Which English language courses to choose. How to choose English courses

We know how searching for English courses in Moscow can be exhausting. You open a dozen tabs, scroll through one page after another, collecting information about classes and prices, looking for reviews on the school website, third-party resources, and even interviewing friends. And when it seems that suitable courses for learning English have been found, you find out, for example, that they are too far from home, without a conversation club, and you need to pay extra for teaching aids. And everything has to start almost from scratch.

We sincerely hope that your search does not resemble this tedious quest, and that you immediately got to our website with school ratings . Our goal is to make the choice of teaching English in Moscow as easy as possible.

How the rating of English schools is formed on the website

The rating is based on reviews from those students who enrolled in the school through Enguide, attended at least one lesson,is studying or has completed training. We are organizing and systematizing this response, and also filling the site with information useful when choosing courses.

Why should the rating be trusted?

A letter with the opportunity to evaluate the school is sent to the mail only after attending at least one lesson, only to those students who enrolled in the school through Enguide. We collect some reviews in person by phone.. Schools with a score above 8 points receive Enguide certification.

  • You sign up for a lesson at the selected school through the form on the website - the option of the first free lesson is available so that you can evaluate the quality of training without extra expenses;
  • Attend a class;
  • You receive an email to evaluate the school;
  • You provide scores that are displayed in the ratings of English courses.

By what criteria are schools assessed?

Students rate courses on a scale of 1 to 10 based on four parameters:

  • “Teacher”: presentation and accessibility of explanation of material, pronunciation;
  • “Methodology”: lesson format, how competently and interestingly the training is structured;
  • “Office”: convenience of location and comfort of the classroom;
  • “Service”: speed of communication, friendliness and work of the administration, level of organization of the educational process.

Go to the school's page to see detailed information on grades and read student reviews.

What other useful information about the school will you learn?

Stay on the school's page to find out information about the current set of groups, training conditions, price and location. Go to the “Events” tab, where all past and upcoming events are listed: speaking clubs, projects with native speakers, entertainment events, special offers and more.

In the “Courses” tab, use a filter to select English learning schools with the type of training you need (business, conversation, exam preparation, etc.) in your Moscow area and compare the found options by rating. To do this, you don’t even need to open additional tabs - the average score is indicated next to the name of the school.

Choose courses with Enguide and it will save you time and effort, which you will spend with great pleasure on learning English.

There are many English schools on the market now. In all this diversity, it is very difficult for people to decide and make a choice. Not everyone knows how to choose the right English courses and what to focus on in doing so. Some people choose the location of courses as the main criterion, others - cost. But many people understand that courses must first of all be effective! Therefore, many people often ask friends/acquaintances to recommend English language courses.

The purpose of the article: to help you find out what you need to pay attention to when choosing courses and how to make the right choice in order to get a good and high-quality result.

Initially, you need to decide on your purpose in English, that is, how you want to use the language.
1. If you want to communicate (orally and in writing) in English and use it in work, travel, and business, then you need to choose conversation courses.
2. If you will use the language only for reading and correspondence, then “classical” courses, where classes are taught using textbooks, are quite suitable for you. As in school, most of the time is devoted to studying theory.

Unfortunately, the classical method, where the theory of English is studied, has shown to be ineffective (after 10 years of schooling only a few can speak). We are interested in the result is practical application of English in life: English for communication, work, business and travel, so we will focus on conversation courses.

Below are the most important points to pay attention to and which will help you determine which English language courses are best to take.

1. What will be the result and how long will it take?

This is the most important thing to consider when choosing a course. Let me remind you that our the goal is to learn to speak, and not knowing all the grammar by heart.

First you need to know:

  • What success do students achieve on the course?
  • How long does it take;
  • What is the result of completing at least one (first) level.

The last point is very important! After allthe result should be visible already during training, a couple of weeks. At the end of even the first level, you should already be able to speak English within the framework of the material. Naturally, the lower the level, the simpler your speech. But you should talk about yourself, your family, your apartment, your hobbies without experiencing difficulties after just one level. With each level, your spoken language should become more complex and mature. If they tell you that you will be able to speak only after completing the entire program and that for this you need to study grammar, know that such courses are unlikely to be effective for you!

