The document describes Open English, an online English language school serving over 20 countries. It offers customized 24/7 online instruction from native English teachers to help students achieve fluency quickly. The school has surpassed 400,000 students. It also describes Open English's new and improved learning platform, which features an updated curriculum, optimized study paths, mobile access, and more teacher interaction than before. Key aspects of the new platform include placement tests to assess students' English level, a weekly study plan to guide students' learning, unlimited live online classes taught around the clock, and feedback from teachers.

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2015 Edition
PRODUCT +
CURRICULUM

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About
Open English.
Open English is the leading online English-
language school serving 20 countries across
the Americas. The company was founded in
2007 seeking to reinvent the English language
learning experience for today’s busy professional,
by offering them customized 24/7 online-only
instruction imparted by native English-speaking
teachers. Currently having surpassed 400,000
students, the company’s language program is
founded on helping students achieve fluency in
English in a short amount of time, and have fun
along the way.
To learn more, please visit
www.openenglish.com

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LP2 The New Platform.

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Content.
6-8
Product
New and Improved Learning Platform
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Student
New Student Set-up & Placement Test
Learning Profile
Placement Test
Levels
Level Requirements
13-15
Study Plan
Home
Weekly Study Plan
16-18
Live Classes
19-21
Lessons
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Practice
25-27
Progress
My Progress
28-30
Access
Teacher Feedback
Activity Record
Notebook
31-33
Learn
34-36
Support
Teacher Support
Advisor Support

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PRODUPRODUCT

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Overview
The recently redesigned learning platform boasts
an all-new curriculum, optimized study paths and
more teacher interaction than ever before.

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New and Improved
Learning Platform
Simply put, Open English’s goal is to help
students succeed. With this goal in mind,
Open English is on a quest to deliver the
best service through continuously improving
its learning platform. After observing over
100,000 students learn with our initial
learning platform, we have developed and
refined an innovative system to make human
interaction more efficient and effective.
The recently redesigned learning platform
boasts an all-new curriculum, mobile access,
optimized study paths and more teacher
interaction than ever before. We are ready to
service hundreds of thousands of students
with our new and improved learning platform.

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STUDESTUDENT

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Overview
Open English has two placement tests that
are used to ensure students are placed in the
appropriate learning level.

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STUDENT | LEARNING PROFILE PLACEMENT TEST
Placement Test
Learning Profile
New Student Set-up & Placement Test
Open English has two placement tests that
are used to ensure that students are placed
in the appropriate learning level. The first
evaluation of a student’s English proficiency
is the Open English Placement Test, which
was developed by the Academic team at
Open English. This test consists of three
sections, which evaluate the vocabulary,
grammar, listening and writing skills of each
student. Forty-five questions are chosen at
random from a pool of over 600 questions,
and takes approximately 15 minutes to
complete. It is an adaptive test in that
the accuracy of each answer determines
the level of difficulty of the subsequent
question. This test has been calibrated to
have an 87% correlation with that of our
second evaluation tool – the nationally
recognized Versant English Test.
The Versant English Test is a product of
Pearson Australia Group PYT, Ltd., the
largest educational company in the world.
Open English students are given the option
to take this test if they believe the content
they are working on is too easy and would
like to advance to a more challenging level.
This test is longer and more challenging
than the Open English Placement Test, with
nine sections that should take students
approximately 50 minutes to complete.
This nationally recognized test is the gold
standard by which we validate the Open
English Placement Test results to ensure
that students are placed in the appropriate
level.
The learning profile is a survey developed by the Open English team to identify relevant
characteristics about our students. The survey includes questions about their interests,
the reason they chose to learn English, and how they would describe their current English
skills. The information gathered from this process helps us personalize the students’
experience by placing them in the most appropriate starting level with content related to
their indicated interests.

