The most frequently asked question is what changes you can actually see after one month of learning English from scratch. Is it really possible to speak complete sentences? I went through student tracking records from the past six months, sorted out the real effects and costs of the 3 most common learning methods, and you'll know if your chosen path can get the results you want after reading.
01Memorizing words via apps: For self-disciplined people with plenty of time
This is suitable for people with no budget at all, who can spend more than 1 hour per day studying.
The advantage is extremely low cost: you can get an annual membership for just a few dozen yuan, and study time is completely flexible. The disadvantage is that there is no one to guide you, so it's easy to memorize a bunch of low-frequency words that you can't use. Xiao Zhou, who works in administration, studied on his own for a month and increased his vocabulary by more than 200 words, but still couldn't even say "go straight and turn left" when a foreign colleague asked for directions.
Real cost: Dozens of yuan for membership + more than 1 hour of time per day, most people give up before two weeks.
02Offline large grammar classes: For students with strong exam needs
This is suitable for people who need to take certificates like Public English, and have no immediate need to speak.
The advantage is that a teacher will guide you through grammar systematically. After one month, you can basically understand the usage of simple present and past tense, and the accuracy rate of simple cloze tests can be improved a lot. The disadvantage is that there are more than 20 people in a large class, and you will get less than 5 minutes of speaking time in a 2-hour class, which is almost useless for adult spoken English improvement. You also have to go to the campus at a fixed time, which is too tiring for office workers after work.
Real cost: 2000-3000 yuan per month, plus commuting time cost.
031-on-1 online short tutor classes: For people learning English from scratch who want to speak quickly
This is suitable for people who don't have many full chunks of time, whose core need is to be able to use English for communication.
Frankly speaking, this is the path where I have seen the most obvious changes after one month of learning English from scratch. We customize entry-level content with the Karen Method, paired with daily 25-minute high-frequency short classes. All teachers are full-time foreign teachers from our physical campus in Manila, Philippines, who will supervise you to speak the whole time, and won't let you just take notes silently.
Ah May, a post-95s mom who just finished her first month of classes last month, said: "I used to have to think for 3 seconds even to say 'banana', but last week when I took my kid to Disneyland and met foreign kids, I could actually chat a little about my kid's age with their parents."
If your main need is daily communication, you can also check the entry content setting of our Everyday English course, which is completely designed based on the actual needs of beginners.
Real cost: Less than 1000 yuan per month, only 25 minutes of fragmented time per day, no need to travel to campus.
Here are 3 straightforward criteria for you to choose, no need to struggle:
- If you just want to accumulate vocabulary for exams and have no need to speak at all, just use apps directly, don't waste money on courses
- If you need to systematically learn grammar for certificates, and won't need to speak English for 3 to 5 years, offline large classes are also an option
- For people learning English from scratch who want to be able to speak within a month, I personally recommend the high-frequency 1-on-1 short class mode, which has the highest return on investment
You don't have to wait until you have a "perfect foundation" to start speaking when learning English from scratch, every step you take counts. If you are not sure which mode suits you best, you can also book our free trial class to experience the rhythm of 1-on-1 foreign teacher classes first.
