You often hear that knowing English opens up new opportunities. Today we want to provide evidence for this statement: you will learn about 10 training sites where you can get professional knowledge in English for free using MOOCs.

MOOC (Massive open online courses) – massive open distance learning courses. In the online format, people listen to lectures, perform tasks and communicate with teachers, at the end of the course they issue a certificate, and sometimes there is an opportunity to pass an exam and get a diploma. With the help of massive open courses, you will be able to increase professional competence, expand the horizons of your knowledge and improve your knowledge of English.

Why it is useful to study on English-speaking platforms

Perhaps you will have a question: "Why spend time on online learning, because it will not replace my education?" We found 5 good reasons to study on English-language platforms:

1. Unique knowledge

   As a rule, online courses are conducted by employees of prestigious universities and eminent lecturers known in professional circles. Many courses are conducted by such educational institutions as Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, Stanford universities. The quality of education is high and you can be sure that you are gaining knowledge from competent sources.

2. Convenient schedule

   In most cases, you choose the pace of training and the schedule of classes. That way, you won't have a time constraint problem.

3. Possibility to obtain a certificate

   On some sites, you can get a certificate of successful completion of a training course or a verified (issued by a university or training resource) certificate for a fee free of charge. Such documents will be a good addition to your resume.

4. Minimum amount of homework

   In online courses, homework is either not set or given in a minimal amount, so this form of training is suitable for even the busiest people. However, if you sign up for paid courses, then homework will have to be done, and in large volumes.

5. Improving your English skills

   During the training, you will watch videos, listen to audio, read articles, and sometimes write comments in English – you will comprehensively develop all language skills. In addition, you will encounter new words that are easy to understand from the context and remember. If you want to significantly expand your vocabulary, we recommend choosing courses of an unusual topic for you (just not highly specialized).

Top 10 Platforms with Free English Courses

1. EdX

Number of courses: more than 2,500 in English from 140 universities.

Availability of a certificate: a verified certificate is provided for a fee, in some courses an unnamed free certificate is issued in electronic form.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Course topics: architecture, art and culture, biology, business and management, economics and finance, data analysis and statistics, chemistry, computer science, design, teacher education and training, electronics, environment, food and nutrition, health and safety, history, language learning, law, literature, mathematics, medicine, music, philosophy and ethics, physics, etc.

EdX is a non-profit organization, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. The platform was founded in 2012, today more than 20 million students study there and there are more than 120 partners, including Stanford University, Microsoft, Arizona State University, etc. Most professional courses are paid, and the requirements for students are high: the certificate is issued only to those who have completed homework on time and successfully. It is because of this that edX is considered the best platform for obtaining in-depth professional knowledge.

2. Coursera

Number of courses: more than 4,000 in English.

Availability of a certificate: a verified certificate is provided for a fee.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Course topics: business, social sciences, physics, computer science, personal development, data sciences, life sciences, mathematics and logic, language learning, humanities and arts.

Coursera is the largest training resource, with hundreds of partners from around the world and more than 73 million students. The project cooperates with Princeton, Stanford, Michigan universities. In 2013, Coursera began to work together with the US Department of State, the purpose of the work is to open training centers around the world. Coursera is a commercial organization and many courses today have become paid, but you have the opportunity to get a prestigious certificate for free thanks to the Financial Aid program. Fill out an application for financial aid and, if approved, get knowledge for free.

3. FutureLearn

Number of courses: more than 700 in English.

Availability of certificate: only verified certificate, provided for a fee.

Registration: required.

Appendix: None.

Topics of the courses: business and management, art, nature and environment, languages and cultures, history, health and psychology, jurisprudence, literature, technology, politics and modern structure of the world, education and learning technologies, mathematics, sports, etc.

FutureLearn is a British MOOC project that collaborates with the British Council, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool Universities, the British Museum, etc. FutureLearn is part of The Open University project, which has been developing distance and online education for more than 40 years.

4. Udemy

Number of courses: more than 130 000 in different languages.

Availability of a certificate: a free certificate in electronic form is issued at the end of any course, a verified certificate is provided for a fee.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Course topics: web development, IT and software, business, marketing, education, photography, health and fitness, language learning, personal development, music, design, teacher training, test preparation, etc.

