Dialogue:
The English Language School
of the People

the skinny -

the scroll for the deep dive -

For Learners

Dialogue is built for adult learners worldwide who hold a secondary school diploma or its equivalent from anywhere, and who want to reach the level of English required for admission to the University of the People — or any English-medium higher education institution.

The 2026–2027 calendar. Dialogue runs ten consecutive four-week cohorts across the academic year, nested inside the five nine-week terms of the University of the People. Each cohort meets twelve learners with one expert instructor for fifteen clock hours per week — two sessions per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in the Central Standard Time zone (Fort Worth, Texas, USA). The ten 2026–2027 cohorts are:

1. September 3 – September 30, 2026

2. October 8 – November 4, 2026

3. November 12 – December 9, 2026

4. December 17, 2026 – January 13, 2027

5. January 28 – February 24, 2027

6. March 4 – March 31, 2027

7. April 8 – May 5, 2027

8. May 13 – June 9, 2027

9. June 17 – July 14, 2027

10. July 22 – August 18, 2027

A learner applies for one cohort. Subsequent applications are welcome.

Admissions. Every applicant receives the free TOEML™ — Test of English as My Language — administered live over Google Meet, which Dialogue uses to confirm fit and place each learner at an appropriate point in the cohort.

Preference is given to applicants who can additionally provide either of the following, dated within two years of September 3, 2026:

• A score report from any standardized English proficiency assessment accepted by the University of the People — currently TOEFL iBT, TOEFL PBT, IELTS Academic, the Pearson Test of English (PTE), the Duolingo English Test, the Michigan English Test (MET), the Michigan Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE), EIKEN, Accuplacer, or any equivalent CEFR-aligned assessment.

• Evidence of co-enrollment, current or planned, in the University of the People's English Composition 1 course (ENGL 0101) — the UoPeople pathway that, once successfully completed, satisfies the university's English proficiency requirement for degree admission. Dialogue's four-week cohorts are scheduled to align with UoPeople's nine-week terms so that a learner can complete both programs simultaneously.

Intensity. Dialogue is an intensive English program. Fifteen hours of live teleclassroom instruction per week is required. A learner who cannot commit to that schedule should defer to a later cohort.

Cohort seats and the seat guarantee. Each Dialogue cohort holds twelve seats. To claim a seat, an admitted learner posts a $500 refundable seat-guarantee deposit. Upon successful completion of the four-week session with 90% attendance, the full deposit is returned to the learner. Dialogue keeps no portion of the deposit. The school does not own the money; it holds it. The deposit is not tuition, and it is not a fee. Dialogue remains tuition-free and fee-free.

Sponsorship. Learners who cannot post the deposit may request a sponsor. A sponsor is an individual or organization who guarantees the learner's seat by posting the $500 on their behalf. Upon the learner's successful completion of the cohort with 90% attendance, the deposit is returned to the sponsor — who may, at their option, redirect that $500 to Dialogue's permanent endowment rather than receive it personally. Sponsors may choose whether their support is named or anonymous to the learner they sponsor.

If a sponsored learner does not complete the cohort with 90% attendance, the $500 is contributed in full to Dialogue's permanent endowment — the fund that protects the school's tuition-free independence in perpetuity. Sponsors know this in advance. Sponsorship is therefore a commitment to the learner first and, in the failure case, to the school's permanent future.

Sponsorship is one of two equally valid ways to claim a cohort seat. Many of Dialogue's learners are sponsored. The pathway carries no stigma and requires no documentation of hardship. To request a sponsor, indicate this when writing in order to apply.

To apply, write to apply@dialogueschool.org.

For Instructors

Dialogue is hiring one full-time instructor for the September 3, 2026 launch.

The role. A Dialogue instructor leads cohorts of twelve learners through four-week intensive English sessions on Google Meet, fifteen hours of live teleclassroom instruction per week, ten consecutive cohorts across the academic year, with break weeks built in to align with the University of the People term structure. This is fully remote work operating in the Central Standard Time zone (Fort Worth, Texas, USA). The instructor may live anywhere with reliable internet access, but cohort hours fall on the Fort Worth schedule.

Compensation. $100,000 annual salary, plus 10% retirement contribution, individual health insurance, and standard payroll-side benefits (FICA, FUTA, Texas SUTA). Dialogue's compensation principle is fair and full pay — competitive with the best educators in the cities where instructors reside.

Required qualifications.

• Master's degree in TESOL or a closely related field

• Demonstrated experience teaching in an Intensive English Program

• Demonstrated experience teaching via teleclassroom or other live online formats

Preferred qualifications.

Preference is given to candidates who can show evidence of ongoing language learning as an adult — current or recent study of a language other than their childhood languages, beyond the so-called critical period of second language acquisition. English may be the current or recent study of the instructor! Dialogue's instructors model what they teach: lifelong learning of the world's languages.

To apply, write to apply@dialogueschool.org.