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STUDENT | LEVELS LEVEL REQUIREMENTS
Level Requirements
Levels
Open English’s approach to teaching English truly differentiates the company from other
English teaching programs. Open English recognizes that various factors are essential
to fully develop skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking English. Students
cannot expect to have impressive writing skills by just taking live classes, have accurate
pronunciation by taking only grammar classes or give extraordinary presentations at work
by just watching American television. In order to develop the full spectrum of English
language skills, students need to participate in a variety of activities that allow them to
practice and, ultimately, perfect these skills. This is why we have multiple types of activities,
such as live classes, daily news articles, interactive videos, pronunciation practice and
podcasts. Optimal results are achieved when students combine these activities. We have
100% of the activities and tools necessary to become fluent in all areas, not just vocabulary
learning tools.
Open English has developed eight English competency levels, where level 1 represents
“brand new” English students and level 8 represents those who may be considered
“bilingual”. Each Open English level is aligned with the equivalent levels on the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Why the CEFR?
The CEFR was developed after over 20 years of extensive research as a frame of
reference for all major universities and institutions involved in language learning. It is a
comprehensive tool that assists language teachers and learners to understand the various
levels and competencies associated with language learning. The CEFR identifies six
levels of language proficiency, A1 and A2, B1 and B2 and C1 and C2, where A1 represents
beginners and C2 is for those who have mastered a language. It provides a guide for the
objectives and content necessary at each level of a curriculum to facilitate universally
recognized learning outcomes. Open English has modeled our curriculum based on these
internationally accepted levels, including the objectives and learning content, to ensure
that our students attain the highest possible level of English language skills.

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STUDYSTUDY PLAN

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Overview
The most notable improvement in the layout of the
learning platform is the weekly study plan located
directly on the Home page.

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STUDY PLAN | HOME STUDY PLAN
Weekly Study Plan
Home
The most notable improvement in the layout
of the learning platform is the weekly study
plan located directly on the Home page.
The study plan provides a solution for a
common question for many students: “what
do I need to do next?” The Weekly Study
Plan guides students through an optimal
combination of the three major activities of
our curriculum – live classes, lessons and
practice exercises. This tool helps to keep
students on track so they are able to fulfill
each learning objective before moving on to
another concept. Completed activities turn
blue, which is a great visual tool for students
to focus on the next step. Although students
are able to complete components in the
order of their preference, they are required
to complete all activities within a level in
order to proceed to the subsequent level.
Once students complete the Open English Placement Test, they are placed in the
appropriate level to begin taking lessons. Each level is a combination of unlimited live
classes, 60 lessons and hundreds of practice exercises. These learning activities are
organized within weekly study plans and provide the appropriate mix of learning content.
The Weekly Study Plan is estimated to be 3 – 3 ½ hours of work and is located directly on
the Home page.

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LIVE CLIVE CLASSES

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Overview
Virtual classrooms are available to Open English
students with unlimited sessions every hour of
the day.

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LIVE CLASSES | LIVE CLASSES
Live Classes
Live Classes are available to students 24
hours a day, 7 days a week and are taught
by native English-speaking instructors
located around the globe. Two types of live
classes are offered, casual conversation and
classic instruction, with different class topics
each day. Classes are 45 minutes long and
begin at the top of every hour. Live classes
are unlimited, so students have the option
to participate in one or both classes every
day. A timer located on the Home page
counts down the time remaining before
the next class begins so that students are
always aware of the upcoming classes.
Students can choose to join the next class
at any time and are given a reminder shortly
before the next class begins.
There are two types of live classes: casual
conversation and classic instruction.
Casual conversations cover topics that
are more likely to occur within informal
settings, such as “Travel – Packing for a
trip”, while classic conversations are those
that would occur within formal settings,
such as “Business – Meeting time.” Live
classes are composed of an average of 6-8
students for casual conversations and 3-5
students for classic instruction. Students
are grouped based on their levels to give
them the chance to move at a comfortable
pace; advanced students are able to move
at a faster pace and beginners are not
intimidated. Conversations are related to
the objectives outlined within each unit. This
gives students the opportunity to practice
speaking, as well as ask questions, all while
building their confidence to speak English.
At the end of each live class, students are
able to critique their teacher and the quality
of the learning experience. This helps us to
continuously improve our teacher quality
and learning content. Teachers also provide
personalized feedback to each student
regarding their performance in the class.
This feedback shows up in the Progress tab
under Teacher Feedback and is one of the
many ways we personalize the experience
to ensure each student learns all the
material at the appropriate pace.

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LESSOLESSONS

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Overview
In addition to Live Classes and Practice, each
level contains 15 units of coursework. Each unit is
comprised of lessons followed by a review lesson
and a unit assessment.

