EC Partners

EC Live Standard

This course is suitable for students who want to
  • build or improve their English ability in all areas and skills
  • learn before/after full immersion
  • want to learn with international classmates

Learn English Online with EC Live Standard

The ideal choice for working students, this two days per week English language course will enable students to improve their English, at a time of their choosing. Accredited by the British Council, powered by National Geographic Learning, and with access to MyEC to provide an effective and learner-centred English learning experience.

Online activities & collaborative activities

Unlimited self-study

4-week minimum course

2 live lessons a week

Commitment level Medium

Why Choose EC Live?

1. Smaller Classrooms (10 students max)
  • Allows for more intensive learning
  • Increased time for teacher-to-student interaction
  • Closer monitoring of speaking and listening
  • More personalised feedback from the teacher
 
2. Collaborative Sessions
  • Students work freely and independently with each other, replicating real life workplace collaboration
  • More time for student reflection and interaction
  • Microsoft Teams allows students to message, video call and share documents
  • All collaborations are monitored by the teacher, but the main interactions are among students
 
3. Classroom Dynamics
  • Whole-class activities with participation from all students
  • Collaborating in a multi-cultural environment
 
4. Curriculum
  • Live classes will follow the same in-school EC curriculum
  • All classes use National Geographic Learning eBook adapted for online delivery
  • Learning is supplemented by our learning platform, MyEC
 
5. Flexibility
  • 2 different time zones
  • There are 2 lessons a week so will not interrupt other commitments
  • Option to boost their English further by adding private classes

Included with every course:

  • Live classes at a time chosen by individual students. Multiple time zones available 
  • Lessons delivered by qualified, experienced English teachers
  • 2 days of 90-min face-to-face Live English classes
  • 30 mins a day of structured classmate collaboration
  • Unlimited self-study with access to materials on MyEC
  • Learner Oriented Assessment
  • FREE access to Microsoft Office for the duration of the course including Word, PowerPoint, and much more!
  • Ability to upgrade and add one-to-one lessons
 

How does it work?

1. Before class (15mins)
The teacher will set up a pre-class assignment with relevant questions for students to prepare for the class. This can be anything from reading or listening from the course book, a relevant video or article, or a Flashpoint from EC Online. Students are able to come to class prepared to fully participate and get their best from the lesson. 

2. During class (90mins) 
Small groups of 8-10 students from around the world collaborate via video call with their teacher. They outline objectives and goals, discuss the questions and task(s) from the pre-class assignment, review any questions and set up the post-class collaborative activity as well as the pre-class assignment for the next day.

Students should be prepared for a much more intensive class than a normal face-to-face session!

3. After class (30mins)
Students are asked to work on a writing or speaking post-class collaborative activity, which they upload on Teams. Each assignment has clear success criteria to help students self-evaluate, set their own goals and see their progress. They discuss virtually with their group and the teacher monitors the chat.

Those who participate, get their best from the lesson. 

Sample Timetable:
TUESDAY THURSDAY Duration/
session
Before the lesson Prepare the topic and key vocabulary Prepare the topic and key vocabulary 15 mins
Face to face lesson Language / skills input Language / skills input 45 mins
Break 10 mins
Face to face lesson Language / skills practice Language / skills practice 45 mins
After the lesson Practice & production Practice & production 30 mins

Class Time Zones

Riyadh time

14:00, 20:00

Rome time

13:00, 19:00

London time

12:00, 18:00

Tokyo time

20:00, 02:00

Sao Paulo time

08:00, 14:00

EC Live FAQs

We have always celebrated innovation, so we are proud to bring the classroom into your home with our new EC Live online English classes! Our focus is on better learning outcomes for online classes through our experienced, qualified English teachers through a combination of:
 
  1. virtual learning
  2. online collaboration with other students and
  3. self-study
When you learn English online with EC, lessons will be delivered through Microsoft Teams, a great platform for remote learning that works from any desktop, tablet or phone.
 
Microsoft Teams has everything teachers need to create engaging learning environments, from content and assignments to collaborative classrooms and chats.
 
