Those who want to learn a foreign language today are increasingly turning to the services of various online courses and video lessons. The popularity of educational applications for smartphones is growing rapidly, making it possible to learn a language almost anywhere, using any free minute for this. Such programs are distinguished by a friendly interface, interactivity, versatility of tasks and exercises, and a game format. One of these applications, which has entered the top list of developments for learning foreign languages over the past year, is Puzzle English, and one of its areas is the Teacher Method. According to reviews, it gives excellent results. Is that right?
About the App: Basics
Puzzle English is a mobile application and online platform designed specifically for self-learning and maintaining a foreign language. In just a year, the audience of service users increased to 300,000 visits per month. Learning English with Puzzle English takes place in three key areas: oral speech andpronunciation, writing, reading.
It can be used by users with different levels of knowledge of the language: from zero to advanced. You can select the "Personal Plan" option to schedule your training. "Puzzles" and "Teacher's Method" will come to the rescue if you need to actually start learning from the alphabet. In this case, the user, within the framework of a free trial version (7 days), will be able to consistently perform exercises with an increasing level of complexity, after which they will be able to communicate with the teacher.
If you build classes yourself, you can use the ranking of task difficulty.
The range of tasks at the same time is quite diverse and does not get bored. These are constructors, game tasks, video and audio puzzles, excerpts from series, films, TV shows, podcasts on various topics. Online lessons are also available from professional teachers, including native speakers.
Briefly about the methodology. What is its essence?
Reviews on the "Teacher Method" suggest that this training format is indeed quite universal. It includes step-by-step author's courses for beginners with exercises and video tutorials. In total, there are 5 courses of different difficulty levels with intermediate control testing. You can determine your level yourself or take a special test for this.
A special children's course has also been developed for learning English with the "Teacher Method". Feedback on this development is mostly positive. All tasksdesigned in a playful format and fun for kids.
The method provides for the alternation of the student's independent work and lessons with the teacher, which allow you to correct shortcomings, correct errors, and receive additional recommendations. After watching the lesson, you must complete an interactive task compiled by expert linguists.
Another feature of the course is the ability to adjust the speed of speech in audio files, which allows you to learn the correct pronunciation.
Puzzle English exercise options
Judging by the reviews of "Puzzle English" and "Teacher's Method", at the very beginning the service was primarily aimed at developing listening skills through exercises. Now its functions have expanded significantly, which is reflected in the range of tasks offered to the user. You can complete them by going to the appropriate sections:
- audio puzzles;
- podcasts;
- video puzzles;
- simulator;
- translates (from Russian to English);
- courses;
- games;
- words;
- personal plan.
The Movies section of the Teacher Method is very popular. Here you can find movies and series with sub titles in Russian and English.
To test your strength, you can try to assemble a video puzzle. After watching a video excerpt with sub titles, it is necessary to correctly build the phrases that sounded in it from the proposed phrases. During viewing, the type of sub titles can be changed by adjusting the difficulty of the task. If ayou want to see the meaning of a word, you can click on it in the sub titles - a pop-up window will appear with translation options and usage examples.
Game apps
In addition to audio and video puzzles, the service has educational games. They cause a number of positive reviews about the "Teacher Method". Games are not the basis of exercises, but this format allows you to effectively complement the main course and evokes positive emotions.
The simplest of the presented games is "Luggage of words". During the game, the user needs to type a word on the keyboard under dictation. In this case, you can choose a voice for voice acting from several options.
"Phrase Master" - the second level, which involves typing a whole phrase in English, presented in a short video clip.
"Translator". A funny picture appears on the screen with text that needs to be translated. After sending the answer, you can check how other users completed the task by comparing translation options.
"Duel" is a game quiz for several participants. Seeing the question, you should choose the correct answer. The game has several rounds, the winner is the participant with the most points.
Individual dictionaries
Another additional service is the "Words" section. Reviews about this functionality of the "Teacher Method" are mostly neutral. Apparently, this is due to the need to memorize words, that is, problems in similarity with the samecramming that scares many language learners. But even this format is presented quite interestingly.
"Sets". This is a lexical collection on specific topics that you can add to your personal dictionary.
"Video Dictionary". Allows you to save words and phrases from exercises and films with translation and voice acting, as well as video examples of different situations of use.
"Yes - no" and "Exam". Games, during which the user needs to answer yes or no to a question about the words that appear on the screen, or pass a mini-test. You should answer very quickly, for the correct answer bonus seconds for reflection are awarded.
"Training words." Allows you to memorize simple expressions with words from "sets". There are several modes here: composing words from letters, choosing the correct translation, etc. You can choose British or American pronunciation.