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LESSONS | LESSONS
Lessons
In addition to Live Classes and Practice activities, each level contains 15 units of
coursework. Each unit is comprised of lessons, with one review lesson and a unit
assessment. The unit objectives are outlined at the beginning of lesson 1, and specific
themes related to these objectives are identified at the beginning of each subsequent
lesson. Every lesson contains 27 slides consisting of various interactive activities, such as
comprehension and listening, “drag and drop” and fill in the blank exercises.
Each lesson presents the student with one or two learning objectives and six vocabulary
words. These level appropriate objectives and words were modeled after the equivalent
CEFR level. To reinforce the concept of sentence structure and parts of speech within the
lessons we employ a color code system where nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are
each assigned a particular color. This is a powerful teaching technique in which the student
will associate the parts of speech without explicitly being told what they are. Through
association with the same concepts in their own language, students begin to develop their
own knowledge rather than just rote memorization.
There is additional functionality within the lesson page to enhance the students’ learning
experience: Common Questions, and My Notes.
The Common Questions feature allows students to view questions that have been
previously asked by other students about this lesson, as well as to submit new
questions. Teachers respond to new questions within 24 hours, which is posted to the
student’s Progress tab under Teacher Feedback. New questions and the respective
responses are then added to the existing list for future reference.
The My Notes feature is an electronic notebook that takes the hassle out of taking
notes on paper. These notes can be viewed at any time in the Progress tab under
Notebook and later converted to Adobe pdf files for download.
Students are given a congratulatory prompt at the end of each lesson. They are required
to take a unit assessment once all activities within a unit are complete. This assessment
consists of approximately 30 multiple-choice questions using similar activities to those in
the lessons. A student must receive a score of 705 or greater before they can move on to
the next unit of lessons.
Students that pass the Unit Assessment are prompted to respond to an optional writing
question for additional practice. The student is asked to write a paragraph on a particular
topic using the skills they learned to this point in their studies. The student will receive
direct feedback from a teacher for their submission. This is yet another one of the many
ways our students receive live (human) support.

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PRACTPRACTICE

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Overview
The Student can focus on pronunciation,
vocabulary, and comprehension with English
Central Video content, and our exclusive podcasts
and Daily Newsreader.

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PRACTICE | PRACTICE
Practice
The third learning component of the Open English platform is practice. Practice differs
from live instruction and lessons in that practice activities do not introduce a new academic
concept, instead they reinforce the concepts student have already learned in live classes
and lessons. Each study plan features various practice activities that allow students to
practice their vocabulary, grammar, listening and speaking skills with exciting tools that
keep them engaged in the learning experience. This consists of hundreds of videos,
daily news articles and interactive challenges that feature concepts outlined in the unit
objectives.
We’ve even incorporated interactive videos that utilize innovative speech assessment
technology. These interactive videos present the student with a video clip to watch,
vocabulary words to learn and then, using the video as a model, speak the dialog. The
student receives immediate feedback on their performance and can even listen to their
recorded voice to better understand their pronunciation.
The daily news articles feature top stories in entertainment, technology, breaking news,
and sports from around the world. They are written in level appropriate English for each
student. Each news article is followed by comprehension questions that challenge the
student on what they just read. This daily content ensures the student will have new,
engaging challenges each time they log onto the platform.
Students can access the complete list of practice activities by going to the Learn tab and
clicking on Practice. This is a great way for students to perfect their English skills.

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PROGRPROGRESS

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Overview
Welcome to the My Progress page, a student’s
own personal dashboard, where he/she can track
completed practice, live classes, and units.

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PROGRESS | MY PROGRESS
My Progress
The My Progress screen is a great tool
that allows students to track their personal
progress in each level. This screen displays
the student’s current level, as well as
statistics on their longest study session and
longest study streak. Additionally, there are
color-coded wheels and graphs that display
progress within each activity – yellow
represents practice, live classes are blue
and units are green.
The three wheels, representing practice,
live classes and units, illustrate progress
within each level. Students will graduate to
the next level once these circles are filled
in with their respective colors. That is, the
level is complete once the practice wheel
is entirely yellow, the live classes wheel is
blue, and the unit wheel is green.
The bar chart illustrates weekly or monthly
progress, depending on the student’s
preference. The students are able to see
day-by-day efforts using the weekly view
and week-by-week efforts using the monthly
view. Each bar is divided into the three
activity colors and displays the number of
hours spent on each activity.
In addition to viewing their progress,
students that feel that the level they are
working at is not challenging enough are
also able to change their current level via
the My Progress page. Students can use
the Change Level button to take either
the Open English Placement Test, if they
have not previously taken it, or the Versant
English test, if they have, to determine the
most appropriate level for their abilities.
Finally, students are given the opportunity to
inspire and be inspired by sharing their story
or reading the stories of others, respectively.
This, along with the other tools featured
on this screen, helps to keep students
motivated by showing them how far they
have come and how far they can go.