We will email you with instructions of how to log into the Teams website. You will then have free access to the full suite of Microsoft Office products for one year!
If you have any issues logging in, or you do not receive the email mentioned above, please contact us at:
 
ecvacademic@ecenglish.com, we will be in touch as soon as possible

When downloading Microsoft Teams, you will also get FREE access to Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and much more!

Please see the minimum technical requirements for MS Teams here.
We have designed a programme that covers all the effective methods for language study – face-to-face online lessons, collaborative work with classmates, and self-study.
 
Online English classes have a different dynamic from regular lessons, so we have;
1.    Reduced the number of students in these lessons
2.    Reduced the time spent in larger group calls.
This reduces the ‘zoom fatigue’ that people experience from spending too much time on long calls with larger groups of people – but don’t worry we have added Structured Collaboration. This is time you spend working on a task with a fellow student. This form of interaction is less exhausting and because it is carefully structured with really clear goals – and excellent learning event.

Yes! Online English classes will follow the same EC curriculum and use the same National Geographic Learning books as in regular classes. This curriculum is supplemented by our online learning platform MyEC.

EC Live Premium / EC Live IELTS start every Monday.
EC Live Standard starts every Tuesday
All courses are on weekdays, from Monday to Friday based on the London times. Please note if you are studying at 00:00 London in South America you will be studying Sunday – Thursday.
Bookings and payments should be completed by Wednesday, to join the induction on Friday, and start classes Monday. Bookings received after the Wednesday cut-off, will need to start with the Induction the following week on Friday.
The minimum age to attend our online courses is 16.
All 16-17 year olds MUST attend the under 18 induction. If they do not attend this induction they will miss their first class and the induction will be held instead of their first class.
Attending your induction is very important. At your induction we
1.    Check your level to make sure you are going to the right class
2.    Give you your ebook and explain how to use it
3.    Help you become familiar with MS Teams so you can get the best out of it
4.    Introduce you to EC English for your online study
5.    Explain how the online course works, so you can make the best progress
6.    Review online safety to make sure your learning environment is safe.
If you have not attended your induction and do not take your test, your course start will be delayed.
Yes! For General English there is a recorded lesson for you to see, on demand.
For exam students, every Tuesday there are trial lessons 
Students please visit pages.ecenglish.com/en/ec-virtual-students to book your Tuesday session FREE of charge!
 
Online Session (90 minutes)
Students collaborate via video with small groups of 4-8 students and the teacher where you outline your objectives and goals, discuss the questions and task from the pre-class assignment, review any questions, and set up the post-class collaborative activity as well as the pre-class assignment for the next day. Students should be prepared for a much more intensive class than a normal face-to-face session!
 
10 mins: introduction and catch up
5 mins: objectives and goals
20 mins: discussing the questions & text
20 mins: reviewing any grammar or vocabulary questions
20 mins: practising the language in context
15 mins: setting up a post-lesson task and assigning pre-task for next day
 
Post-Session Activity (30 minutes)
After the online lesson the teacher will assign a collaboration task to be uploaded on Teams
This activity allows students to process and consolidate what they learned in the teacher-led session.
It also helps the student to understand and assess their own learning and to become a more effective learner.
Students will discuss virtually in pairs or a small group and teacher will monitor the chat.
 
MyEC Course Work
Assignments, playlists, and study plans will provide the student with assigned work to complete on MyEC. This will be monitored by their teacher.

Yes. In order to send you the booking confirmation with your credentials and access to EC Live, you will be asked to pay in full. Please note that this process will take a minimum of 48 hours when paying by card and up to 7 days when paying by bank transfer. We kindly ask you to consider this when choosing the start date of your online course.

We accept payment by credit/debit card (VISA, MasterCard) using an online payment link we will send you, or by international bank transfer. The full payment must be made within 24 hours after receiving the invoice. Please note that you will only be able to start your course when we send you the credentials and access after receiving the full payment, and this process will take a minimum of 48 hours when paying by card and up to 7 days when paying by bank transfer. We kindly ask you to consider this when choosing the start date of your online course.

Once we have received full payment, we will send you the booking confirmation, log in instructions, username, and password. This process will take a minimum of 48 hours when paying by card and up to 7 days when paying by bank transfer. We kindly ask you to consider this when choosing the start date of your online course.

