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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.

Go to course

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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
eiken-1
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.
………………………….
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.
 
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The Minister of Communications of Japan Tries Out EnglishCentral at an Elementary School in Tokyo
TOKYO, JAPAN– September 23, 2016 – EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, participated with the Japan’s Minister of Internal Affairs & Communications, Sanae Takaichi, as she inspected an English class at a Tokyo Elementary School as part of the Ministry’s  plan to promote the use of information technology in the classroom called “Creating the Learning Environment of the Future” .
As part of her visit, she joined the school’s English class and tested out  EnglishCentral interactive speaking technology IntelliSpeech℠ using a Chromebook Tablet device.
minister
Minister Takaichi tests her English speaking skills using EnglishCentral’s IntellispeechSM conversational English learning platform.
The Maehara Elementary School in Tokyo is aggressively using new technologies to motivate student to study English.    For the class visited by the Minister, the students were using an interactive, video-base version of the English textbook “Hi Friends!” published by the Ministry of Education and adapted by EnglishCentral for use on the Chromebook tablet.
Minister Takaichi commented, “This program is well designed for the school because it helps improve students’ speaking ability, including their pronunciation, as well as makes it easy for teachers to monitor students’ speaking progress at a glance.”   The school is also using EnglishCentral’s learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to monitor student progress and even listen in on their speaking practice sessions.
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EnglishCentral’s General Manager for Japan, Hirofumi Matsumura, explains EnglishCentral’s  conversational English learning platform to the Minister of Internal Affairs & Communications at a Tokyo Elementary School.
The Minister  actually tried the EnglishCentral program herself in the classroom, sitting next to children in the class.  She noted that children who practiced their pronunciation operating tablets by themselves seemed to speak English quite fluently using EnglishCentral.
Hirofumi Matsumura, General Managers of EnglishCentral  Japan,  commented “there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing  Japanese children improving their English speaking using the EnglishCentral platform.  It’s a true honor for the Minister to have visited this class and tried out EnglishCentral herself. I feel there is a revolution happening in Japan English education, moving from a traditional grammar based curriculum towards a curriculum that emphasizes real listening and speaking skills that students can really use in real life.   We are happy to contribute to that revolution with our EnglishCentral platform.”
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 Meten (China), Learn more at  www.englishcentral.com of find us on Facebook/EnglishCentral or Twitter at @EnglishCentral1.
 
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EnglishCentral Wins Golden App Award
EnglishCentral App Wins at Russian Golden App Awards
kathEnglish Conversation Solution Honored for Its Unique Ability to Integrate Video Self-Study With One-on-One Online Tutoring
ARLINGTON, MA–(July24th , 2016) –  EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, today announced that it has launched its web version in the Russian market. 
The EnglishCentral mobile app has been available the last 4 months and already has been awarded a prestigious Golden App award.  The Golden App  Awards are an annual program that honors innovative applications in the Russian market over many categories. 
The awards were announced June 21st, 2016 in Moscow, Russia.  EnglishCentral placed 3rd overall in the “Best Application” category.  It also places 3rd overall in the Productivity, Services and Education category competing with major Russian government and corporate entities. View the results in full.
award
“It is a great honor, we’ve worked a lot to localize our app for iOS and Android and provide users with an outstanding service of learning English”, – says Kathryn Zhilich, representative of EnglishCentral in Russia, – “It has been a race with time. We have just started in Russia, and we are extremely glad to receive such wide recognition. Our company is dynamic so our users will see a lot of new features and improvements in the coming months.”
The award announcement specifically highlighted as exemplary EnglishCentral’s video-based vocabulary learning system and its IntelliSpeech(SM) assessment system. The award committee also pointed to EnglishCentral’s unique approach of using authentic and engaging video content as a key element setting it apart from other learning platforms.
“We are excited the Golden Apps award committee recognized our latest GoLive! product with this award. The market continues to validate the product as the number of students using EnglishCentral globally has doubled in the last year, and we are delighted with the award for our Russian app.” said Alan Schwartz, CEO & Founder of EnglishCentral.
About the Golden App Awards
The Golden App  Awards annually recognize the best applications from all over Russia. Companies compete in 22 categories. “Theme-based” nominations include Music, Games, Health, Lifestyle, Education and more. “Golden” nominations embrace best Design, Technical solution, Business model… The main award and focus category is  “Best Application”. 
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(SM) 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 Meten (China), Learn more at www.englishcentral.com or find us on Facebook/EnglishCentral or Twitter at
 @EnglishCentral1.
CONTACT INFORMATION: 
info@englishcentral.com