Anna Berkovich: Life path of the founder of foreign language schools

(Photo : Anna Berkovich)

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich is a businesswoman who created a language school that she later developed into an entire network. Her thirst for knowledge was transformed into the continuous improvement of teaching algorithms and innovative ways of organizing education.

Anna Berkovich: Childhood years

The Anna Berkovich biography has been associated from her earliest years with St. Petersburg. Both her parents hold higher engineering degrees with a concentration in energy. As Anna Berkovich recalled in one interview, her family was always focused on the pursuit of new knowledge. Unfortunately, the difficult times of the Second World War prevented her grandmother's younger brothers and sisters from graduating from college on time, but they supported one another and all managed to continue their studies and earn their degrees. The future businesswoman herself studied at one of the most exemplary Leningrad schools with an in-depth program in mathematics and physics.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna also has a younger sister, and together, they learned a love of hiking and physical education from their father, who led an active lifestyle and was especially fond of travel and martial arts. As a child, Anna Berkovich also played the piano, enjoyed sledding and skiing, track and field, and studied the basics of self-defense with her father. The entrepreneur acknowledges that it was thanks to her father that she formed the character of a future leader.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna: Striving for better education

The Anna Berkovich biography was formed under the influence of family traditions. She graduated from high school in the late 80s, then chose to study at the family school, now known as the Polytechnic University in St. Petersburg. This venerable institution of higher education, where Nobel Prize laureates and members of the world's first human space launch have taught, has a reputation as one of the best technical universities in the country.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna later said that she treasures her college years not only for the high-quality education, but also because she met her future husband there, who was a graduate student at that time. She received her first degree in the field of strength research and the resource capabilities of machines in 1992.

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich continued her studies a few years later, but in a different field. At first, having failed to find high-quality English language courses at home, she went abroad. And she later earned a second degree - a Master's of Business Administration. Berkovich Anna also mastered the NPS methodology and later earned a DBA.

Anna Berkovich: Biography of a businesswoman

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich readily admits that she never wanted to work under anyone else's leadership, preferring to earn money on her own. She first attempted to open her own business while still a freshman, publishing copies of a rare collection of poetry together with her friends. This first commercial venture failed, but the entrepreneurial practice she received came in handy three years later when she and her sister returned to the publishing business. This time around, Anna Arkadievna Berkovich's work included several outlets and an assortment of books. The book trade brought a good income for the times of perestroika, but it was not easy, she recalls. Since she was still a student, she had practically no free time. In the morning before school, she had to distribute books around the city, and after class, she went to check on the daily sales.

Anna Berkovich subsequently changed her line of work several times. She tried her hand in the confectionery business, and even sold computer equipment. The idea of a new business, which later became her main work, appeared by chance.

Anna Berkovich: Start of an educational project

Anna Berkovich arrived at the idea of opening her own foreign language school through her own difficulties in mastering English. As she recalls, there were many schools in the country in the 1990s, but their quality of education was far from ideal. She almost completely lost the desire to study the language, but then Anna Arkadievna Berkovich decided to try to study abroad. To master the language confidently, she went through several foreign schools, which later served as examples for how to organize classes and methodological work. Within the niche of educational services, she saw a broad potential for starting her own business.

The Anna Berkovich biography in the field of education unfolded as she used the knowledge she gained abroad to develop her own teaching methodology. At the same time, she considered it important not only to apply European standards of education, but also to take into account the nuances of the local mentality and the specific needs of local students. According to Berkovich Anna Arkadievna, she has personally tested many modern and newly formulated methods and linguistic developments in language education, all of which served as the basis for her own unique approach.

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich: Increasing customer loyalty

Anna Berkovich actively applied the Net Promoter Score methodology in her schools, which helps identify where business customers' true loyalties lie. According to her, NPS helps to form a customer base and significantly facilitates the re-sale of courses.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna's school had developed significantly by 2010, turning into a network with branches in cities throughout the country. The school developed a specialized new program for businessmen and enterprises, and the list of languages taught was expanded to include French, Italian, and Spanish, in addition to English. Under Berkovich Anna Arkadievna's leadership, the school improved its approach to teaching based on its own developments and the latest academic works. In the same year, the network was rebranded as Alibra School.

