Personal Learning Service™

Solid, Practical Pedagogy and Instructional Design

The GlobalEnglish Corporate Learning Service is recognized as the premier online solution for learning English. It was designed and built by some of the world's leading experts in teaching English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL). The curriculum is based on sound pedagogical method, and the presentation of the material follows robust principles of instructional design.

The GlobalEnglish Corporate Learning Service uses the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method. While there are numerous ways of defining CLT, it is best for the learners' purposes to focus on its most relevant feature: encouraging learners to communicate meaningfully in their new language.

To achieve the goal of meaningful communication, the Corporate Learning Service uses a "4 Ps" approach to teach English: Present, Practice, Produce, and Perform. First, learners see presentations of new language and structures. They then practice this language in a supportive environment. Next, learners have the opportunity to produce the language in a meaningful way. Finally, learners receive the support they need to use the language and perform on the job. Using this approach, coupled with strong instructional design, the GlobalEnglish curriculum provides a solid, effective means for building language skills.

Another key component of effective online learning is a strong instructional design. The GlobalEnglish curriculum is supported consistently by these seven principles of good instructional design:

  • Adequate Scaffolding: This provides a supporting framework for learning. It reminds learners of what they already know in relation to the learning to come, breaks the learning down into a sequence of achievable steps, and provides models of desired behavior.
  • Interactivity: Research shows that learners learn best when they’re actively engaged in rich, comprehensible, interactive learning opportunities. The GlobalEnglish service helps language acquisition through a variety of realistic exercises that force users to try out the new language.
  • Task-based Learning: This functional approach is derived from the notion that languages are best acquired through use. Rather than starting out with lists of grammar items, pronunciation features, and sets of vocabulary, task-based learning begins with application of the language, such as introducing oneself or answering a question.
  • Multisensory Learning: With this approach, students learn English through aural and visual processing as well as the deployment of the tactile sense. The GlobalEnglish service uses techniques such as matching and drag and drop to help students engage with the language.
  • Pacing: Motivation suffers if the pacing is too fast or too slow. Appropriate pacing optimizes both motivation and learning. The GlobalEnglish service is self-paced, which contributes to the optimal learning environment for each individual.
  • Repetition: Language acquisition is not a linear process; it is a recursive process that requires recycling and repetition. For this reason, GlobalEnglish provides multiple exposures to new material to help learners better assimilate the language.
  • Inductive and Deductive Learning: With deductive learning, learners are presented with a rule or generalization and have to apply the rule to specific language. In inductive learning, learners work with samples of language and acquire the rules and generalizations through a guided discovery process. The GlobalEnglish curriculum includes both approaches.