"Teacher Method". Courses
According to the feedback about the Teacher's Method program, this service is really effective for those who have just started learning a language. The five courses presented roughly correspond to Beginner - Elementary levels. In fact, this is one voluminous course, divided into several stages (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, final). The first stage is suitable even for those who are not familiar with the English alphabet. It is designed in such a way that users do not have problems with self-study.
Each of the courses presents relevant topics for study (with a gradual complication of vocabulary and grammar):
- acquaintance;
- character and appearance;
- leisure and work;
- communication;
- friends and family;
- entertainment;
- holidays and customs;
- travel;
- cuisine of the peoples of the world.
As part of the course, the user develops skills in the field of vocabulary, grammar, writing, listening to English speech. Skills are developed through regular practice. You can try it for free.
"Teacher Method" for kids
This course takes into account the peculiarities of children's perception, therefore it is full of elements of play and visualization. The lessons are like fascinating stories, the heroes of which are specially created puppet characters - Johnny, Miss Betty, Peter the Owl and others. Children's course "Teacher's Method" on "Puzzle English" is intended for children aged 6-10.
Navigating the course is extremely easy. In the corresponding section on the website or in the mobile application, you can find a route with classes divided into topics. The first few lessons are available for free (one lesson per day).
During the course, the guys get acquainted with the English alphabet, learn the name of household items that they see every day. Gradually, the child will be able to talk about himself, ask questions, learn to use simple grammatical constructions in speech.
Video lessons are conducted by professional teachers. The studied material is consolidated by performing simple colorful interactive tasks. Knowledge is tested at the end of each topic.
Parents rate this course quite highly. They say that it is difficult to tear the child away from the screen. After all, there are funny songs in English that are quickly remembered, and dolls (the main characters of the stories), and dialogues, and even each letter of the alphabet has its own special character. The children really like to complete the illustrated tasks - this is noted by many dads and moms.
Puzzle Academy
Reviews of the Teacher Method as a training course indicate that this is the best choice for beginners. The Puzzle Academy course is more suitable for those who already have some experience in English. This is for intermediate level and above. The course is based on video lessons with a teacher who is a native speaker. Users can remotely take part in real classes that an English-speaking teacher conducts with students, and subsequently complete homework and exercises.
Classes last about 50 minutes and are conducted exclusively in English. In this case, the user can pause the lesson, turn on sub titles (English) and translation. If students speak incorrectly, the sub titles indicate the mistakes made and the correct option.
To complete the exercises, the user receives a handout in PDF format. Assignments are identical to those received by students directly engaged with the teacher. Each lesson also comes with lists of expressions and words to learn.
Two main courses are presented: English fortravel” and “Business English”.
The first is a great help for those who like to visit English-speaking countries. It is taught by a teacher from Ireland. The course includes everyday topics that are often covered on trips.
Business English provides practical tips for successful business communication. The course is taught by a teacher from Canada.
Personal plan and service options
Puzzle English is so multi-tasking that it's not always easy to immediately figure out which sections and exercises are needed in the first place. In this case, the "Personal Plan" can help the user. It makes it possible to better understand the principles of navigation within the site and application, to determine what should be paid attention to. By offering rough options and a sequence of tasks for each day, "Personal Plan" can save you a lot of time.
It also makes it easier to track your own results and progress, quickly receiving information about the failure or overfulfillment of the planned plan. For the successful completion of the daily plan, the user is awarded bonus points.
"Personal plan" helps you quickly understand the system of the service and determine which sections you need in the first place. This is important, given that full access to the "Teacher's Method" and other sections of the "Puzzle English" is still paid. After trying the demo version, you can pay for the use of specific sections or purchase full access rights. In freemode, users have access to one lesson of the "Teacher Method" per day, 20 phrases for collecting audio puzzles, one workout.
This system suits not everyone who wants to study English. But you should not turn to pirated versions. The hacked "Teacher's Method" appeared on the Web some time ago, but is currently blocked.
You can buy a course not only for yourself, but also as a gift. On the site you can order a gift certificate for the entire complex or individual sections.
Puzzle English, "Teacher Method" reviews
When you try to find reviews of a particular product or service on the Web, there is always a danger of stumbling upon unscrupulous comments. It often happens that the official website contains only laudatory reviews, while on specialized portals, user opinions are much more diverse.
When it comes to evaluating "Puzzle English" and "Teacher's Method", the opinions concerning the format of presentation of information and tasks are overwhelmingly positive. Learn English in a fun and effective way. It's really interesting to work with the application, it doesn't look like traditional lessons and courses. It is also possible to choose the format that you like best without losing performance. Pleased with the richness and variety of content. Controversial reviews mainly relate to the fact that the features of the free version of the application are quite limited. However, developers do nothide the fact that full access to services is still paid. But the efficiency of using the application is quite high.
The need for knowledge of the English language at least at the level of everyday communication today no one doubts. Do you use programs and applications for independent language learning or do you prefer offline lessons with a teacher?
