No two English classes are exactly alike. You’ll always have different experiences based on your teacher, your learning materials, and various factors that can affect the difficulty and efficacy of the class. This applies whether you’re learning English in person or taking English classes online. As a result, it’s not always easy to find the best online English classes to match your English level, your budget, or your English-speaking aspirations.
Fortunately, we hope to save you some time by researching the best online English classes for students at every level. If you’re unsure of your own English level, feel free to take our English Speaking Test. Additionally, consider joining the Magoosh Speaking Club to learn intermediate or advanced English groups alongside other students!
So, without further delay, let’s take a look at the best online English classes for students at every level!
Best Online English Classes for Beginners
Every English learner has to start somewhere. If you’re still a beginner English speaker — Pre-A1, A1, or A2 — there are dozens of platforms out there to help you learn English. Apps like Duolingo or HelloTalk are great to discover new words and practice the language in your spare time. However, if you really want to see major improvements and eventually become fluent in English, you’ll need to take some kind of beginner’s English course. Fortunately, we’ve found two of the best options on the market to get you started!
Best Free Course: MOOEC
MOOEC stands for “Massive Open Online English Course,” and that pretty much sums it all up. The website offers hundreds of lessons to help beginner students practice reading, writing, speaking, and more. If you want to find free English classes for adults, MOOEC is easily the best place to start. The website contains a wealth of information for English learners, so you would need to spend months taking lessons just to experience everything MOOEC has to offer!
Best Paid Course: British Council
There are plenty of websites and programs where you can have one-on-one classes with a native English speaker. Generally, these are some of the best ways to improve your English, but experiences can vary widely, as no two English teachers will offer the exact same experience. However, if you’d like to improve your English while studying on your own, the British Council offers a 20-25 hour beginner’s course for about $7 USD per month. The course is designed for people who want to study business English, but it can also help you improve your English in many different settings. Plus, once you finish the beginner’s course, you can simply maintain your subscription and move on to more advanced courses!
Honorable Mentions:
- English Class 101 (Free)
- ESOL Courses (Free)
- Udemy (Paid)
- John Academy (Paid)
Best Online English Classes for Intermediate Students
Once you’ve reached an intermediate level in your English studies (B1 or B2), you’ll want to find more challenging courses and learning materials. However, many intermediate students struggle to find online English classes for adults that match their skills. Many classes are too easy, while many others are too difficult. Thankfully, there are still plenty of great options for intermediate English learners — as long as you know where to look!
Best Free Course: American English
American English is one of the best Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) in existence. Created by the US Department of State to help non-native speakers learn from a reliable source, the American English MOOC has tons of content for both teachers and students. Though it is mostly aimed at learning and speaking English in a professional environment, there are plenty of lessons for more casual learners as well.
Best Paid Course: iPass IELTS
For a one-time payment of about $50 USD, iPass IELTS gives you 30-weeks access to intermediate level English lessons. Like most online English courses for adults, you can take things at your own pace. The course content is varied to provide students with the tools to improve their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. If you’re not sure if the course is right for you, don’t worry! You can try a two-day free trial before making a final purchase.
Honorable Mentions:
- Memrise (Free)
- BBC 6 Minute English (Free)
- ABA English (Paid)
- English Live (Paid)
Best Online English Classes for Advanced Students
At a certain point, you’ll want to figure out how to learn English quickly at an advanced level (C1, C2, and beyond). This is often the time when you have to move on from basic virtual lessons and start speaking with (or writing to) native English speakers. Ideally, you could immerse yourself in an English speaking culture to perfect your skills, but this isn’t always possible. Fortunately, there are a plethora of English language learning courses for advanced students, too!
Best Free Course: iTalki
It’s important to note that not every aspect of iTalki is completely free. However, if you’re willing to do a language exchange, it’s a great place to find a native English speaker and start practicing! However, if you want more structured English classes with a trained tutor, you will need to pay for the lessons. In any case, practicing with a native speaker is one of the best ways to improve your English at an advanced level. So, if you want to practice English with a native speaker for free on iTalki, you’ll need to help them learn your language, too!
Best Paid Course: Perfectly Spoken
While practicing spoken English with a native speaker is one of the best ways to gain fluency, there are plenty of virtual courses that can help you improve as well. Perfectly Spoken offers an advanced level proficiency course with 60 video lessons, plus downloadable materials for reading and writing practice. Additionally, the platform offers some of its materials free of charge, with even more lessons available at every level for just $10 per month!
Honorable Mentions:
- English Anyone (Free)
- Eng Vid (Free)
- Open English (Paid)
- Lingoda (Paid)
Try Out The Speaking Club
At Magoosh, we believe in putting the needs of English learners first. The online English classes outlined above will provide great learning material based on your level and your budget. However, if you’re looking for an online English class that can help you practice and grow with a group of like-minded individuals (intermediate and advanced level speakers), the Speaking Club is the place for you! To learn more about the Speaking Club, you can start your free trial today!
