Abstract: This research aims to understand the teaching trends for the students who chose learning English online, as well as assess the effectiveness of such education. The author considered the innovative technologies and the skills that students acquire using such online methods. An attempt was made to answer the question on the effectiveness of online methods in comparison to the traditional in-class learning, when students interact with each others and the teachers. For accumulation of information the author carried out a survey and in-depth interviews with the respondents from various institutes and research centers that are located in Moscow. The scientific novelty consists in proving that online education is the most promising type of learning based on a number of objective factors; its signature features allow prompt effective solution of the problems of continuous education. The work also defines the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of online learning, which is on a par with the traditional form of learning. The conducted research demonstrates that the students who completed their education online will most likely perform on the same level as students who attended the college. The prospects for further scientific pursuits seem to lie in development of an original online scientific methodological complex for teaching English language to adults within the system of extracurricular education.