Why Students Learn With Us (Hint: It’s Not Just Because They Want To Learn English)
We tutor many students each day who all want to learn English, but have you ever wondered about the reasons behind their study? What motivates them to come to us for instruction and support?
After interviewing dozens of students, we've identified four of their biggest motivating factors. Read on to learn more!
For Fun
Some of our students simply enjoy meeting people from around the world while learning English, and describe studying as their hobby.
One high school student (🇹🇼) said, “My tutors give me a lot of advice about life, and it makes me happy to know that there's both a language and a life lesson waiting for me when I get home.”
The diversity of Engoo tutors was also mentioned as one of the reasons they choose our service instead of other options. As one student (🇰🇷) put it, “When you go abroad, you need to be able to communicate with people from all different backgrounds, accents and lifestyles.”
And in one particular example of this diversity being important, one of our students (🇯🇵) even took lessons specifically with Indian tutors before attending a conference in India.
Furthermore, students love cultural exchange. Many brought up interesting conversations they had with tutors about local traditions, holidays and food. One student (🇹🇼) commented, “Can you believe that in Europe, they eat bread three meals a day?”
Fun may not be the only reason our students study with us, but it definitely is a major factor. Now, let's move onto more serious motivations!
For Work or Career Opportunities
Some of our students learn English because they need it to pursue opportunities in higher education.
One student (🇹🇼) shared, “I took classes to prepare for TOEFL, but since there were so many students in the class, I was never able to speak up. So I knew I needed some sort of tutoring to actually improve my speaking.”
Other students need English to advance their careers. Knowing English can allow students to work at global companies — and staying up-to-date on developments in your field is definitely easier with knowledge of the international language.
For example, many students in science and engineering need English to attend international conferences or to read English reports and research.
Finally, a handful of our students are English teachers themselves, so they want to learn it better in order to teach it better!
For Personal Growth
For some, studying English is neither a hobby nor necessary for work. Some students simply want to improve for their personal interests. For example, one student (🇯🇵) told us that his dream was to understand American TV shows without subtitles!
In general, however, most students want to improve their ability to communicate with people from other countries. One student (🇯🇵) said, “I went to Hawaii for a marathon and could only say ‘thank you’ to the people who gave me water and lots of other things. I wanted to say so much more!”
Another student (🇯🇵) said that thanks to our tutors, he can now go to a local bar and connect with international customers there. Yet another (🇯🇵) said that learning with us helped her better connect with global friends she made online.
Many students also mentioned not wanting to feel left out, whether that was in meetings with clients or at lunch with colleagues. One (🇯🇵) said, “Our company provided interpreters, so I could communicate through them during meetings, but I at least want to understand what’s going on.”
Another (🇯🇵) admitted that she felt ashamed at not being able to understand her coworkers’ jokes.
Other Reasons: Guilt, Prestige, Etc.
In many countries, learning English is like getting exercise. There’s no need to explain why you do either of those activities; they’re just “good for you.” In other words, some students study English because they feel they should.
For example, many learners mentioned being ashamed at not being able to provide good responses to foreign tourists who asked them for directions.
Unlike some countries where people dislike tourists for not speaking the local language, in the East Asian countries many of our students call home, people don’t expect visitors to know their mother tongue — and they feel bad for not knowing the international language.
Fluency in English is even considered cool and respectable. One observer commented that in Japan, English is a “vaguely longed-after consumer good… The Japanese own all sorts of consumer goods, but few of them have acquired English competence ... so such competence has rarity value.” Basically, a high level of English skill is similar to a desirable luxury product!
👋 That’s it for now!
We hope you enjoyed learning about why our students learn English. Have yours said anything about their motivations for studying with us? If not, your next lesson may be the time to ask!
