Iboux Academy: Learn English Online

Iboux is no ordinary academy of English. Dedicated to meeting the needs of each individual student, online business English lessons are divided into competencies to match the specific English language goals students want to achieve. Students have extremely diverse needs: from giving a professional presentation to preparing for a job interview, from ordering in a restaurant to speaking to customer service, from making small talk to settling down in a new country. Iboux offers lessons tailored to any and all of these requirements. At Iboux, assessment is gradual, which allows students to test their knowledge as they go. Students are taught by professionals who know it is a priority that they speak as much as possible. Lessons are a comfortable space in which the students can acquire a fluidity which they can then replicate in the real world. A high-quality virtual classroom and the prestigious academic credentials of both Iboux teachers and its academic team make Iboux an encouraging and efficient place to learn English. To find out more, Speak Up talked with Brian Kantt, Chief Product Officer at Iboux Academy. As he explains, Iboux’s online English lessons differ hugely from traditional ones. We asked Kantt how and why.

Brian Kantt (American accent): What sets Iboux Academy apart is our focus on teaching business professionals, combined with what we call our “6 Unique Benefits.” Together, they make for a learning experience that’s unmatched elsewhere. First and foremost, we’re the only online Business English language school whose academic direction is led by a Harvard University Graduate School of Education alumnus. This ensures that our students benefit from the highest educational standards. Secondly, our Business English curriculum is based on Competency-Based Education (CBE), which means that it emphasises the mastery of practical, actionable, real-life skills, rather than abstract topics. Thirdly, every Iboux Academy student is assigned a dedicated Learning Coach — an experienced education professional whose role is to provide guidance and support in any learning-related decisions or challenges that the student may face. The other three unique benefits that set us apart are our team of native, certified teachers who are available 24/7, the fact that our classes never expire, and our virtual classroom, specifically designed for online language instruction.

ACADEMIC  TRAINING

Iboux prides itself on its diversity of teachers, all with rigorous academic training and years of experience.

Brian Kantt: We’re really proud to have a diverse team of teachers representing seven different nationalities. Our teachers aren’t just native speakers, they’re also certified professionals with an average of nine years of teaching experience. We have a rigorous five-stage selection process to ensure we have the best teachers, and we provide ongoing professional development and feedback to keep them up-to-date with the latest knowledge and skills in online language instruction. But we’re not just a team of teachers, we have a full instructional team to support our students. Our Learning Coaches are qualified language professionals, our Curriculum team creates a personal lesson plan for each individual student, and our Teacher Coordinators provide quick and effective support to our teachers.

TEAMWORK

Remote learning has different perks and challenges than those found in the traditional classroom. Iboux students are never left alone to deal with the hardest parts of learning a language, as Kantt explains.

Brian Kantt: Your coach is available to you at any time, and their sole job is to help you make any adjustments you may need in your language learning journey, both in and out of the classroom. Your coach can provide recommendations for additional resources or self-learning tools outside of Iboux that you can use to supplement your learning between your classes. They can also help you make changes to your class structure or your teacher pool. Whatever you need to ensure that your personal learning plan is meeting your needs, your Coach is there to support you. Our Learning Coaches are always available to ensure that our students receive the best possible support and guidance throughout their language learning journey.

CUSTOMISED APPROACH

The methodologies used in Iboux lessons are highly customised. Students are treated as individuals and English courses are catered to specific contexts.

Brian Kantt: At the core of our classes is our competency-based curriculum, which is designed to help students master specific language skills, such as “Making a Sale,” “Participating in Video and Conference Calls,” or maybe “Discussing FinTech”, among others. With over 150 different competencies, we ensure that our students achieve and demonstrate mastery of one skill before moving on to the next. This approach contrasts with traditional curricula where students progress to the next skill over time, regardless of whether mastery is achieved and demonstrated. Our model respects the individual learning needs of each student, allowing them to go at their own pace and creating opportunities to bridge any gaps that they may have. We also place a significant emphasis on speaking. We always say that the only way to achieve the goal of speaking English fluently is… by speaking it. To help our students achieve this goal, our teachers are instructed to encourage them to speak as much as possible, and to ensure that the student is the one doing most of the talking rather than the teacher. That said, no two Iboux lessons are the same. Why? Because we recognise that every student is unique and that they bring their own individual learner profile into the classroom. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning: what works for you as a learner might not work for the next person, which is why our teachers and Learning Coaches are constantly working closely with you to ensure we understand your individual learning needs. Once we’ve identified these, we will customise your lessons accordingly to ensure you get the most out of your time with us.

MAJOR CLIENTS

Iboux has worked on multiple projects with high-profile clients including Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Amadeus, Howard, Zubilabs, Airbnb, NTT Data, and Microsoft. Kantt tells us more.

Brian Kantt: We understand that each company, just like each individual student, is unique, and every workforce has its specific needs. For this reason, we don’t limit ourselves to offering standardised solutions but instead, we aim to understand the specific needs of our clients so that we can tailor our approach to meet their requirements. For example, some companies may want their employees to focus on mastering English language competencies such as making a sale, negotiating, or meeting with clients, while others might need their staff to work on the language required to master competencies such as working on a team or managing people. We assign each company its dedicated Account Manager. The Account Manager establishes a personal relationship with the company’s training manager to gain an understanding of their specific English learning needs. This allows us to create a customised learning track that meets the company’s unique requirements.

AN EXPANDING BUSINESS

The success of these projects is enormously fulfilling, says Kantt.

Brian Kantt: In 2022, we taught over 150,000 classes — that’s more than four hundred classes every day! We’re proud to say that 97 per cent of our students gave us a 4 or 5-star rating, and our average rating is 4.7 out of 5. We’ve helped countless students achieve their goals, from getting a new job or a visa, to closing a sale or passing an international certification exam. It brings us great joy that the vast majority of our students have had a consistently positive experience with us, and we remain committed to providing the best possible educational experience to each and every one of our students. 

iboux.it

Take a free trial class at: iboux.it/lezione-gratis