Frequently asked questions
There is no difference in the quality or methodology. The online classroom and the video conferencing platforms we use look and feel like a real classroom - you can see and hear your teacher, you can ask questions, communicate and complete learning tasks with other students. All standard types of learning materials, including audio and video, are available to you, plus online apps which make learning more engaging and fun. The online platforms BeoLingua uses are very easy to access and use.
The advantages of the online classroom include:
- no need to commute;
- ability to join lessons from any corner of the world;
- easy access to cutting-edge learning materials and online tools; and
- easy exchange of notes and information.
This depends on your needs and goals.
Our students' experience shows that to be successful at work and advance in your career you need a good command of English. If you need English to get a job or to communicate in your current position, you should certainly opt for a business English course. It will help you master the vocabulary and language structures necessary for smooth correspondence and communication at work. A business English course will help you adopt elements of business culture and etiquette, and allow you to prepare for common situations at work.
You can take a general business course or a course designed for your specific area of business:
- English for Law
- English for Accounting and Finance
- English for IT
- English for Sales and Purchasing
- English for Marketing
- English for Hospitality and Tourism
- English for Medicine
- English for HR
- English for Logistics
If you need English to continue your education abroad, or for personal interests and growth, general English courses are the right choice for you.
In all honesty, this is not possible. Within a couple of weeks, someone with no previous knowledge of English can learn a certain number of words and phrases, and can start to communicate at a basic level. This usually means that the language acquired in such a short time can only be used in situations that are exactly the same as the ones practised in class. At this stage, a learner can memorise and repeat a sentence, but they will struggle to adjust it to the situation at hand. It takes more time and effort to learn a language.
A complete beginner in our school, after 20 days of learning, can introduce themselves in a real life situation, share their and their family members’ basic personal information (age, jobs, addresses, interests), and they can ask other people for this kind of information. They also learn quite a few words to name everyday objects, colours, and numbers up to 100. That is an excellent start in learning English.
One possible explanation is that the names of the courses are different while they may actually be the same level. However, it is possible that at the other school your level of English was determined by a teacher lacking experience, who wasn't fully aware of what each level required.
It is also possible your English was tested by a multiple choice quiz, which is not reliable enough. Sadly, there are instances of students being placed in groups which do not exactly suit their level, for reasons of profitability.
Our approach is different, and in such a situation we choose to form more groups with fewer students, to make sure the placement is correct.
The myth about native speakers is used for marketing purposes, and you should bear in mind that it is not enough to be a native speaker to be able to teach a language - imagine yourself explaining to a foreigner some more complex features of your own language.
If a person speaks a language, they are not necessarily able to teach it. It takes much more to be a good teacher – he or she must be fluent in the language, but they should also have an excellent understanding of its structure, and they must be expert at using modern teaching methods, curriculums and tools, so that they can anticipate and be prepared to deal with any potential difficulties their students might be facing. Just like any other profession, teaching requires the right qualifications, expertise, knowledge, experience and attitude.
Our teachers are not native speakers. They are fully qualified English teachers with university degrees in English and Modern Languages. They have been carefully recruited from candidates with the right qualifications, and they have additonally been meticulously trained to be able to support their students throughout the learning process. To all of them teaching is a calling, and they are passionate about what they do.
All BeoLingua's courses are conversation courses, which means you speak English in every session at any level. If by a conversation course you mean a highest level course where you mainly maintain your previously acquired command of the language, our range includes highest level courses, including the preparation course for Cambridge Proficiency (CPE).
We would always favour a group course over a one-to-one course. Group work makes role-play and communication in general more realistic and more dynamic. It offers more opportunity for trial and error and for self-correction. Groups often become teams, which means that learners get plenty of support from one another and feel motivated to continue learning. Of course, a group needs to be small enough to ensure effective learning, and all the students need to have the same level of English.
One-to-one courses are for people with unusal workweek schedules or with very specific learning needs.
At the end of each course learners receive a certificate from our school. It details your test results, assessment of your speaking and writing skills, and the teacher’s notes and recommendations for further studying.
In BeoLingua, we make sure every student speaks English from day one.
In general, after completing an intermediate level (B1) course learners are able to communicate with relative ease on most topics, but we believe the true goal for an adult student who works or lives in an international environment is to reach the upper-intermediate (B2) level. That said, however, a lot of our clients decide to learn beyond B2 - because they see value in both being able to communicate fluently and engaging in a rewarding learning activity.
CEFR stands for The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It is a framework used to describe language ability. It was designed by the Council of Europe and its goal is to provide a universal standardised method for assessing language skills. The basic six-point CEFR scale makes it easy for learners, teachers and institutions interested in a learner's language skills to understand and compare levels of language ability. All levels in BeoLingua are coordinated with the CEFR levels.
Click the link below to find the official description of each CEFR level, so you can do a preliminary assessment on your own: CEF levels.