Help and support – English Online Course sponsored by World Jewish Relief

Your English Online course includes access to:

• group classes with an expert British Council teacher: You will learn with other students at the same level as you, and you will receive instant feedback. At the end of each class, the teacher will share valuable class materials with you for additional practice. 

• premium online exercises: Each live class you attend includes access to premium online exercises. These exercises will help you improve your reading, listening and vocabulary skills and you should complete them before attending that class so that you will be prepared and make the most of it. 
  
• 25-minute grammar or pronunciation webinars called Live25 sessions: You can use these sessions as an opportunity for additional practice between your regular group classes - if you need extra help with understanding English verb tenses or how to use intonation in a sentence, Live25 sessions offer you the opportunity to advance your knowledge! You will attend 1-2 or 2-3 Live25 sessions per week for the entire duration of your course (depending on the class schedule option you’ve chosen).  

• Self-Study themed exercises: You will also have access to our Self-Study course exercises. With this access, you will have 6 themes for each level, with 6 lessons each. You can complete the lessons in any order you like and you can focus on the themes that are more relevant to your learning goals. Our themes range from Business English to every day, social English. You will have access to these exercises from the start of your course. 

The course is very intensive, so plan your time well, attend all your classes and complete online exercises. 

The full lesson should be attended to make the most out of your course. However, if you are late or have connectivity issues during the lesson, the teacher will mark you present or absent based on whether you are in the lesson long enough to be able to achieve the learning objective. 

If you have connectivity issues, please try to reconnect to the class as soon as you can. For any questions about how to join your live class, please contact our Customer Support team. 

If you are unable to attend one of your scheduled classes, please note it is not possible to cancel the class and then attend it at a later date.  This means that any class that is not attended at the scheduled time will be lost and you will be marked absent. 

To access your student portal and attend our live online classes, you will need:  

• a desktop or laptop computer 
• a reliable Internet connection 
• a headset or headphones with a built-in microphone
• a speaker and a webcam. 

Please note:  

British Council English online classes take place using the free and secure Zoom software. Please make sure to download Zoom to your device before your class begins.   

We recommend using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to access the British Council English online platform as some portal features may not work properly on other browsers.  

When accessing the online exercises, please always connect to the portal from a desktop or a laptop device to avoid any errors with your study progress.   

Please refer to our code of conduct for students for more information.

You can download the class presentation (PDF) from your ‘Progress’ tab. Once inside this page, first select the filter ‘Past’ from the right side of the menu (to only view classes already taken), then select the class you have just attended and finally scroll down to the section called ‘Review class materials.’ You will see your file ready to download from this section. 

Important: it might take up to 24 hours for the class PDF to be available for download. If you have any problems downloading your class materials, please contact Customer Support. 

When you log in to your account all your upcoming group classes will be available to attend inside your dashboard. 

You can view your first 2 classes from your dashboard, from the section called ‘Your next bookings.’ To view the rest of your classes, you can go to the ‘Progress’ section available in the top-right corner of your homepage and click on the filter ‘Upcoming.’ 

Before taking your first class, please make sure you have downloaded the free and secure Zoom software, which we use for our virtual classrooms. You can test your equipment here: https://www.zoom.us/test to ensure optimal class participation.  

We also recommend that you complete the online exercises linked to a group class before attending that group class. This will help you get the most out of your class. 

Once you have successfully installed Zoom, just log into your British Council English Online account and go to ‘Home.’ You will see the section ‘Your upcoming classes’’ on the right side of your dashboard. Next to your upcoming class, you will see the ‘Join’ button, which you can click to attend your class. This will redirect you to your online classroom where you must wait for the teacher to let you in.   

Remember:  

• The ‘Join’ button will only become available on the portal 15 minutes before your scheduled class time.   

• We recommend you join classes using a desktop or laptop device to ensure you can download the materials provided by the teacher at the end of the lesson and make full use of Zoom’s functionalities for learning.   

• Make sure to download and test your Zoom software before the class starts. From your account settings, you can Check for Updates before class and install any new features.   

• Your name on Zoom must be written in Latin letters and must be identical to the name available on your English Online account. This way your teacher will know who you are and will let you join the class right away.   

• Test your earphones and microphone to make sure everything is working before your class starts.  

• Please make sure to always have your webcam on when you join the class. This is to ensure that you can fully participate and that the teacher can engage with you.  

If you have any issues joining your class, contact Customer Support by emailing support.englishonline@britishcouncil.org with a screenshot of the issue/error, and we will be happy to help.  

Participating in small group classes with other students who have a similar level of English gives you plenty of opportunities for speaking practice. By regularly attending group classes, your confidence in using English outside the virtual classroom will grow and grow. This is because what you do in class - speaking English in a conversational context - is exactly how you use English in real life. With group classes, you also enjoy the support and camaraderie of your classmates, and you will receive instant feedback from your teacher on your English speaking. 

During your course you will also have access to Self-Study lessons. These are online exercises focused on general (social) or Business English which can be completed at your own pace and in your own time.  

To access the Self-Study lessons, go to the top-left corner of your Home page and click on the drop-down menu where you can see your course name. From the drop-down, select ‘Self-Study course’ and you will then be able to find the exercises under ‘Themes.’ 

