Short answer
Your mic in 60 minutes is roughly (40 minutes) ÷ headcount. Around 6 learners → 8–10 minutes. A room of 30 → 1–2 minutes. Months on a brochure are not speaking minutes.
English classes are sold in months. Fluency is built in minutes you spoke. A 60-minute class with around 6 learners and a 60-minute class with 35 people are not the same product. Here is the arithmetic we use in every consultation, and the bands we see across India in 2026.
The formula
Teacher talk + instructions + one example ≈ 15–20 minutes of a 60-minute hour. The remaining 40–45 minutes is the speaking pool. Divide by the number of learners who actually get a turn.
| Batch | Speaking pool | Your minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 (Cambly, EngVarta) | 50–55 min | 50–55 min — no classmates, no syllabus required |
| Approx. 6 learners (Learn With Smile) | 40–45 min | About 8–10 min of you, plus hearing classmates |
| 8–12 (British Council-style group) | 40–45 min | 4–6 min |
| 25–40 (typical city classroom) | 40–45 min | 1–2 min, often a round-robin once a week |
Over 6 months, 2 classes/week that is roughly 48 hours of class. Your spoken minutes:
- Approx. 6 learners → about 7–8 hours of you speaking in 6 months.
- 30-student room → about 1–1.5 hours of you speaking in 6 months.
- Daily 1:1 at 25 min → you can hit 5 hours in two weeks. Different product.
What the institutes are actually selling
Franchise classrooms in Kolkata, Pune, Chennai (Veta-style 2–4 months, ₹3,500–₹10,000) sell presence. Exam shops (EEC-style spoken English around ₹7,500) sell a visa stack. Native apps sell minutes. We sell minutes + a 6-month map at ₹999/month, inclusive of taxes, with approximately 6 learners per batch.
EngVarta-style sessions from ~₹108 are the cheapest *speaking minute* in India if you already have language. Cambly at ~$10/hour is the most expensive speaking minute. British Council modules (often ₹8,800–₹16,000) sell a CEFR level and a brand — speaking time is 4–6 minutes in a 8–12 group, which is honest, just not cheap.
How to audit a live class in 15 minutes
- Count the faces on screen or in the room. If nobody will tell you the cap, assume 25+.
- Start a timer when *you* talk. Ignore teacher talk.
- Ask who will remember your v/w error next week. If the answer is “the platform”, it is 1:1. If the answer is a named teacher, it is a course.
- Ask GST, registration, lock-in. 18% on a “₹2,000” course is not a rounding error.
Cost per speaking minute, roughly
A ₹999/month batch of around 6, two hours a week, is about 8–10 minutes of you per hour — call it 70 minutes of you a month. That is roughly ₹14 a speaking minute, inclusive of taxes, plus hearing five classmates. A 30-student ₹2,000/month room can be more expensive per minute you actually spoke. 1:1 at ₹108/15 min is ~₹7 a minute and has no 6-month map. Pick the unit you are buying.
Online vs a city classroom
Add commute. Online vs offline and the city pages — Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru — do that math in local terms. A 90-minute local each way for 2 minutes on the mic is the expensive class, whatever the brochure says.
Get a free consultation. We will walk you through the batch of around 6, the speaking minutes, and whether the room fits you.
When fewer minutes are still the right buy
- You need a certificate — buy the badge, not the mic.
- You already speak and only need daily reps — buy 1:1 sessions.
- Your child is under 14 — buy a kids platform. Adult minutes are the wrong unit.
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