FAQs
If you are studying English in order to pass an exam like IELTS, or because you want to study or work in an English-speaking country, or work for an English-speaking company, you will find that Sensations English – used regularly – will be a valuable support for your learning. It will help improve your speaking and listening, reading and writing. You might already be at a language college, taking a course online or in class – please carry on and use Sensations English in your spare time to learn English faster. All our scripts are checked thoroughly to make sure they match precisely the chosen level. We use a proprietary algorithm – tested over decades – which helps us check that we have written precisely to a specific language level.
Many IELTS test centres are closed due to Covid-19. IELTS has introduced a new test IELTS Indicator. Many universities and other organisations have said they will accept the result of an IELTS Indicator online test while it’s not possible to take the normal test. Sensations English is also online, and will be a big help in preparing for the IELTS Indicator. You can practise every part of the test with Sensations English, and then complete the IELTS Indicator online, from your home. Don’t forget to check regularly to see whether your local test centre has re-opened.
If you are already on a course, please continue. We will help you learn faster. Sensations English gives you authentic spoken and written English. You will learn current phrases and hear English spoken in a variety of accents. This is not English out of a book. This is modern everyday English.
We choose topical stories from around the world. We select reports that are interesting, news-worthy and relate to themes which are used often in the teaching of English, like ‘Festivals’ and ‘Entertainment’. The news videos and articles are the start of a learning journey that includes games to test your understanding of the news item and study tools to further extend language skills and help you understand English faster. You will soon learn words and phrases that English people use in their own speech like ‘in other words’. In other words, Sensations English provides you with authentic English!
A lesson is a news video or a news article, and its related games and study tools. A lesson will be at one specific language level, from A2 to C1. Students self-guide themselves through the video or article text, checking that they understand the meaning of the language. With every lesson, interactive games support the main video or article. Try the games and see how well you can do – they are helping you check your understanding of English. There are also study tools – use them to practise the four essential skills of speaking, writing, reading and listening. If you feel confident, you can try the lesson at a higher level.
On May 5th 2021, there were 950 individual lessons. Fifteen lessons are added each week. The learning objects of each lesson stay fresh even if the news reports are a few months old.
The news reports offer many ideas and new vocabulary to improve your speaking confidence and content. If you include some of the global issues and vocabulary topics in your speaking exam, you will impress examiners.
One of the Sensations English in-depth study tools is ‘Shadowing – Be the newsreader’. Use it to hear single sentences from the video commentary, then record your own voice and listen how closely your English matches a first language speaker for pronunciation and meaning. Remember, each commentary is available at each level, so you can practice your speaking whether you are a beginner of more advanced student.
Video and text news stories give excellent examples of written English structure, grammar and collocation (word associations). The interactive games help practise sentence structures and develop accurate phrases to use in your writing, so your grammar will be clearer, and you’ll have many useful phrases ready for the exam.
Sensations English provides exam reading preparation with hundreds of news stories on a wide variety of topics, the same topics that many exams use as well. Each report is written at five different ability levels, so you can choose which level to start with and then you can progress to read the next level more easily. Every language level is included with your subscription. Interactive games check your comprehension with exam-style reading questions and missing word activities.
Video commentary and audio for the articles offer clear, accurate models of spoken English. The interviews in the videos provide examples of English speakers from around the world, so you can understand people speaking English with different accents and speeds of talking – all with subtitles to aid your understanding. One of the Sensations English in-depth study tools is ‘Text read at 3-speeds’ that tests and develops your ability to process spoken English quickly.
The Sensations English team includes experienced, BBC-trained producers and expert teachers of English as a second language. We are completely independent. We are not influenced or controlled by any government or company.
We charge in US dollars because our subscribers come from all over the world. The US dollar is known and understood around the world, and you can easily convert it to your local currency. We hope in the future to be able to show our pricing in more currencies.
The video stories are licensed from one of the world’s leading independent news agencies. The pictures are edited and the scripts are written by Sensations English experts. There is no ‘fake news’. All the commentaries at each level are written by the Sensations English team of language teachers.
Yes. We have two payment systems – PayPal and by credit card. When you supply your credit card details, your payment is processed by Stripe, a widely-used global payments platform. Stripe holds your credit card details securely – they are not passed to Sensations English.