The client:

A prominent humanities university, based in Asia and specialising in fields such as art, tourism, architecture and psychology, got in touch with us when they needed an English learning platform that would meet the needs of its students, both local and international.  

The Department of International Culture and Tourism is a growing area for the university. Its degrees attract more and more students hoping to pursue careers in the tourism sector. English is an essential element of the degree and has become a key area of focus for the institution in recent years.

The challenge:

Although its students’ English results were outperforming other departments at the university by around 30%, the department had higher ambitions. It wanted to encourage its students to take a more independent approach to learning and improve their TOEIC® score by 100 points, regardless of their existing level.

Limited class time was divided between students’ specialist subject and English, meaning that students would require a learning method that gave them access to materials outside the classroom and allowed them to study at a pace to suit them if they were going to reach the targets set by the department. 

“Our students’ expectations were getting higher so we wanted to develop a course that would not only improve their English skills, but also raise their satisfaction levels.”

Furthermore, with differing levels of academic ability and a broad mix of nationalities to factor in, the department was finding it difficult to cater effectively for the students’ various needs in a classroom environment. They needed a learning platform that could suit each individual’s level and provide a customised learning journey for them.  

The university had introduced e-learning in its classes from as early as 2006, but it hadn’t settled on a partner to deliver the programme it wanted.

Implementation:

“We were fascinated by Reallyenglish’s platform’s ability to learn and adapt content to the level of each student. Many programmes offer the same learning content to all students, which can result in students finding courses either too easy or too difficult. However, Reallyenglish is a system capable of delivering a learning programme corresponding to an individual’s level in an instant.”

For the price of a textbook, students were now given access to course content specially designed to help them prepare for their TOEIC exams, with various ‘gamified’ elements to make learning more fun, including plenty of mini milestones to reach.

To complement the programme’s ability to empower individuals to manage their own learning, the university also offered classroom support, encouraging students to make use of access to the university's computer facilities. This has allowed students to continue to make progress outside lessons, regardless of how busy they are or how active their social lives are.

Through the platform, teachers are able to respond to student enquiries immediately and provide assistance in a very targeted way.

Results:

Since the introduction of the new learning platform, the department has seen its students become much more self-motivated and active in their learning, with growing numbers using the tool more and more often. Students are even arriving to the classroom early.

“While we haven’t quite reached the stage where each and every student achieves the target of improving their TOEIC score by 100 points, we are certainly seeing big improvements, particularly in our students’ grammar and listening skills.” 

Results are stronger the more students use the tool – those who find free moments to use it outside classes or on their phones while on a break are achieving the best scores. 

Student satisfaction is high, and they have responded positively to the customised nature of the course content. Teachers, meanwhile, have enjoyed the management dashboard and being able to track progress and offer targeted support in ways that aren’t possible in a conventional classroom format.   

 After seeing such positive results, the department is excited to develop the programme further, by enhancing the questions system, placing a particular focus on reading skills and encouraging students to incorporate their English learning in their daily studies.

“The university is very happy with Reallyenglish. It was difficult to accommodate the needs of so many students in lecture-type classes, and the new programme has contributed to everyone ‘levelling up’. We’re looking forward to future developments.”