Yes, you can, but your course will stop week by week as well and you will break the flow of your learning experience. We highly recommend booking a minimum of 4 weeks at a time. If you are not sure if our online English course will fit your needs, kindly contact us and request a trial lesson!

Please contact your Student Advisor or reply to the last email you received from us. In order to place your booking, we would need the following details:
 
Name –
Surname –
Date of birth –
Nationality
Email address –
Starting date –
Starting lesson time (please choose from the following schedule depending on where you are currently based here) –
How many weeks? –
Would you like to add individual lessons to your course? If yes, how many (45mins each)?

If you want to add individual lessons the price is as follows:
1 – 2 lessons: EUR 60.00 per lesson
3 – 4 lessons: EUR 55.00 per lesson
5 – 9 lessons: EUR 50.00 per lesson
10+ lessons:   EUR 45:00 per lesson
• Live classes in a time zone that works best for you, 24 hours a day! A variety of times are available depending on your course.
• Course eBooks powered by National Geographic Learning
• Access to our qualified English teachers
• 90 minutes a day of face-to-face virtual English teaching (2 x 45-minute sessions with a 5-minute break in-between)
• 30 minutes a day of structured collaboration with your classmates
• Full access to MyEC with many self-study resources (over 1,500 grammar exercises and 200 Flashpoints – up to date articles or videos on a current news topic with a set of exercises around them)
• Regular assessment, designed to help you progress.
• FREE access to Microsoft Office for 12 months, including Word, PowerPoint, and much more!
• Ability to upgrade and add private one-to-one lessons
When you learn English online with EC Live, your time will look like this:
 
Pre-Class Assignment (15 minutes)
  • Pre-class assignment for students to prepare for their lesson– this could be reading a book or article, watching a video, etc
  • Students study materials at their own pace, allowing them to come to the classroom discussions feeling confident and prepared to participate fully in the lesson.
 

The virtual session will have a maximum of 10 students (8 for IELTS) and will be much more intensive than a regular face-to-face class.

You will have a variety of lesson times depending on the programme.

Yes! If the schedule you chose for your EC Live course is not the ideal for you, you will be able to change it, but only after the end of a full week. You will begin with the new time the following Monday. It’s not possible to change in the middle of a week.
 

All of our academic team are experienced and qualified English teachers.

All our teachers meet the qualification requirements of the British Council accreditation – CELTA or equivalent is the minimum qualification.

We will ask you to complete your placement test through MyEC a few days before your starting date, and we will assign you to the according level depending on your results.

All of them! Your attendance will be monitored. If you are below 80% attendance the Director of Studies will speak to you. This includes your pre- and post-session tasks – your teacher will check these have been completed and if they have not been, you will be marked absent for half the lesson.

You will receive an email from EC with your username and password to use for Teams. Simply follow the instructions to log into Teams and if you have any issues or you haven’t received this email with your credentials, please contact us at the following email address:
 
 
We will be in touch with you. Please keep checking your emails!
You can also watch this video using the link below for guidance on how to set up and log into Teams:
 

If you are not prepared for your online session or if you do not hand in your post-session activity, you will be marked absent for half the lesson.

You can contact the Director of Studies immediately. If you miss a lesson due to your technical issues, we will not make this lesson up but we will give you an overview so you can self-study.

You need to speak to your teacher; you can do this easily within the Teams chat function.
Yes, MyEC has all the necessary information and instructions you need.

Yes, we will ask you to complete your placement test through MyEC a few days before your start date, and we will assign you to the according level depending on your results.

No, you have free access to Microsoft Office only for the duration of the course.

Yes, we have assessment built in to all our courses. These assessment processes are designed to help our students maximise their progress.

Yes, once your online English course is finished, you will receive an e-certificate. A hard copy can be provided for a small charge.
Yes! We are also offering online one-to-one lessons.
Please refer to our Price List for lesson prices. 

We must receive all bookings with payment by the Wednesday before the course start date (on Monday). This allows you to join a Friday induction session before your Monday classes. Any bookings received after the Wednesday deadline will have your induction on Friday the following week.

Assessments are completely personalised and you are tested on teacher recommendation based on your participation in class and on collaborative tasks.

Holidays when no classes will be held are the following: Good Friday, Easter Monday Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.