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Open English has been appearing quite frequently in recent days through advertising campaigns. On the other hand, Flalingo is slowly gaining popularity. So, for those stuck between these two platforms, which one should they choose? In this article, I aim to provide an answer to this question. To do so, I conducted comprehensive research, delving into the quality of their instructors and, indirectly, their educational materials, the resources they use, the efficiency of their customer support departments, and examined user reviews about the platforms. Based on the information I gathered, I compared the two platforms, and the winner is Flalingo! But why? Let's find out together.
I believe that the quality of a platform offering English education can be gauged from the expertise of its instructors. Therefore, when comparing the teachers of Open English and Flalingo, I noticed that there is not a significant difference between the two platforms. However, Flalingo seems to have a slight edge.
To become a teacher on Open English, the following criteria must be met:
Flalingo's requirements to become a teacher on their platform include the following qualifications:
As seen, there are two differences in the selection of teachers between Open English and Flalingo. The first difference is that Flalingo works with both native English-speaking teachers and proficient non-native English-speaking teachers. The second difference is that Flalingo requires you to have either a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA certificate and to have completed your bachelor's degree. In contrast, Open English requires you to have one of these certificates OR to have completed your bachelor's degree. As a professor, I don't quite understand why Open English has set this criterion. Yes, someone with these certificates can be a good English teacher and know how to approach students effectively.
However, having a bachelor's degree doesn't necessarily provide the competence needed to teach English. If Open English had required their teachers to be English teaching graduates, I could understand it, but this way, it seems quite illogical to me. After all, someone with a business background may not know anything about teaching English, and just being a native English speaker doesn't make them a good English teacher.
The materials students use during their learning process are just as crucial as their teachers. Therefore, in this comparison, I also wanted to consider the resources used by both platforms. However, I noticed a significant difference between Open English and Flalingo in this aspect.
Open English provides its users with interactive exercises, but it does not offer detailed information about these exercises. As a result, users do not know who prepared them or which publications are used. This lack of transparency can create a sense of uncertainty among students.
On the other hand, Flalingo offers its students free access to the Oxford University Press Library. This allows students to utilize these resources during lessons and at their convenience. By providing students with access to one of the world's leading university libraries, Flalingo demonstrates how much it values its students and their education. Moreover, given the reputable and longstanding nature of Oxford University, it is undeniable that these resources are of high quality.
The active functioning of customer and support services in an online English learning platform demonstrates the value it places on its students and their progress. Through customer support, students find a responsive point of contact where they can voice their concerns. Therefore, when comparing Open English and Flalingo, I believed it was essential to consider their customer services.
At first glance, there may not seem to be a significant difference between the two platforms. However, after examining user reviews and understanding the experiences of people, the magnitude of this difference becomes apparent.
It seems that Open English's customer support team is not effectively addressing issues, providing inaccurate information, and sometimes behaving as if they don't understand the problems. Moreover, they appear to be excessively contacting users before making a purchase. Users have expressed their disappointment regarding this matter on the Trustpilot platform. Many of the negative reviews about Open English are related to the constant calls from their customer service. Open English's actions might be seen as a violation of users' privacy, as they seemingly try to pressure users into becoming members by bothering them continuously. The lack of consideration for how disrespectful this approach can be is also concerning.
Flalingo seems to offer its users the convenience of reaching out to them through both messaging and voice calls. This way, students can easily find solutions when they encounter issues. Additionally, after examining user reviews, there is no information indicating that Flalingo's customer service frequently calls students. This indicates that Flalingo's customer support operates efficiently and respects its users' preferences for communication. The absence of complaints about excessive calls reflects positively on Flalingo's approach to customer service and how they prioritize providing a helpful and respectful experience for their students.
User reviews play a crucial role in determining the quality of online English learning applications. Through these reviews, you can gather information and decide whether or not to choose a particular platform based on people's experiences. For example, if unauthorized charges from your card are a significant concern (as it is for me), you can avoid a platform after seeing reviews from individuals who have had such an experience. Similarly, if the attitude of instructors towards students is vital to you, you can choose a platform based on the reviews that highlight this aspect. User reviews provide valuable insights into the reliability of platforms, user experience, customer service, instructor attitudes, and the content offered by the platform.
I have reviewed the comments on Trustpilot about Open English. In these reviews, there are concerns about Open English's lack of transparency regarding the prices, frequent and bothersome calls from customer service, and unauthorized charges from students' accounts. Additionally, one review mentions that customer service does not listen to students' problems, and after closing a sale, they try to push for extra lessons and insist on it. They also automatically set up subscriptions for automatic payment contrary to the user's preference. I would like to share this review with you so that you can see this user’s experience for yourself.
“They only want to sell you more and more and don’t listen to your concerns. After they sold me the program they insisted on selling me private lessons and after 10 times saying NO I ended up taking them because the seller on the phone wouldn’t stop insisting. Not only that, they put the private lessons in auto pay so I got charged twice (when I asked not to put me in auto pay). I called them several times until I could talk with someone and cancel my private lessons subscription and I asked for a refund because I never wanted the lessons and never heard from them again. Really bad experience, they only want to sell more and more and get you in the tramp of the auto pay.” -Coco Ruiz, Trustpilot
On the other hand, Trustpilot reviews about Flalingo seem to be more positive. Here, users express that the platform is helpful, the tutors are qualified, and the customer support department is very helpful and effective. Here are some of these reviews:
“The best website ever to learn English online. you can take 1 on 1 lesson whenever you want with a teacher you want. Oxford materials are available at any time you want. Thanks, Flalingo” -Shahin Muhamed, Trustpilot
“I have been searching for English teaching platforms for 4 months. I have tried every platform I could, and at last, I found that flalingo is the best platform of them all. thanks for every teacher on this platform and thanks for the 24/7 customer service.” -Sophina, Trustpilot
“Flalingo tutors are fantastic and great at teaching online English. They have helped me through my English improvement with ease and have boosted my confidence in those English to new heights. I love coming to Flalingo for help, it is always so personable, caring, and easy. You can't go wrong with Flalingo for your online English learning needs, trust me!” -Dilek Ezen, Trustpilot
We can benefit from Trustpilot while surveying on reviews of this two platforms. In this comparison, we can focus on the overall points that are collected.
In Trustpilot, Open English gets 3.9 out of 5 in Trustpilot. If you consider this grade as good, you should see the fabulous performance of Flalingo.
In Trustpilot, Flalingo gets 4.7 out of 5 with highly positive comments. In this Trustpilot angle, I think the winner of the competition is obviously Flalingo.
Based on the detailed comparison I conducted, Flalingo emerges as the winner over Open English. I considered aspects such as teacher quality, learning materials, customer support services, and user reviews during my analysis. In each of these areas, Flalingo outperformed Open English.
Open English's requirement for either a teaching certificate or a bachelor's degree and the fact that having a bachelor's degree in any field does not necessarily guarantee to be a good English teacher, the lack of transparency about the sources of their learning materials, the non-solution-oriented approach of their customer service, and their persistent calls all contribute to making Open English a less efficient platform compared to Flalingo. Furthermore, when examining user reviews, it becomes evident that Flalingo is a better platform for students. Therefore, if you are trying to decide between these two platforms, I would recommend that you consider all these factors and choose Flalingo.