2. What methodology is used and how are the classes conducted?

It will be a plus if this technique is international and is used in other countries of the world. This suggests that the technique produces results.
Find out how much time in class is devoted to speaking practice and how much time is devoted to studying theory. If you are promised that you will speak fluently at the end of the training, while most of the lesson is spent studying theory, then know that, most likely, you will not only waste money, but also not get this result. Why? The fact is that studying theory will never give you skill. Even if you memorize all the grammar, you will never be able to use it in speech. To do this, you need to practice speaking English. Ideally, the ratio of practice to theory should be 80%:20%.

Effective courses are those where the emphasis is on developing speaking skills. The lesson should explain the theory, which is immediately practiced. When you practice the rules in a conversational form, you learn to think in English, develop speaking skills and learn to distinguish speech by ear!

3. Are classes conducted on computers or with a teacher?

If you have already decided to spend your money, then invest it usefully - ask for a live teacher, go to a group, communicate! This is the only way you will learn to speak and understand English. It is impossible to learn to speak by studying grammar on a computer...
Why take a course where you'll be sitting at a computer or watching a video? You can download video lessons and programs for teaching English for free from the Internet! Another thing is that if it were effective, no groups or courses would exist...

4. Is there a trial lesson?

Many courses now offer trial lessons. You should definitely go to them so as not to “buy a pig in a poke.” The technique should be demonstrated during the lesson. They should show you how you will be taught, and not just test your level. Don't be lazy, visit these lessons and form your opinion! No one will know better than you whether a course is right for you or not. It's like a test drive when buying a car. Until you drive it, you won’t understand whether the car is good or not, whether you like its interior or not.

5. How often are classes held?

Success in a language largely depends on the time you devote to it. If you want to learn a language in less than a year, then you will need to devote time to it. How much to spend? The bigger, the better. But at least 7 hours a week for speaking practice and at least 2 hours for theory. Spoken English is a skill that needs constant training. By devoting only 3-4 hours a week to the language, you extend your learning time over many years.

6. What happens if I miss a class or leave?

When filling out the contract, special attention should be paid to this issue. Typically you pay for a certain number of hours on a course. For unworked ANYONE reasons watch courses must either refund the money in full or provide individual lessons on the topic. And if you move to another city, etc., then the courses should return your money for hours not worked.
It often happens that the contract stipulates that money will not be returned for classes not completed. It's not fair to take your money and not compensate you for your classes, or take a % of your money if you suddenly decide to stop studying!

7. Is a certificate issued upon completion of the course?

Only schools that operate according to the state. standards and issue certificates. Courses using proprietary methods (even international ones) do not provide a certificate upon completion of the course. This is completely normal, since the courses use their own developed programs, and not government ones.
When choosing a school, you need to understand that your goal is to become fluent, not to get a certificate. The presence of a certificate does not at all indicate whether a person knows how to use his knowledge. For example, employers in good companies never hire people based on a certificate alone. The interview must be conducted in English.
Having completed a good course, you can easily pass an exam in Moscow, receive a certificate and confirm that you not only know the theory, but also know how to use it.

8. Are your teachers native speakers or not?

It makes sense to study with a native speaker if you speak English very well. Thanks to this, you will improve your pronunciation and enrich your vocabulary.
If you do not speak English fluently, you have problems with grammar, listening comprehension, with a Russian-speaking teacher, your progress will be much faster than with a native speaker, because he explains everything you don’t understand in Russian, and it will be easy for you to understand. Imagine that the English language and its structure are a dark forest for you because the English “think differently”. But Susanin knows perfectly how to walk along it. And you? What is your task? To see how beautiful the forest looks or to learn how to walk through it? After all, if the teacher knows English and Russian perfectly well, then he will be able to explain English grammar to you using examples from the Russian language, and then you will understand how and where foreigners use grammar, and how they think.
And here there is one more point: not all native speakers are teachers, that is, people who can transfer their knowledge into your head. After all, we are all, for example, native speakers of Russian, but could we teach someone else Russian?

