KOCHI: Learning new languages is always an interesting and challenging affair. However, most people refrain from this out of low confidence and self-esteem. Few even tend to miss out on a dream job due to lack of communication skills. This is where English House, an online English language training company based in Kozhikode, founded by Jinas Thadayil and Shafeel T K comes to help. The company provides an online platform for students to brush-up their language skills through WhatsApp.
Formed in 2018, English House has already trained over 10,000 students. Jinas has been working as a language trainer since 2016 and started a training institute in Mukkam. “That didn’t really go well due to the Nipah outbreak. Running a physical training centre is risky as we may have to shut down when there is a catastrophe of some sort. That’s how I thought of launching a language training app with Shafeel, who is also a language trainer from Malappuram,” says Jinas. However, to reach more common people, they decided to give training via Whatsapp. The classes were being recorded and sent to the students.
“Even that had limitations. So we hired five trainers and started focusing on ‘personal mentoring’. That had a good effect on students,” adds Jinas. Now, English House has around 60 trainers. Most of the students are from Kerala and the Gulf. Classes are held from 9am-4.30pm and 4.30pm to midnight. “Students from Gulf countries and employed people prefer the second shift,” says Jinas.The batches are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced. The training includes voice calls with the trainers, recorded video lessons and podcasts and homeworks. People between the age group 30-40 can enroll for the training. Jinas asserts that they are making the students ‘independent learners’ through the training programme.
“We can’t teach a language. All we do is mentor them and give them a platform to improve their communication skills,” he says.Though the Covid-19 pandemic affected their business for a while, they duo now gets more students. “Around 1,000 students are enrolling every month. Most of them are from Kerala. I think e-learning will be the future,” says Jinas.