ICAO Level 4 of English to work in the industry. Flightpath is the only Aviation English course to offer a thorough grounding in the full range of communication skills needed by aviation professionals to communicate in non-routine situations. With regular focus on ICAO criteria, learners are given full support in reaching industry standards, including case studies, analysis of their own communication skills, exposure to authentic in-flight communication, and communicative tasks.  The course includes a specifically developed aviation vocabulary list to enable mastery of vocabulary.Flightpath is the most accurate preparation course available for any ICAO Level 4 language test, and includes authentic industry training video. Flightpath has been reviewed and endorsed by a panel of leading aviation communication and safety professionals.

This course was designed by Philip Shawcross, who has been working in Aviation English since 1972, as a language trainer, technical trainer and technical English consultant for Airbus, Aerospatiale, Air France, and others.  He has been president of FICAEA since 2007. Read an interview with Philip Shawcross about the challenges of teaching and learning English for Aviation.

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Interview with Philip Shawcross, author of Flightpath

Philip_Shawcross

About Philip Shawcross

Philip Shawcross has been working in Aviation English since 1972, as a language trainer, technical trainer and technical English consultant for Airbus, Aerospatiale, Air France, and others. He is the creator of docWise, a CD-ROM training programme for using aircraft maintenance documentation, and led a team developing web-based pilot and ATCO language training material for AES. He has been president of ICAEA since 2007.

1. Why did you decide to write Flightpath? I think that the circumstances of my own career explain a lot.

I think that the circumstances of my own career explain a lot. Although I had done a certain amount of general and business English before I joined a Flight Training Organisation (Aeroformation, now Airbus Training) in the early seventies, all of my aviation English teaching experience since then has been from inside the aviation community. I have always worked with and for pilots, instructors, engineers, mechanics and controllers; my first boss, Jean Pinet, was a Concorde test pilot.

While drawing on my own humanities and linguistic background, I felt the need to provide training and training materials which reflected the culture, the learning and operational habits, the cognitive processes and requirements of aviation professionals. This is a process driven by a passion and which took years of observation and learning; indeed, it is a life-long process. I also realised that as a language teacher I had so much to learn from the focus and rigorous analysis of technical training with such practice s as specific behavioural objectives, task- and skill-based training, on-the-job training etc., in other words where the final emphasis is very much on know-how rather than just knowledge.

Later, working in collaboration with airline aviation instructors on very large-scale cascade training projects showed me how language learning could and should be integrated into professional training. One of the compliments which I most appreciated was when someone at Airbus Support said that the training I had developed was the ‘missing link’ between language and technical training.

Later, the privilege I had working on behalf of ICAEA with the operational subject matter experts in ICAO only reinforced my conviction that aviation English materials both in training and testing had to be written from an operational perspective to meet the requirements of professional pilots and controllers.

This experience also confirmed my conviction that the training materials offered to pilots and controllers had to be thoroughly content-based, oral and communicative.

So, when after the issuance of the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements 2003, I began to see the flourishing of aviation English materials which reflected their EFL and ESP roots, I felt that the aviation community deserved something which came as far as possible from within the profession itself.

2. What exactly are the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements?

ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organisation and they are the agency which regulates civil aviation worldwide. Several catastrophic aviation accidents in which inadequate radio telecommunication in English was a contributing factor, led to the decision to strengthen ICAO provisions concerning language requirements.

They identified three ways in which language could be a contributing factor to accidents or incidents: incorrect use of standardised phraseology; lack of plain language proficiency; and the use of more than one language in the same airspace.

In 2000 ICAO set up the Proficiency Requirements In Common English Study Group (PRICESG), an international group of linguistic and operational experts whose recommendations resulted in the ICAO Rating Scale and holistic descriptors being published in March 2003. These new Standards and Recommended Practices transformed the ad hoc use of English as the lingua franca of aviation into an international legal requirement.