9. What is the price for the courses?

Although this is the most unimportant point, it is impossible not to talk about it. When choosing courses, you should focus not on the price per course (level), but on the price per academic hour. Some courses can cost 6 thousand rubles. for 15 ac. hours, and others 15 tr for 72 ac. hours. On the first, 1 ac/h = 400 rubles, and on the second, 208 rubles. At the same time, the main thing to understand is that the more hours of study and practice, the faster your progress will be.

VKIYA at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Higher (“Ministry of Foreign Affairs”) foreign language courses are perhaps one of the oldest and most trusted schools, where they teach to speak various languages, from standard English to Eastern and African ones. The strength of these courses is grammar: students admit that the basis necessary for constructing sentences is hammered into their heads. From RUR 27,200/course, www.mid-vkiya.ru

VKS-IH
Reviews about this school are polar: some sincerely praise the level of teaching, others, on the contrary, say that the training did not yield anything, and the organizational component is extremely poor. Nevertheless, there are more positive responses: they enjoy interesting tasks such as games and drawings, and especially highlight the “clubs” format, where they watch films in the original and organize conversation parties. From RUR 9,000/month, www.BKC.ru

Globus
Small groups, professional teachers and reasonable prices - the British Language Center (where, by the way, they teach not only English) adheres to the classical approach. From 5360 rubles/month, www.globus-int.ru

"Intensive"
The Intensive educational center believes that learning a language is worth using the “immersion method.” It’s difficult to arrange this when living in your home country, so they offer very intensive courses: the degree lasts 5 weeks, classes are held daily for 4 academic hours. Students speak a foreign language 85% of their study time, abandoning the Russian language altogether. From RUR 260/ac. h., www.intensiv.ru

Language Link
There are 18 Language Link training centers in Moscow, where they teach the main European languages, and there is also a section “Russian as a foreign language”. By the way, Oxford and Cambridge send new educational materials for testing to Language Link, and the Ministry of Education consulted with school teachers when drawing up Unified State Examination tasks. 290 RUR/ac. h., www.languagelink.ru

Big Ben
The Big Ben Linguistic Center currently has 13 branches where they teach six languages, including Chinese in addition to the main European ones. The teaching system is classic with game elements: cards with words, listening tests, grammar tests, dialogues and even choral singing in the target language. The school also organizes tea parties with cookies and celebrates students’ birthdays. From RUB 5,000/month, www.big-ben.ru

ICL
One of the common complaints about foreign language schools is unfriendly administrators. This problem was solved at ICL, where kind girls promptly help with organizational difficulties. As for the study itself, it is carried out using a communicative method. From RUB 7,200/month, www.icl-moscow.ru

"School of Kitaygorodskaya"
These language courses are described as a very positive life experience, saying phrases like “going to class is like going to a holiday.” The author's methodology allows you to learn the language through creative and creative tasks, while students are given a really large amount of information. From RUB 30,000/course, www.kitaygorodskaya.ru

Alibra
The Alibra network of foreign language schools is developing its own teaching methodology, where logic is used instead of rote learning, and the associative method is used to learn new words. The administration guarantees an Upper-Intermediate level of English for six months of regular intensive training. From RUR 10,080/month, www.alibra.ru

MosInYaz
The courses at the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages ​​are good because they operate at a specialized philological institution - it makes sense to talk about quality education and specialized areas such as literary translation. A big plus of these courses is that they not only prepare for Cambridge exams, but also have their accreditation, conducting the exams in their premises and with their teachers. From 20,000 rubles/course,

So, we offer you VOLUME 10 English language courses in Moscow, the rating is based on student reviews, the variety of services provided by the courses, and the quality of these services.

1. British Business Language Center (BBLC)

Address: Moscow, Kuznetsky Most street, building 21 fraction 5, office 5038, st. m. Lubyanka

Business English for a variety of business sectors, civil servants, general English programs (children, teenagers, adults, individual lessons), studying abroad (courses for adults, children's summer programs), exam preparation. The program uses a communicative teaching method. Students spend most of the lesson mastering speaking skills, replenishing their vocabulary, and working on comfortable listening comprehension of spoken language.