Udemy is one of the easiest and most user-friendly educational projects. Today, they have more than 35 million students and 57,000 teachers. Udemy provides a wide range of courses on various subjects, but the most well-developed and popular programs related to the IT sphere, economics and business. The peculiarity of Udemy is that free courses usually do not require homework and consist of short capacious videos - you spend a minimum of time gaining the necessary knowledge and determine the pace of learning yourself. Another feature of this site is that you can create your own course on the platform and make money on it.

5. Khanacademy

Number of courses: more than 50 in English.

Certificate: Not issued.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Topics of courses: mathematics, economics and finance, computer science, art, cosmology and astronomy, health and medicine, history, music, etc.

Khanacademy is a non-profit organization that develops mainly through donations from Google, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and user donations. The feature of the site is materials on mathematics. The fact is that the founder of the academy, Salman Khan, did not intend to create a training platform at first, but wanted to help his cousins with homework in mathematics. He enjoyed explaining the material so much that Salman started making instructional videos and posting them on YouTube. As a result, these videos were watched by millions of people around the world, interested in them and Bill Gates, who donated a large amount of money to create and develop a training platform. Today, the site offers lectures on various topics, and the main advantage of the resource is an easy presentation of any topic, while some materials are taught in a game form.

6. Openlearning

Number of courses: more than 3,500 in English.

Availability of certificate: depends on the course, it is necessary to specify.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Course topics: art and design, education, business and economics, computer science and technology, health and medicine, law, lifestyle, self-development, sports and fitness, language learning, mathematics, etc.

Openlearning is an Australian distance learning project, which was founded by specialists from the University of New South Wales. The main difference of this site is that it positions itself not only as a learning platform, but also as a social network for those who want to gain knowledge. The materials consist of detailed video lectures, as well as questions for discussion, to which you will need to give a written answer in English. You will be able to participate in discussions with native speakers, exchange knowledge and practice writing messages in English.

7. Alison

Number of courses: more than 2,000 in English.

Availability of a certificate: free in electronic form or paid in printed form.

Registration: required.

App: Yes for Android.

Course topics: banking, business, management, tourism, biology, anatomy, chemistry, music, mathematics, language learning, sociology, psychology, photography, yoga, law, physics, web development, etc.

The Irish educational resource Alison cooperates with such giants as Google, Microsoft, Macmillan, etc. The main difference of the project is that it provides completely free training. To date, the site has more than 17 million students. At the same time, high requirements are imposed on students: in order to obtain a certificate, you need to correctly answer at least 80% of the questions in the verification tests-modules.

8. Stanford Online

Number of courses: more than 600 in English.

Certificate: Not issued.

Registration: required.

Appendix: None.

Course topics: economics, statistics, social sciences, engineering, medicine, education, language learning, etc.

Stanford Online is a distance learning from one of the world's most prestigious educational institutions. The lessons present video materials and small articles to them, tests for understanding the information studied, as well as questions for discussion. The lack of certificates is more than compensated by well-developed courses from lecturers at Stanford University.

9. Canvas

Number of courses: more than 70 in English.

Availability of a certificate: depends on the course, you need to specify.

Registration: required.

App: Available for Android and iOS.

Course topics: medicine, economics, sports and health, mathematics, computer science, etc.

Canvas Network is a popular foreign learning resource, has more than 18 million students. Most of the courses are free, but there are also commercial projects. Almost every course has homework that must be done, so it will not be possible to listen to the course without doing anything.

10. Yale

Number of courses: more than 40 in English.

Certificate: Not issued.

Registration: not required.

Appendix: None.

Course topics: language studies, literature, economics, history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, physics, etc.

Yale - courses from teachers of the famous Yale University. You can attend lectures of eminent professors without leaving home. Any material you are interested in can be downloaded for free in the form of video, audio recording or text, there are no test tests and homework here. This is a great resource for people who want to expand their horizons and do not set a goal to get a certificate.

Now you can improve your skills in the professional sphere, learn English and replenish your knowledge while at home. Knowledge is the most reliable type of investment, so invest your free time with benefit!

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