| Which is More Beneficial? | | | | English or foreign language skills development even |
| Which is more beneficial for improving English or | | | | over a long term. Raising that to additional hours but |
| foreign language proficiency: more hours or more | | | | having the additional hours as "self-study", virtual or |
| classes? At first it would seem that they are the | | | | other types of non-contact hours does little, in my |
| same thing. They are most definitely not. Let me | | | | opinion, to aid in the development of English or other |
| explain. | | | | foreign language skills. |
| Academic and Private English Language Institutes | | | | More English Classes |
| Many academic and private English and foreign | | | | Now if you add more "in-person" classes however, |
| language institutes are increasingly demonstrating an | | | | and you're definitely going to impact both English |
| alarming tendency towards fewer and fewer actual | | | | language teaching and English language learning skills. |
| contact hours and increasing the number of "self | | | | Using five hours per week as an example, learners |
| study" hours - which you pay them for, by the way. | | | | would make substantially more progress in language |
| The preference is to lump learners into one long | | | | skills development by having five one-hour classes, one |
| weekly class in leiu of several shorter ones during the | | | | class hour per day from Monday through Friday, than |
| week. Although this might seem top aid the institute's | | | | they would by having one language class of four or |
| bottom line, it ultimately will negatively impact teachers | | | | five hours duration only once per week. In fact, |
| and learners when overall language learning and skills | | | | learners with one-hour classes on three different days |
| are diminished. | | | | of the week would develop their foreign language skills |
| More Hours of English | | | | far faster than a group of learners taking one five-hour |
| To provide learners with more hours of English means | | | | long class once per week. |
| to increase the actual number of English language | | | | English or Foreign Language Exposure |
| learning hours without specifying any particular | | | | The added input and practice days would automatically |
| distribution. To go from three to five hours of English | | | | promote English or foreign language exposure each |
| per week to ten or even fifteen hours per week | | | | day as opposed to a more intensive, lower exposure, |
| cannot necessarily be deemed a bad thing. Or could it? | | | | but tiring once-per-week classes. The benefits of |
| If you have three contact hours, that is, three hours of | | | | having more classes would extend to both English |
| actual class time in front of an English teacher, this of | | | | language teachers and foreign language learners alike. |
| course is far too few hours for any substantial, true | | | | What do you think? |