If you complete a full theme you will also earn a badge, which is a great way to track your progress and share milestones with your network. To download your badges, go to the ‘Achievements’ tab and on the Self-Study course page, and click to download badges that show under the filter ‘Complete.’ 

As you complete the exercises, you will complement when you learn during the live classes, and gain confidence in your English skills.

Your British Council English online course includes access to premium online exercises that will help you improve your reading, listening and vocabulary skills, as well as help you practise and revise what you have learnt during your group class.  

You can access your class exercises from the ‘Progress’ tab by clicking on an upcoming class, or a class that has already taken place. We recommend you complete your exercises before attending the group class, however your access to these exercises is unlimited for the entire duration of your course - this means you can access them at any time and at your own pace. 

Your Live25 sessions will be booked for you before the start of your course. You will join 1-2 or 2-3 Live25 sessions per week, depending on your class schedule. Live25 sessions are optional but highly recommended. 

To find your Live25 bookings, log in to your student account and check your Home page, under ‘Your next bookings.’  

Please note that if you are unable to attend one of these sessions, you will not be able to cancel or reschedule it. 

To join a Live25 session you do not need to have your camera or microphone on, however we encourage you to ask your teacher questions using the Zoom chat function.

The session will be presented by the teacher, but students can ask as many questions as they like in the chat. This means you can join a Live25 session from a mobile device and you do not have to have your camera connected.  

In every Live25 Grammar session, your teacher will explain different areas of grammar going through what they mean and how to use them. Examples include the verb tenses (present, past and future), or those related to parts of speech (adverbs, prepositions, comparatives) or questions (question tags, question formation). 

In every Live25 Pronunciation session, your teacher will demonstrate different aspects of pronunciation: sounds and their combinations, word stress, sentence stress and intonation. You will learn how to speak more naturally and how to understand fast-connected speech in English.

Improve your knowledge of English so that you can write and speak with more accuracy and fluency. Live25 sessions are the perfect revision tool to keep you engaged between your scheduled group classes. 

Live25 is a live streamed language session that focuses on one aspect of English grammar or pronunciation. Delivered by one of our expert British Council teachers, each session is 25 minutes long. 

In addition to the live class and the Self-Study exercises, you can find more helpful resources inside the tab ‘Extra study’, which you can browse between your scheduled classes/Live25 sessions as a way to practise and stay engaged with the material. You will expand your knowledge with the help of our Mini English Lessons, which are short videos that explain English grammar and vocabulary with the help of fun, topical, examples that are relevant to every-day life. 

Live25 sessions are optional but highly recommended.

You will have access to platform-generated certificates which include the total number of hours you studied with us and your CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level. These certificates are updated in real-time after every class you attend, and they can be downloaded at any time directly from your British Council English online account. There is no final examination necessary to obtain your certificate. 

Our certificates bear the British Council logo and attest to your hard work as our student. You can share your certificate on your LinkedIn page or download it to your device for personal use. 

To download your course certificate, please go to your ‘Home’ page and click on the icon ‘Achievements’ from inside your dashboard. From the page that opens, click the download button right next to your certificate preview. You can download this certificate at any time and as many times as you need. 

Your level has been set based on your EnglishScore test results so once the course has started it is not possible to change your level. 

You will receive instant feedback by your teacher during every live class. This will help you understand your strong points and the areas you need to focus on more in order to reach your study goals. You will also be assessed throughout the course by your teacher, who will then decide at which level you should continue your studies. 

You can also track your progress using the information available on your dashboard, from the ‘Home’ page. Your dashboard will be updated in real time as your course progresses and will include: 

• How much of your course you have already completed (%) 

• How many classes you have attended 

• How many exercises you have completed 

You will also receive a British Council badge when you have attended 5, 15, 25, 50, 90 and 100 classes. These can be downloaded and shared to show your progress. 

No, it is not possible to share your account. Your British Council English online account is unique and personalised for your individual needs. 

If you have registered for this course individually, you can download your payment receipt from the page ‘Payment history,’ available in the top-right corner of your Home page, from the drop-down menu under your name. When you click to download your receipt, a pop-up message will appear with the option to add a preferred name, address and tax number to your receipt. 

If your organisation paid for your course, you will not have access to a payment receipt and any billing and payment information will be discussed directly with your organisation. 

Click on your name in the top right-hand corner. You will see a dropdown menu including various options to choose from. 

• Profile: select this option to update your profile information. Inside you will find:
  • Profile tab: select this option to update your profile photo. 
  • Communication tab: select this option to update your communication preferences. 
  • Change password tab: select this option to change your password. 
  • Time zone options tab: select this option to update your time zone or preferred time format (12-hour clock or 24-hour clock).  

• Payment history: select this option to view your receipts, if you have paid for the course individually 

• Achievements: select this option to view and download your course certificate and badges 

Feedback / complaints from students - please contact customer support. To submit feedback about the student platform you can use the 'ADD' feedback form on the bottom right of the student portal.

Can I extend the course? It’s not possible to extend your course. 

I didn’t get my first choice of class times - Although every effort has been made to give students their first choice of class times, unfortunately this is not possible for everyone, so second and third choices are used in these cases