2.

Address: Moscow, Mira Avenue, building 95, st. m. Alekseevskaya

The school offers courses for preschoolers from 4 to 6 years old, schoolchildren, high school students, and adults. Foreign language courses, specialized courses, pre-university preparation, Bachelor's, Master's and MBA. Corporate training. Online classes (interactive English). The programs offered by the school include: conversational English, English from scratch, business English.


3. - English language school

Address: Moscow, Komsomolsky Prospekt, 7, 4th floor, Park Kultury metro station, art. m. Frunzenskaya

Adult students are provided with a wide choice of classes: individual, group, English club, lessons via Skype, seminars. The school provides general English courses, specialized courses, and preparation for IELTS. There are also special professional language courses on business, law, etc. Training is conducted without the use of the Russian language.


4. Sunny plus school

Address: Moscow, Leningradsky Prospekt, 47 (leftmost entrance from Leningradsky Prospekt station)

Training is conducted only by native speakers from the USA, Canada, and Great Britain. Groups are divided by age - for children, schoolchildren, adults, and by level of training - from beginners to more advanced levels. Training programs include general, spoken English, business language, preparation for international language exams - IELTS, CAE, FCE, CPE, BEC, TOEFL.


5.

Address: Moscow, st. Valovaya, 28, st. m. Paveletskaya

Classes are held in groups of up to 8 people, in mini-groups and individually. The school offers: English for children, schoolchildren, high school students, preparation for the Unified State Exam (English), language for pensioners, English with "0", conversational and business English. Preparing for an interview in English. Preparation for IELTS and TOEFL is also provided. The school offers a variety of forms of instruction, such as English on weekends, in the mornings, intensive course, short-term intensive course. Corporate language training and special professional courses are provided.


6. BIG BEN - network of language schools

Address: Moscow, Krivokolenny lane, building 11/13, building 1, st. m. Turgenevskaya, st. m. Chistye Prudy

Language teaching for children (3 - 6 years old) according to special children's programs, for schoolchildren, for adults - from general language proficiency to specialized courses. Groups consist of 5-8 people, mini-groups up to 3 people, individual training. Preparation for TOEFL, IELTS, KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE, BEC certificates. Intensive courses. English for business. Corporate training.


7. British Educational House

Address: Moscow, Tsvetnoy Boulevard, 25, Tsvetnoy Boulevard metro station

The language school educates preschoolers, schoolchildren, and applicants. Classes are conducted one on one and in groups. Individual lessons are conducted according to a uniquely developed program, according to the student’s level and goals. Courses offered: general spoken English, professional courses, preparation for international exams. Duration of courses is up to 6 months or up to 1 year. Classes are held during the day, evening, and weekends.


8. MFA courses

Address: Moscow, Bolshoi Kozlovsky Lane, building 4, Krasnye Vorota metro station

Classic course (for communication, business, improving skills), intensive courses, preparation for international exams. English for communication is studied with native speaking teachers. English according to the special school program (from 9 years old). Forms of training: morning, afternoon, evening.


9. Lingua.Ru

Address: Moscow, Tverskaya street, 12, building 6a, art. m. Pushkinskaya

Audience: adults, specialists. The school offers a flexible learning schedule. Business English courses, specialized courses for corporations with flexible lesson schedules. Lesson levels: from beginner to advanced level. Preparation for TOEFL iBT, IELTS, GMAT, FCE, Unified State Exam. The school also offers the TOEFL iBT exam.


10. Speak Up Language Center

Address: Moscow, Kuznetsky Most street, building 4, 2nd floor, Kuznetsky Most metro station, Okhotny Ryad metro station,

Audience: adults, specialists. An individual approach is provided for each student. Classes are held on a flexible schedule and according to an individual program, where the student is immersed in the language environment. Unique multimedia aids are used in lessons and club activities are held. English for corporations with an individual plan for each student.