The Anna Berkovich biography saw the opening of three new branches in 2010, despite the crisis in foreign language education. 40% more students studied at one of the network's schools than in the previous year.

Berkovich Anna: Constantly modernizing

Anna Berkovich implemented a single organizational platform based on CRM in her company in 2011 in order to develop a client-oriented business management system. The company was thus able to build a single customer base and significantly automate the relevant processes (the selection of courses and registration, invoicing, writing schedules for teachers and branches, and so on). Berkovich Anna Arkadievna believes this step helped the network significantly improve the quality of its customer service.

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich's network continued to expand in the following year with a total of 17 branches in four cities. The network's Methodological Council has developed a complete set of European-standard textbooks, and the network founder managed to organize the educational process in such a way that the University of Cambridge accredited the school to administer language exams according to its standards.

In fact, in 2014, Alibra School was recognized as the best testing center for a Cambridge University certificate. Special groups were organized for test preparation, annually attended by more than a thousand students. 

Anna Berkovich: Biography of an innovator

The Anna Berkovich biography as an entrepreneur was distinguished by the desire for an ever-higher quality of educational services, and in 2013, she presented Skyrocket, a new English language training program, based on the school's own unique methodology and adjusted to meet the requirements of modernity. Anna Berkovich firmly believes that with the updated program, it is possible to learn the basics of literate conversational speech from scratch, developing an active vocabulary of about 2,000 words, in six to eight months.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna believes the key feature of the network's approach is the so-called mixed learning format, which significantly reduces the time needed to learn a previously unfamiliar language. In-person classes provide students with the foundational material, then a variety of additional methods are used, from audio to electronic services. Anna Arkadievna Berkovich also focuses on conversational training to securely fix students' grasp of grammar and vocabulary. In the case of vocabulary, the school uses direct association, when a word is remembered as an image, not a set of concepts.

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna: Expanding language programs

The Anna Berkovich biography included study abroad, which taught her how important it is to teach her students how to think like the native speakers of the language they are studying. To this end, grammar is taught as visually and as simply as possible, creating a structure that is both cohesive and easy to understand. 

Anna Berkovich's school expanded its range of languages in 2014 with the launch of a Chinese language program. And for more convenient study, the network's professionals have developed five levels for adults and a special course for businessmen consisting of 32 three-hour classes. A separate children's program is also available.

Berkovich Anna has managed to develop branches in all major cities that live up to the standard of European capitals, as evidenced by the fact that the Kazan branch has been granted the right to administer exams for an official University of Cambridge certificate. 

Berkovich Anna: Mobile education

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich opened two more branches of the Alibra School in St. Petersburg in 2015, totaling about 20 in the Northern Capital. Overall, the network had trained more than 100,000 students by the end of the year. The company's 15th anniversary was celebrated with the launch of its first mobile app, Alibra Sky, created to help students learn English vocabulary. The app was created as a supplement to the intensive Skyrocket course but can also be used independently. It unites two methods of mastering foreign vocabulary: the principle of associations and regular repetition.

The Anna Berkovich biography is a good example of continuously striving to improve the quality of a business, and she always tried to ensure that her students received the most in-demand language skills. Therefore, the mobile app was constantly being updated: By 2017, it turned into a family of apps, with an ever-expanding list of languages, modernized vocabulary, and options for automating learning tasks. 

Anna Berkovich: Online school

(Photo : Berkovich Anna)

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna's network introduced its updated, more interactive website in 2015, where clients could find all the necessary information about courses, consultations, conversation clubs, schedules, and programs. The site was awarded the Golden Site award as the best among educational resources for adults.