Ultimately, the aim of the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements is to improve SAFETY in aviation.

3. OK, and where can a teacher get hold of these / find out more about these requirements?

The starting point for any teacher is ICAO Document 9835 (2nd edition, 2010) Manual on the Implementation of ICAO language Proficiency Requirements. The relevant ICAO Annexes, the Rating Scale and the Holistic Descriptors are contained in Appendix A. Indeed, as a teacher I have found myself constantly returning to 9835 to check that I was still on track. Appendix B -Language of Aeronautical Radiotelephony Communications – is particularly useful for a teacher as it is a list of the main communicative functions and lexical domains required by pilots and controllers.

This and other ICAO documents can be obtained from http://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx 

4. What do you think are the main challenges of teaching aviation English?
Aviation language proficiency training and testing are high stakes in terms of the safety of the travelling public, the careers of aviation professionals, and airline economics. Aviation language professionals, whose activity is still unregulated, and often still growing towards maturity, have a duty to provide pilots and controllers with training which reflects the requirements, functions and constraints of operational situations. This will be quite different from conventional academic and theoretical teaching practice, and nor should it be ‘teaching to the test’.
I remember a senior airline pilot who was a founder member of the PRICESG saying in the course of one of our meetings when we were listening to and rating speech samples, “Would you want to put your family on a plane flown or controlled by this person?” Ultimately, this is the acid test which, as teachers and testing professionals, we should constantly be applying to our students.
Given the specifics of the conditions of its use and the high stakes involved, aviation English is not just another branch of ESP (English for Specific Purposes). Indeed, aviation English is more about performing operationally-specific communicative functions in English than learning the English language.
Aviation English training should be:
– Communicative to develop interaction
– Oral, as writing and reading skills are not included in ICAO Language Proficiency
– Content-based and work-related both in lexical and functional terms
– Proficiency-oriented to develop skills rather than knowledge
– Designed within an operational context and taking into account the ability to switch codes between formulaic standard phraseology and plain language
– Learner-centred for relevance, effectiveness and motivation
5. And what are the challenges for the learner?
It is often said about language that you must ‘use it or lose it’, i.e. that language erosion, attrition, decay, is well-documented phenomenon. Someone who is tested ‘Level 4’ one day will probably no longer be Level 4 two and a half years later if the only use of English has been in routine situations, phraseology and booking into a hotel. Moreover, language proficiency – even in one’s own native language – tends to drop dramatically when one is placed under stress as in an abnormal or emergency situation. So, after 30 months of only routine use of English, a ‘Level 4’ pilot or controller in a stressful situation might actually be performing as a low Level 3 or high Level 2 speaker. This phenomenon points to the necessity of first of all reaching a ‘robust’ Level 4, working in a linguistically supportive environment and then following regular recurrent training.
This means that the learner must constantly work to maintain their language level, which is quite a commitment.
6. Are there any specific skills you think an aviation English teacher needs?
I would say that, as well as basic EFL qualifications, an aviation English teacher really needs:
– Familiarity with the operational environment of aviation, i.e. obtaining a ‘feel’ for the conditions in which pilots and controllers communicate through personal experience, talking extensively with operational personnel, following technical training and videos etc.
– Familiarity with ICAO Rated Speech Sample Training Aid
– Ability to prioritise communicational effectiveness over grammatical accuracy and native-speaker pronunciation
– Commitment to a fully communicative approach to language learning
– Awareness of the distinction between standard phraseology and plain language
– Awareness of those aspects of the language which may be critical in abnormal situations
And, ideally they would have:
– Awareness of specific operational objectives and functions
– In-depth knowledge of Doc. 9835 Manual on the Implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements
– Prior experience in another area of ESP
– Cultural and cross-cultural sensitivity
– Desire to learn about all aspects of aviation
– Ability to work as a facilitator and tutor in order to prioritise student speech production
 
