Tuesday, 12 January 2016

Bengaluru: The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, has launched myEnglish, its unique ‘Blended Learning course’ in Bengaluru. myEnglish combines the latest education technology and student-centred classroom instruction to improve students’ language skills and more. This comprehensive course will be available at six levels, in tailor-made nine-week training modules. 

myEnglish was launched today with a panel discussion on ‘Better English for Better Opportunities’ in which the panellists highlighted the importance for today’s workforce to be able to communicate effectively in English. The panel consisted of Ashwani Sharma, Country Head, University Relations, Google India, Lalitha Murthy, Consultant, Business English, Tata Consultancy Services, Arvind Katageri, Sr. Manager, Centre for Behavioral Excellence, Wipro and Nirupa Fernandez, Assistant Director, English, British Council India.

Ashwani Sharma, Google India stressed on the criticality of English at all stages of one’s career and said “At Google the hiring process involves long written answers and during promotions too it is expected that the employees send in written reasons as to why they deserve promotions.” Lalitha Murthy, TCS emphasised on the challenges organisations face to deliver training programmes and said, “Today we work in a virtual world and the need for clarity in communication is critical.” Aravind Katageri, Wipro highlighted the role of technology in education and said, “Organisations of today are too huge and vast and it is very difficult to bring in employees into classrooms for training and said, “technology enables organisations to go digital and classrooms are now possible on social media platforms.” 

Delivered in a unique blended learning format, myEnglish maximises learning whilst providing students with convenience and flexibility. Students access world-class British Council materials online for input with teacher guidance, and practice the language they have learned through weekly tasks and interacting online with their teachers and classmates. They also practise communicating in real-life situations through attending the weekly online ‘virtual classroom’ - so students can log in and join a class from the comfort of their own homes. Additionally, students attend face-to-face sessions to develop their speaking skills through group discussions, giving presentations and more.                                                             

Mei-kwei Barker, Director, British Council South India, said, ‘myEnglish is an innovative and interactive approach to improving your English language skills and boosting your confidence. We have combined the best in English language teaching with an online virtual classroom mechanism to make it more accessible to learners across India. We've had very encouraging feedback from our learners in Pune and look forward to an impactful myEnglish learning experience through our launch in Bangalore.’

The course not only focuses on building language skills, fluency and confidence but also on essential 21st century skills such as time management, independent learning and critical thinking. Feedback and encouragement from the teacher and students are pillars of the myEnglish course. After a successful launch in Pune, this course is now being opened to the public in Bengaluru and Mumbai.

“Honestly I am loving this course; it is meeting my expectations, I really appreciate the module designed for us; the guidance we get from our trainer, so far it doesn’t feel like some online course as it is the perfect blend of online, face to face & virtual sessions.” said Bharti Jhurani, a student on the course.

Lakshmi Behara, another student, said, “This course helped me fine tune all the areas of English language i.e. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. Whether it is introducing myself, expressing my views about others opinions and thoughts, speaking about different aspects of life, or listening to my own conversations, this course not only helped me to learn the English language but also helped me to evolve as a better human being. I am no longer shy and like to air my views openly. My family and friends saw the change in me and are surprised about this sudden change in me so fast.”

It is a great opportunity for students as well as working professionals to enhance their communication skills for overall progress and development. 

Learners will get exclusive access to world class British Council materials, guidance from experienced British Council teachers, flexible study time, personalised learning and more. Additionally, before joining the course, candidates are guided by British Council experts to gauge their English language levels in order to choose the right course.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.in/myenglish

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

The British Council has been teaching English for almost 80 years. We reach 100 million people in over 100 countries and support teachers and learners with comprehensive and innovative learning resources. As the world’s English experts we work with governments, institutions, teachers and learners to provide English language learning and teaching solutions that create life-changing opportunities for individuals and their future prosperity.