Types of Courses

Distance Learning offers students 2 types of course:

• Combined Course - internal classes are combined with lessons via Skype

• Distance Learning Course - teacher and student make contact exclusively via Skype

The main study methodology on any course is the Communicative Method, in which students not only memorise language structures and functions, but also acquire the skills to use them correctly in speech. This method is unique in that it provides additional motivation towards the study of language, and guarantees the interest of those participating in the classes, as well as effectiveness and a focus on results. All lessons will be provided only in the taught language, which enables full immersion in the language sphere.

Course Duration

The course lasts up to 90 hours:

• Combined Course - 60 academic hours (1 hour = 45 minutes) of classroom lessons with a teacher and 30 "real" hours (1 hour = 60 minutes) of study via Skype

• Distance Learning Course - 90 "real" hours (1 hour = 60 minutes) of study via Skype

Recommendations by Language Level

The Combined Course is recommended for all levels from Beginner to Advanced.

The Distance Learning Course is planned to commence from Intermediate level English, when the student is sure of their own language knowledge and can successfully work unsupervised. However, for more independent students there is the possibility to study this course starting from Pre-Intermediate level.

Course Descriptions

Course symbols:

T-Ss - Scheduled classroom study

Emails - Correspondence between students and teacher by electronic mail

Skype - Study via means of SKYPE

1. Combined Course

The combination of classroom and Distance Learning between students and teachers can be done in 2 ways:

A) Week 1: 4 hours of study in the classroom with a teacher, combined with interaction by email in-between lessons.

Week 2: 2 hours of study via Skype combined with interaction by email.

The study systems are rotated for the duration of the whole course.

B) Each week - 2 hours of classrooms lessons with a teacher plus 1 hour of study via Skype, as well as interaction by email.

2. Distance Learning Course

This course is based on contact between students and teacher exclusively via Skype. The timetable outlined below represents a weekly study interaction - 2 "real" hours of direct learning via Skype. At the end of each session of personal interaction the students receive written tasks, which are returned to the teacher by email.

Course components and types of activity

Learning via the Skype system

Working with this system frees up the students' attention in order to focus all their efforts and skills on mastering all aspects of another language: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

1. Supply of new materials

•  Traditional Approach - PPP (presentation, practice, production)

• Visual aids* - (cards, short texts and dialogues, constructions, illustrations, pictures) for working with (new) lexical and grammatical structures (requiring the visual aids to be sent to the students before the lesson)

• Communicative situations including a number of constructions, which help students consolidate and independently understand these rules after multiple usage of the structures in speech

2. Conclusion, consolidation, control

• Independent tasks with usage of new materials for future discussion

• Group Work (practice with the support of study materials and the necessity of using them)

• Testing of mastery and memory (questionnaires, working with definitions, controlled questions)

3. Assured usage of language structures in students' speech

• Role play (the teacher decides the roles, the students play out the situation)

• Presentation of home tasks (the teacher chooses a theme, the student chooses a role and arranges the communicative conduct)

• Control (the correction of mistakes by the teacher immediately after the student has spoken, or in written form by email)

Electronic Mail

• Distribution of required materials (before and after the lessons)

• Home tasks (texts, creative exercises, substitution exercises, multiple choice, etc.)

• Teacher's assessment of completed home tasks or of the students' work as a whole 

Classroom Lessons

Lessons are structured in order to ensure the speed, ease and comfort of language learning through active, conversational speaking, given situations and role play. The study process of classroom lessons includes the assessment of all key skills such as listening, reading, speaking, writing, pronunciation and also the consolidation of key grammatical structures and lexical units.

The teacher can use different techniques:

- Support by visual aids;

- Exercises in repetition;

- Organisation of exercises (gap-filling, creating dialogues, using choices of comments, completing dialogues);

- Transformational exercises (lengthening or shortening expressions, changing words, changing indirect speech to direct speech, etc.)

- Language games (lexicology, grammar, interview type games, guessing games);

- Role plays;

- Information gap-filling exercises;

- Discussions

In class, students make maximum use of the time available. The key characteristics of the lessons are as follows:

- High tempo

- Use of modern, up-to-date forms and methods of working

- Logical presentation of materials by principle from simple to complicated

- Multiple repetition of material in various spoken situations for the improvement of usage

- Creation of a positive emotional atmosphere in the lesson

- Use of visual aids