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Kyoto Sangyo University Adopts EnglishCentral Campus-wide
All incoming Freshman to use EnglishCentral in Blended Learning Program
Tokyo, Japan – April 25th, 2017 –  EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, today announced that Kyoto Sangyo University has adopted EnglishCentral for all incoming freshman, over 6,000 students, taking the compulsory “General English” class starting this year.   EnglishCentral will be used as part of blended learning curriculum that combines a traditional textbook  with EnglishCentral’s e-learning platform that emphasizes listening, speaking and vocabulary learning through interactive videos.
Kyoto Sangyo University has been testing  EnglishCentral in certain classes for several years.  A 2016 study at the University comparing TOEFL scores before and after the use of  EnglishCentral showed high levels of student engagement and TOEFL test score increases on average of 40 points, and as high as 80 points for the most engaged students, in just 10 weeks.   In 2017, Kyoto Sangyo decided to adopt EnglishCentral for all incoming freshmen.
The university’s compulsory “general English” course covers the 4 primary skills of English: reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Lectures are generally led by a Japanese faculty members in combination with classes focused on English communication led by native teachers.  The challenge of improving students’ speaking and listening ability is that the native teacher classes are held only once per week, giving limited time for students to engage in listening and speaking practice. 
The idea behind adopting EnglishCentral broadly across the curriculum is to give students more exposure to conversational English and more opportunities to practice conversational English outside of class.  Each lesson in the students’ textbook corresponds with an interactive video lesson, where students can watch and listen to authentic English, easily build their vocabulary as they watch, and then practice speaking what they’ve learned getting feedback on their pronunciation and fluency.
In addition to allowing teachers to build interactive video courses mapped to textbooks adopted in the class, students are  able to use EnglishCentral’s diverse library of 10,000+ video lessons, covering over 50 topics,  including, for example, interviews with celebrities, politics, technology and more.  This library allows students to enjoy English based on their own interests and level, increasing their motivation to seek out more exposure to conversational English.
“EnglishCentral now plays an important role in our curriculum  because students  have few opportunities to be immersed in English except for one class a week,” according to Kyoto Sangyo University Associate Professor James Holsworth.  “Now that students can enjoy the EnglishCentral video courses linked to their textbook, they have  many more opportunities to practice outside of class.”
“We are very pleased that EnglishCentral has been widely adopted and used at Kyoto Sangyo University,” said Hirofumi Matsumura, the General Manager of EnglishCentral in Japan.   “After testing our platform for several years, we are very happy to work with the university to create a blended curriculum for their general English classes, allowing over 6,000 students to improve their English with the EnglishCentral app and platform.” 
casestudy
 
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Japan Professional  Soccer Team Adopts EnglishCentral for Learning English
Albirex Niigata Singapore Players Learn English Online with EnglishCentral Video Lessons and 1-on-1 Lessons with Tutors
Tokyo, Japan – January 31, 2017 – EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, announced its 2017 sponsorship of the Japanese soccer team,  Albirex Niigata Singapore, the only Japanese professional soccer team based outside of Japan.  As part of the sponsorship, EnglishCentral will provide a curriculum of video-based self study materials as well as live 1:1 tutoring online to all members of the team. 
The EnglishCentral Online Learning Solution will be available not only to the professional players on the team, but also to the next generation of soccer players coming up through the team’s soccer school.  In addition, EnglishCentral and Albirex Niigata Singapore are planning various campaigns to promote cross-cultural communication during matches at Jurong East Stadium and Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, at  team events  and on the team’s  website.  These activities fit into the broader mission of the club to develop the next generation Japanese soccer player to face the challenges of the world by building a strong character, including global communication skills.
Albirex Niigata Singapore is the first team in 20 years’ history of SLeague to achieve in 2016 the quadruple crown, by capturing four titles:  “Community Shield”, “League Cup”, “League Regular Championship”, and “Singapore Cup”.   As the Albirex Niigata Singapore team seeks to repeat its championship season in 2017, the EnglishCentral logo will be prominently displayed on the team’s uniform. 
Shuto Inaba,  the team’s midfielder, who has been using the innovative online learning solution since 2016, commented: “I couldn’t speak English at all before joining the team. Learning English through this platform, I gradually came to understand what opposing team members say during the game and finally am able to communicate with referees smoothly. We will defend our championship, learning English with EnglishCentral, as part of our training.”
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Profile
Shuto Inaba
□ Position: Midfield
□ Uniform Number: 6
□ Date of Birth: Jun 29, 1992
□ Hight/Weight: 172cm / 66kg
□ Place of Birth: Osaka
□ History: Hijiri SC → Osaka Central → Risho Shonan HS. → Fukuoka Univ.

