An innovative path to English language fluency - http://bit.ly/eaD7io

The TESOL Certification Blog: As an English teacher with more than 20 years’ experience, John Ryan identified what he saw as flaws in the methods used to teach his favourite subject. His business partner, Darren Orr, agreed, and the pair set about devising a new method which focused on teaching both the written word and the idiomatics of the language. ‘‘English teaching hasn’t really developed in the last ten years. Teachers are reliant on the same old materials. We believe that there is a better way to teach the English language to non-native speakers," said Ryan. Englishour opened last August. Located on Dublin’s Lower Abbey Street, it is an innovative language school which preaches that there are two sides of the English language. ‘‘Firstly, there is the formal side of the language, which is basically the Latin side," said Ryan. ‘‘This is the language of the broadsheets, books and writing in general. The other side is informal - the language we see in the tabloids, pubs and on the street. ‘‘We have devised a fun and interesting method of teaching English. While the classes are intense, the idea is that students will learn quicker if they are challenged to speak in class." Various class times are available, with early-morning classes to suit workers, individual tutoring in the afternoon and evening classes where students study towards completing a recognised exam in the language. The school also provides Saturday classes. ‘‘There are six levels of teaching, from beginner to advanced," said Ryan. ‘‘Each level takes 12 weeks in most other schools, but we do it in eight. We focus on tiny chunks of the language, and our biggest class has only six students. Everyone gets attention, and everyone gets a chance to speak and learn." The school also offers host family accommodation for those outside the country coming here to learn English. They have also arranged partnerships with hostels, B&Bs and hotels to accommodate new students. Fifty students have already enrolled from various countries and, while Ryan welcomes as many new students as possible, his intention is to keep each class small and intimate to enable speedy learning. ‘‘We are a small school and we wish to stay small. Our dream is not to expand to 20 classes, but to have maybe three quality classes. ‘‘We hope any student who comes to Englishour will not only learn both sides of the language in an academic way, but will also grow to love them too," said Ryan.