The Peedagogiccal Foun

ndationss Of EngglishCen
ntral

EnglishC
Central is a company thatt takes pridee in having experienced teachers
t
on staff
s
and
designingg a product that
t will helpp students leearn and acquuire Englishh, particularlyy for
internatioonal commu
unication.
Too oftenn technology
y is designedd without thee control or voice
v
of eduucators. Techhnology for
technologgy's sake. We
W have trieed to avoid thhis error andd build an e-llearning plattform that puuts
pedagogyy and learnin
ng first.
Here are the key aspeects of our pedagogy:
p
1. Motivvation.
We live in
i a visual an
nd digital woorld. Studennts consume enormous amounts
a
of video
v
content and
video hass become thee new textboook. EnglishhCentral harnnesses this built
b
in, intrinnsic level off
motivatioon - why nott learn English while vieewing videoss you love? EnglishCenttral publishees 30
new videeo lessons peer week and its vast libraary of video lessons and courses offeers every stuudent
the chancce to study what
w they waant and listenn to messagees they wantt to hear.
2. Comp
prehensible Input
Not only do students need to listeen to messagges they wannt to hear - thhese messagges must be level
l
appropriaate (Krashen
n, 2001). Eaach EnglishC
Central videoo lesson or coourse plus our vocabularry is
leveled and
a can be asssigned to stuudents basedd on their levvel of Englissh. This proovides
appropriaate practice maximizing
m
language accquisition.
3. Precisse, Timely Feedback
F
EnglishC
Central proviides instant feedback
f
to students.
s
Stuudents beginn to "notice thhe gap"
(Schmidtt, 1990) and begin to self-correct as they comparre their speech to the oriiginal. Toolss are
providedd so students can "dig dow
wn" and undderstand the language annd get the annswers they need
n
immediattely. English
hCentral worrks to promoote learner auutonomy.
4. Loweered Affectiive Filter
Many stuudents go thrrough a subsstantial "silennt period" (K
Krashen, 19885). Others need the tim
me
and spacee given throu
ugh self-studdy before theey are readyy to excel in the
t very soccially demandding
classroom
m. EnglishC
Central proviides a safe, low anxiety environment
e
t where learnners can proceed

at their own pace and practice speaking in a non-threatening place. Teachers are often amazed
how the quiet students in their class "bloom" on EnglishCentral.
5. An Oral Language Focus
The 21st century workplace and global nature of communication demands that students have
strong speaking skills. The importance of written communication is receding. EnglishCentral's
proprietary speech recognition system IntelliSpeech trains students to produce, clear,
intelligible speech for effective communication across cultures and borders.
6. Blended Learning
The future of education lies in blended learning (Arne Duncan, 2014). EnglishCentral partners
with schools and teachers offering a unique blended learning model and platform. Courses and
video lessons can perfectly compliment what students learn in class, providing students with
extra practice matching the class curriculum. Our free LMS lets teachers extend the curriculum
and track student achievement.
7. Structured Learning
Our simple Watch | Learn | Speak methodology provides low cognitive overload and an easy to
follow learning pathway. Courses and video lessons are leveled and vocabulary is presented
with spaced-time repetition. EnglishCentral monitors every word or expression students study
and provides a simple interface where students can use the feedback to improve their
pronunciation and build their vocabulary.
8. Gaming
Students are highly engaged by the gaming dynamics of EnglishCentral. Students compete for
XPs (Experience Points) and ranking through their study. However, we don't go overboard and
aim to keep the focus on the learning, not the gaming.
9. Ambiguity Tolerance
Language is a vast and unpredictable space. Successful language learners are risk takers. Critical
to being a risk taker is having a strong ability to not be stressed out by what you don't understand
(Brown, 2007). EnglishCentral provides authentic content that challenges students to focus on
the general meaning and gist and strengthen their level of ambiguity tolerance.
Interested in reading more about EnglishCentral and why it works? Try this post on our blog or
visit our Academic area for some case studies on how teachers have used EnglishCentral
successfully at their school.

David Deubelbeiss is a professor, educational consultant and teacher trainer

currently at the Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University, North
Bay, Canada. He is a leader in promoting the use of technology in language
teaching and the use of social media in education. He is the Director of
Education at EnglishCentral. Find him online at his professional development
community for teachers, EFL Classroom 2.0 or through his LinkedIn profile. He espouses
the simple teaching philosophy of When one teaches, two learn.