 This is the 4th year EnglishCentral (formerly know as Langrich) will be sponsoring the Albirex team in the Singapore SLeague. EnglishCentral is “happy to be part of helping the next generation of soccer players become comfortable using English, making them ready for the challenges of the soccer world and beyond”, said Hirofumi Matsumura, General Manager of Japan.
About EnglishCentral
EnglishCentral is the most widely adopted online English language conversation platform in the world, changing the way students and professionals across the globe learn to speak English. Adopted by over 400 universities, schools and corporations in over 100 countries, the company delivers interactive, video-based language learning experiences for both self-study and one-on-one tutoring, providing one of the most widely adopted and complete platforms for practicing and mastering English conversation online. Its extensive library of videos lessons, proprietary IntelliSpeech℠ speech assessment technology, and pre-built course modules guarantees results for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. EnglishCentral partnerships include the world’s largest private and online English language schools including Open English (Latin America), UOL(Brazil), NTT Learning (Japan), and Siwon (Korea).
Learn more at  EnglishCentral or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
■About Albirex Niigata Singapore
Albirex Niigata Singapore organized with only young Japanese players, joined the SLeague, the professional soccer league in Singapore, in 2004, and won the championship in 2016 season for the first time since its establishment. The team also aims to contribute to developing Singapore soccer culture as well as to promote international experience for its players. As a comprehensive community sports club, Albirex Niigata Singapore is expanding its sports business beyond soccer and is developing into Malaysia, Myanmar, and Spain.
http://www.albirex.com.sg/en/
 