Anna Berkovich and her team launched the interactive online educational platform Alibra English Campus in 2016 - another stage in the network's transition to a hybrid of in-class learning and easily accessible interactive materials, including assignments, exercises, lexical databases, and video materials. Even missed classes can be completed online.

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich and the B2B sector

Anna Berkovich's entrepreneurial spirit helped her pinpoint areas of particular need, thus the school has been offering specialized courses for the needs of businessmen and companies almost since it was founded. Berkovich Anna managed to develop the programs to a high level and attract large corporate clients. For example, since 2010, Alibra School has been working with Sberbank, with bank managers regularly studying at Berkovich Anna Arkadievna's schools. All corporate students take a special proficiency exam - Cambridge's computer-adaptive BULATS test, designed for business professionals.

The Anna Berkovich biography is directly related to both business and education, and she had a good understanding of the importance of foreign language proficiency for entrepreneurs and managers. In 2017, she managed to attract the top management of the Pipe Metallurgical Company to the Alibra School online platform. The remote format proved more than capable of providing a high-quality education, and the students managed to earn international certificates from Cambridge.

Anna Berkovich: Biography of success

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich's network expanded in 2019, with a branch opening in Tyumen. By the end of the year, there were almost 30 branches of the school operating throughout the country, with a total number of 250,000 graduates, 3,000 of whom were corporate clients. For its active work with the business community, Alibra won the SchoolRate Award for corporate training.

Berkovich Anna also supervised the modernization of the school's key educational programs. The Skyrocket course has been improved and expanded, and a new Upper-Immediate English textbook was developed, drawing on the broad educational experience of Berkovich Anna Arkadievna and her team of professionals. In addition to the textbook, students are provided with interactive classes on the online platform, and the dictionary in Alibra's mobile app has been expanded.

Berkovich Anna, with her drive to constantly improve teaching practices, has raised her network to a new level not only for students, but for teachers as well: In 2019, the school was certified to conduct professional teacher retraining.

Berkovich Anna: Ready for change

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich oversaw the development of the in-depth Skyrocket Expert course in 2020. This advanced program for Upper-Intermediate level students is conducted entirely in English. The bulk of the program is based on audio material and independent speaking.

Anna Berkovich and her unique method of hybrid forms of education allowed Alibra School to remain open and active during the pandemic. Classroom instruction was not available, but the network was able to completely switch to online teaching through its own platform throughout the lockdown period.

Berkovich Anna and children's programs: Free classes and summer camp

The Anna Berkovich biography was heavily impacted by the education she received in her childhood, thus, in her own school, she placed special emphasis on the methods of early language learning. The network has developed courses for three-year-old children and high school graduates alike. Alibra also offers a summer camp in both offline and online formations, where students learn the complexities of grammar and vocabulary through films, songs, poems, and games.

Anna Berkovich's Alibra School began holding open weekend classes in city parks and other sites a few years ago. For example, in 2022, a series was offered at the Island of Dreams amusement park, where children from five years of age and up were taught the basics of the English language. 

Berkovich Anna Arkadievna has also taken part in numerous charity projects for children, and her business has repeatedly donated money to the Konstantin Khabensky Foundation for New Year's gifts and for the treatment of children with severe brain diseases.

Berkovich Anna decided to leave her post as CEO of the Alibra School network in 2020, but the team of professionals she gathered continues to develop the school.

Anna Berkovich: Biography and family

Anna Arkadievna Berkovich is married and has two children. She prefers to spend her leisure time outdoors, walking through the woods or skiing. Among Berkovich Anna Arkadievna's hobbies are reading, attending modern ballet performances and classical music concerts, and watching intellectual films. She says she inherited her business acumen from her grandfather. For her, making a profit is not an end in itself, but a way to achieve her greater goals.

Berkovich Anna said in an interview that the most difficult thing as a female leader is coping with emotions when making difficult decisions, such as firing employees. Among the pleasant aspects of management, the businesswoman emphasizes personal communication and the process of company development.

The Anna Berkovich biography has long been associated with self-education, and she speaks two foreign languages fluently: English and German.