About Us
Simply English is a non-profit education organization located in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 2011, we have grown to become the biggest independent ESL school in Russia. Although our school has evolved over the years, our passion, vision and mission have remained the same.
Mission
Our passion is connecting expat native English teachers from around the world with young learners in Moscow, Russia. By facilitating this cooperation, we can realize our twofold mission:
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Help young learners learn valuable English language skills in a fun and creative environment. We strongly believe that language learning needs to be an immersive, enjoyable, and engaging process. There is no better way to learn English than with a teacher whose native language is English.
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Allow our expat teachers to truly experience Russian culture and the exhilarating Moscow lifestyle. With the support our school provides, teachers can focus on teaching and immersing themselves in the unforgettable experience of living in Moscow. Our staff will take care of the rest!
Passion
At Simply English, we believe that both teaching and learning should be fun. We pride ourselves on our unique programs of study, and work hard to make sure each of our teachers has all the materials they need to plan exciting and inspiring lessons.
We know that all of our students are special, and deserve an approach to studying English that is uniquely tailored to fit their interests and learning styles.
We understand that the same is true of our teachers. We work with each teacher to develop their teaching style and improve the quality of their approach. We make sure our teachers always have the support they need in all of their working environments.
We understand that happy teachers design the best lessons. Because of this, we make it a priority to provide our teachers with a fun and encouraging working environment, as well as comfortable housing, and exciting yearly team-building events!
Our History
August 2011 - Canadian Jack Schwager decided to launch the Simply English project. In the very beginning our team consisted of just 3 teachers: Jack, Katy and Jimmy. Our office was in the apartment that we all shared, and we had no staff!
By September 2012, our fledgling school had 6 teachers and a small administrative office in Kolomna, Moscow region.
In January 2014, after a period of rapid growth, Simply English moved to a new office near metro Kashirskaya. Our team grew to 12 teachers and 4 office employees.
The summer of 2014 sees the launch of the SE Europe Summer project. During the following summers our teachers worked in exciting locations in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and the Czech Republic.
In June 2015, our team moved to a new office near Kolomenskaya metro. This exciting period brings with it further growth and our team numbers 34 teachers and 7 Russian support staff.
By August 2016, Simply English School moved to a new office near metro Taganskaya. This central location allows much better access for our teachers. Teacher housing is also moved to the northwest of Moscow during this period. We spent two unforgettable years at this location before it became too small for our growing team.
2018 was an exciting year at Simply English School. Our team had grown to 45 teachers and 11 office staff and moved to our largest office yet at Kislovskiy Bulvar near metro Arbatskay. This was also the year of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Easily remembered as the best year in the history of modern Russia.
In December 2020, with the onset of the COVID pandemic, Simply English School moved to our current location at Nikitskiy Bulvar – also very close to metro Arbatskaya.
September 2021 – Simply English celebrates 10 years of teaching, learning, and cultural exchange.
In September 2023, after four years of organizational change brought on by the COVID pandemic, our organization transitioned into a non-profit. We continue to provide the same services and support to our teachers and clients.
Our Teachers
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/ CREATIVE APPROACH
Simply English employs a community of bright, compassionate, creative teachers. Our teachers work hard to make sure each of their lessons is engaging and useful to our students. They develop fun and interesting materials designed to spark student interest.
/ COLLABORATIVE DESIGN
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Our teachers do not work in isolation. They collaborate with our programs director to choose the right program of study for each group and private client, and do their best to make their lessons active and inspiring. They engage in training seminars, share ideas with their peers, and participate in an active and nurturing teaching community.
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/ ADAPTABILITY
Our teachers are also very flexible- they know how to respond to multi-level classrooms, and have no difficulty navigating between age groups and levels. In a single day, one our teachers can start the morning with a group of kindergartners, teach a class of 6th graders, and head to a private client’s home for a business English lesson!
Our Students
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/ SCHOOLS
Simply English teachers work at public and private schools throughout Moscow, in a wide variety of classroom settings. Our lessons in schools can be both academic and extra-curricular. We teach 1st through 11th graders in small, intimate classroom environments, where speaking and conversation are the main focus of the lesson.
/ KINDERGARTENS
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Simply English kindergarten classes are bright, fast-paced, and fun. Our teachers are expressive and energetic, and love teaching young children through songs, games, and stories. We teach kindergarten students from 3-7 years old, always in small groups, to maximize teacher interaction.
/ TUTORING
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Simply English offers one-on-one lessons to students of all ages. In general, our private students follow the same programs we use in schools and kindergartens, but we also offer courses for students preparing to enter British and American schools, as well as business English and adult conversation classes. All of our lessons with private students involve a lot of natural speaking time, and of course, many games!