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Leading Japanese Educational Publisher Makes Strategic Investment in EnglishCentral
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Leveraging New Opportunity for Improving the Speaking Proficiency of English Language Learners as Japan Reforms Its University Entrance Exams
ARLINGTON, MA – December 21, 2016 –  EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, today announced a multi-million  strategic investment from Kirihara Shoten K.K., the leading provider of high school textbook products and services for the Japanese education market.   As part of the deal, the companies also entered into a distribution agreement to integrate EnglishCentral’s engaging and interactive English language speaking solutions into Kirihara Shoten’s English textbooks adopted as an official government textbook for high schools in Japan, giving  Japanese students a new way to improve their speaking proficiency. 
In an age of globalization and in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan is making radical changes in English-language education, elevating the importance of English speaking.  Japan’s education ministry has set new standards for those wishing to enter universities in the 2020 academic year, incorporating speaking on the test for the first time. This policy change has triggered a domino effect whereby high school English curriculum designers are eagerly looking for ways to improve student’s English speaking ability to prepare their students for the changes in the college entrance exam.   
 “Japanese educators now understand that you can’t learn to actually speak English just from a textbook alone,” Kirihara’s CEO, Satoshi Saito.  “With EnglishCentral, we now have a low cost solution to offer speaking practice to high school students.  We are excited to open this new door and pave the way towards a new era of English education in Japan.   We believe so strongly in this approach, we wanted to become shareholders in EnglishCentral to show our commitment.”
EnglishCentral’s expansion into the high school mark is part of a larger program the Japanese government has to introduce Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the classroom to enable innovative new technologies in Japanese K-12.   During a recent onsite visit to an elementary school in Tokyo, Japan’s Minister of Communications highlighted EnglishCentral’s unique online English conversation solution as an effective method to improve student’s English speaking ability in the elementary school market as well. 
“We are pleased to welcome Kirihara as an investor and strategic partner,” said Alan Schwartz, Founder & CEO of EnglishCentral. “Kirihara has a broad portfolio of successful government textbooks and supplementary materials for learning English and a proven track record of creating value in this industry. We believe this mutually beneficial relationship will open new opportunities for our conversation solutions across Japan, particularly in light of the new speaking proficiency requirements in university entrance exams.”
About Kirihara Shoten
Kirihara Shoten is a leading publisher of educational materials for high school students in Japan. Kirihara publishes textbooks on English Language approved by Japanese government for use over 40% of high-end private high schools in Japan.  Some of its best-selling title include Forest for Grammar reference,  Next Stage for Grammar and PRO-VISION for high school students. Learn more at http://www.kirihara.co.jp
About EnglishCentral
 EnglishCentral is the most widely adopted online English language conversation platform in the world, changing the way students and professionals across the globe learn to speak English. Adopted by over 400 universities, schools and corporations in over 100 countries, the company delivers interactive, video-based language learning experiences for both self-study and one-on-one tutoring, providing one of the most widely adopted and complete platforms for practicing and mastering English conversation online. Its extensive library of videos lessons, proprietary IntelliSpeech℠ speech assessment technology, and pre-built course modules guarantees results for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. EnglishCentral partnerships include the world’s largest private and online English language schools including Open English (Latin America), UOL (Brazil), NTT Learning (Japan), and Siwon (Korea).  Learn more at  www.englishcentral.com.
 
 
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EnglishCentral Improves Test Scores at Japanese University
EnglishCentral is used by many students seeking to improve their scores on standardized English language tests such as the TOEIC, TOEFL, OPIc, IELTS and many more.
Recently EnglishCentral undertook a study with university age students in Japan to determine just how effective EnglishCentral is in improving test scores using EnglishCentral over a 10 week period.
The results below demonstrate that if students follow the recommenced plan each week, they can improve their overall TOEFL scores 50 points in just 10 weeks.
Research Design & Methodology
  1. Students were given a TOEFL pretest to determine their TOEFL score.
  1.  Students were ask to complete 20 video lessons a week and use EnglishCentral GoLive! (1:1 live tutoring) 2 times per week (“EnglishCentral’s Premium Plan“)
  1. Students who completed the program were given a TOEFL post test to determine their TOEFL score.  This was compared with their pretest and the amount of improvement determined.
Results
In the first semester, 26 students followed the Premium Plan over a 10 week period.  The results were as follows:
  • 11 students achieved gains of 50 points or greater, the highest being 80 points.
  • The average gain for all 26 students was 36.4 points.
Conclusion
The results from the 1st September  compared very favorably with the gain for last year’s 1st year University students, which was 48 points for the entire year.
Stay tuned for an update to this blog at the end of the year to compare full year results.
EnglishCentral thanks Dr. Tom Robb, fellow teachers, staff and the students of Kyoto Sangyo University for their help and participation in this study.
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Thomas Robb, Ph.D. , U. of Hawaii (Linguistics), teaches at Kyoto Sangyo University where he is member of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and chair of their English Department. He is a long-time user of computer technologies and the Internet, and has created a number of websites for various student projects, interactive learning and professional exchange. He is currently chief developer of MReader module which administers quizzes on Graded Readers to students under controlled conditions. The site now has some 60,000 students in over 25 countries. He is Chair of the Extensive Reading Foundation and is a past president of both JALT and the PacCALL.
Kyoto Sangyo University is a medium-sized university in Kyoto, Japan with nine faculties with a heavy emphasis on science and technology. The Faculty of Foreign Studies offers majors in 10 foreign languages, the most of any private university in Japan.