Today we’d like to introduce you to Roger Graham and Lynn Petro.
Hi Roger and Lynn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We officially launched English Portal in September 2021, but the idea for the business and work on it began in mid-2021. When the pandemic forced most English language schools into having online classes, including the school we both had worked at together for 10+ years, we saw an opportunity to capitalize on the many benefits of virtual classes. Online teaching provides students with access to classes from any place with an Internet connection, requires no extra time or expense for travel, and allows immediate, easy access to shared online resources with a way to store them. From that realization grew a desire to create ESL classes tailored specifically to student needs by providing totally customized classes whenever and for however long a student wants to study. We live in Austin, but our aim with English Portal is to work with students anywhere in the world. Any English. From Anywhere.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We find it hard to imagine any new business venture that wouldn’t experience obstacles and challenges, and our business has been no exception to that. One of the initial challenges we faced was getting up to speed on website design, effective use of social media, and marketing strategies. Furthermore, although we share a vision for English Portal and our classes, we found that it wasn’t as easy as we’d imagined to clearly communicate that vision to students on a ‘What We Do’ webpage. We had concerns about whether our ideas would come across to prospective students.
Having said all that, there are also plenty of things that have gone very smoothly. Because we’ve both taught ESL for numerous years, the academic aspects of the business were no problem at all for us. We are well aware of students’ needs and are skilled in meeting them. In addition to a common vision and goal for English Portal, we have a very comfortable and open working relationship, having spent years as colleagues as well as friends. We agree on most things, and we know each other well enough to work through things when we don’t. We’re very supportive and encouraging of each other, and the level of trust we have with each other has helped build a solid foundation for the business. Besides working well together, we both feel quite comfortable teaching online and have mastered the skills required to do so effectively.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Our work – what we do and what we specialize in: English Portal offers online ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for adults. We both have experience teaching students at all language-learning levels, from true beginners to the most advanced. We also have expertise with a wide variety of types of skills, including: grammar, speaking, listening, writing, reading, and standardized test preparation. We help students who want to improve their English for working, traveling, studying or living in an English-speaking community, and we excel at assessing and efficiently addressing issues that long-term learners continue to struggle with.
Proud of: We took a risk in order to create something that is uniquely ours and make our idea a reality, and we are extremely proud of that. We also take a lot of pride in the fact that we challenged ourselves to learn and to use skills that are completely new to us and well outside the scope of English language teaching. It’s been very satisfying to reflect back on where we started and where we are now and credit our efforts with what we’ve accomplished. We’re also proud of word-of-mouth references from former students of ours, something that reflects on both our teaching abilities and our vision for English Portal.
What sets us apart: We believe that several things set us apart from others that teach English online. First, many online English language programs offer recorded lessons and/or online materials that students interact with on their own, with only occasional guidance from an instructor. We differ in that all of our classes are live and in person – with one of us. Practice may be assigned to be done outside of class, but the total time that students pay for is time spent working with us. Additionally, we create the classes specifically to meet the students’ needs, and the students have complete flexibility in regard to what they study, how long they study, when they study, and how often we meet. Finally, but not least importantly in our opinion, we both hold Master’s degrees, and between us we have over 45 years of adult ESL teaching experience, which is something most of our competitors can’t say.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Most important to our success: We take our jobs incredibly seriously, and as such, our students’ progress is as important to us as it is to them. We always make the students’ goals the priority, and we meet them exactly where they are in their language learning and then help them to move forward.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@englishportalonline.com
- Website: www.englishportalonline.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/englishportalonline/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/English-Portal-Online-100999859023457/?ref=page_internal