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ACCESACCESS

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Overview
Our students can always access teacher
feedback records, review past content, and even
view their personal notebook and highlights on
their way to fluency.

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ACCESS | TEACHER FEEDBACK ACTIVITY RECORD NOTEBOOK
Teacher Feedback
Activity Record
Notebook
Students are able to view personalized feedback from instructors on every aspect of their
learning experience via the Teacher Feedback tab. This includes feedback regarding
the student’s performance in live classes, feedback on writing samples after each
unit, and answers to “Ask a Teacher” submissions. The purpose of this feedback is to
suggest opportunities for improvement, as well as provide encouragement and positive
reinforcement when appropriate.
The Activity Record page displays a complete history of students’ learning activities in one
convenient table. The purpose of this page is to present the student a record of every
lesson, live class and practice activity he/she has completed on the platform. Students can
also use this list to find and replay a live class session or read their notes from a specific
lesson. Students can easily trace their electronic footsteps to review past content and
refresh their memory.
The Notebook feature is an electronic version of a notebook that allows students to view
notes they took during their lessons. This is a great reviewing tool that gives students full
control of its content. During the lessons they are able to take notes on specific concepts,
which they are able to view in one convenient location at any time.

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LEARNLEARNING

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Overview
The Learn tab provides direct access to all
Open English activities. Each is organized by type
of activity with separate tabs for Live Classes,
Lessons and Practice.

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LEARN | LEARN
Learn
The Learn tab provides direct access to all
Open English learning activities. They are
organized by type of activity with separate
tabs for Live Classes, Units & Lessons and
Practice.
Live Class topics are listed in a seven day
advance calendar. “Today’s Live Classes”
are listed prominently at the top of the page,
while the upcoming topics for the next
seven days are listed below. This list shows
topics for both classic instruction and casual
conversation classes for each day. This
allows students to effectively plan to attend
any class that interests them. As a reminder,
students are able to attend an unlimited
number of live classes.
The Units & Lessons tab presents the
student with the current lesson they should
be working on. Using the “Show Menu”
button, students will get a list of all the
lessons in the current unit. They are eligible
to take the unit assessment only once they
complete all the lessons in a unit.
Finally, students have access to hundreds
of videos and activities via the Practice tab.
Featured practice activities are located at
the top of the page. Students can scroll
through these activities using the arrows
located to the left and the right. They are
able to view the entire catalog of practice
exercises by scrolling down the page.
There are also convenient search options
that allow students to filter exercises by
keyword, level or topic.

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SUPPOSUPPORT

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Overview
Our students are never alone. Our mission is to
enhance the Open English learning experience by
providing Advisor and Teacher support 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.

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SUPPORT | SUPPORT TEACHER SUPPORT ADVISOR SUPPORT
Support
Teacher Support
Advisor Support
Support is an integral part of achieving Open English’s goal of student success. Our
mission is to revolutionize the English learning experience by providing engaging
and convenient online learning tools and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is
incredibly important to us that our students know that we are always available to make
their online learning experience as convenient and effective as possible. Their success
and satisfaction are our number one priorities. No matter where they are on the platform
students are always one or two clicks away from getting help from a teacher for academic
questions or contacting an advisor for questions concerning their account, payments or
technical support.
Teacher Support is one of the many ways students are able to receive academic support
from native English-speaking teachers. Apart from the feedback they receive regarding
live classes, lessons and unit assessments, they are also able to reach out to teachers
directly. Teachers respond directly to a student’s inquiry within 24 hours, which students
can view in the Teacher Feedback menu. All teacher feedback remains in the Teacher
Feedback menu so that students have a chance to refer to it at any time.
Students also receive non-academic support from our Advisors. Advisors who speak the
same language as the student respond to queries regarding their account, payments,
and technical issues. Our advisors can be contacted via telephone; live-chat or a student
can even submit a request for advisors to call them directly. We want to ensure that our
students receive prompt support in all areas so that they are able to focus on learning the
material by immediately addressing and/or resolving any issues that may arise.
Copyright © 2015 Open English LLC. All rights reserved. The Open English name and the Open English logo are registered trademarks.

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human