Introducing Guided ESL Self-Study for Schools and Teams

Our new custom course offering facilitates guided ESL self-study for schools and teams!

First a bit of background…

As many of you know, one of the core values of Off2Class is that ESL students progress meaningfully when guided by a teacher. In fact, it’s the second line on our About page, where we list our core values. Generally, our 700+ ESL lessons are designed to be teacher-led and reinforced with a homework assignment.
As we’ve grown, we’ve learned from our schools and teams. Many institutions have operational constraints that limit their ability to offer a completely teacher-led experience. For example, teachers within a school may only be scheduled to meet with their language learners once per week. Hence, we’ve adapted Off2Class. Today, I’m pleased to announce that our custom course offering is ready.

Teachers are still central to the guided ESL self-study journey…

Motivation is a key determinant of success for second language acquisition. Regular sessions between teachers and students create a learning bond, that motivates the learner. But, by using technology we can still create a learning bond in a guided ESL self-study mode of teaching. Off2Class can be a great tool to accomplish this!
Consider self-study activities like a series of homework assignments. If a student is independently working through a series of homework assignments, teacher feedback is important to maintain motivation. Here’s an example of how Off2Class facilitates feedback during the homework review process:

Off2Class provides a simple homework panel that allows teachers to efficiently review homework

The panel makes it easy for teachers to add personal feedback to maintain motivation

For many students, just knowing that their teacher personally reviews each assignment, is ample motivation for their language learning journey.
Teachers can also conduct overall progress reviews on Off2Class. We provide a student learning profile screen that summarizes progress. For example:

A quick review of a student’s profile screen can guide a teacher to take action

If a student slows down, a teacher can decide to take actions to rectify the situation. For example, by organizing a one-2-one session to take stock of why the student is falling behind.

Off2Class can now create custom courses, to facilitate Guided ESL Self-Study for schools and teams!

Many schools we work with, need a solution to implement guided ESL self-study across a large student base. Last week, we introduced our ‘enterprise-level’ features which can be found in the Off2Class administration panel. These features facilitate the use of Off2Class for a large school or team.
Excitingly, we’re ready to announce another element of the administration panel, our custom course offering! For schools, we can now set up ‘custom courses’. These are a pre-determined series of lessons that you can mass enroll your students into. Upon enrolment, your pre-designed custom course will populate the student’s side of the platform.
For example, for test-prep students, you could define a course with every IELTS lesson as well as some key grammar topics that are important for achieving a high band on exam day. Then, for a busy intake of 100 new students, you use our CSV import tool to set up your new students and you’ll have the option of A) assigning and our placement test B) enrolling these students into your IELTS course. Your students are prompted to take the placement test and to work through their course plans. Of course, their teacher will monitor their progress and can be a key component of their guided ESL self-study program.

Our bulk student manager allows you to enroll existing students in your courses with a simple click

How do we structure these custom courses for schools and teams? 

Our aim is to meet the needs of your team and your students. Typically, we work in tandem with an academic director. A teacher or director in a school will take the lead in designing a series of custom courses that meet their students’ objectives. Off2Class supports by providing access to our library list and informing your team of upcoming lesson releases. We can also conduct a ‘sober second review’ of the courses. We complete this work on a custom basis and the courses are only available to your team and students.

If your institution is interested in implementing a guided ESL self-study program on Off2Class this year, be sure to get in touch with us. We will explore our new custom courses offering with you!