Hello and welcome to effortless English.

Today we're going to talk about Hello and welcome to effortless English.

Today we're going to talk a little bit about the economics of learning English.

So let's get started right away.

Today's podcast is called The Math of English Learning. Let's do some

math. Let's compare the cost and efficiency of attending a typical English

school with the cost and efficiency of supported self-study.

Most semi-intensive schools in San Francisco charge between 400 to a thousand dollars a month,

for about 16 hours of classes per week.

Let's say the average is about five hundred a month.

For five hundred dollars a month you get a class with eight to twenty people in it, or possibly more.

Some of the learners in the class are serious and motivated.

Some are only a little motivated, and many are not motivated at all.

Also, some students will be above your level and some will be below

your level. At the typical English school, the teacher will use an eclectic mix of grammar analysis, textbook-based explanations, textbook drills, dialogue

formulas, and contrived communication activities.

Much time will be spent discussing, debating, explaining, and questioning linguistic jargon, such

as transitive verse intransitive verbs, countable and uncountable nouns.

Complex rules for using definite and indefinite articles.

Verbsenses such as The Past Progressive,

the Present Perfect, and the past perfect progressive.

You'll spend hours dissecting incredibly complex explanations for such simple phrases

...