Learn English by listening, and reading, not studying grammar!

Short video clips. Simple exercises. Little text, large type, everything read aloud.
For Czech beginners and intermediates. Made for dyslexic learners.

Video of Alex

One version in Czech shown to visitors in Czechia and one version in English shown to Rest of World · to be recorded

Learn English by listening, and reading, not studying grammar!

Short video clips. Simple exercises. Little text, large type, everything read aloud.
For beginners and intermediates. Made for dyslexic learners.

Video of Alex

One version in Czech shown to visitors in Czechia and one version in English shown to Rest of World · to be recorded

Start here

How it works

Watch a short clip.
Repeat it out loud.
Do a two-minute exercise.
Ten clips later, you can talk about the whole video.

Little reading. Large type. Everything is read aloud. Nothing to memorise.

Try a free exercise

The first clip of every course is free, with its exercises. No account needed.

Course Details

Every course on this site is included in one membership. You watch the video clips free — the exercises, the progress tracking and your notes are the part you join for.

What you get

  • Every course, including new ones as they are added
  • The interactive exercises for each clip — gap-fills, drag-and-drops and quizzes
  • Your own notes on every clip, saved to your account
  • Progress tracking, so you always know where you stopped

How to join

Not accepting new registrations at the moment.

If you are interested, please fill in the form below and I will put you on the waitlist and organise an online interview to see if we are a good match.

Contact Form Demo

Already a member? Log in

Available courses

Go-live with Alex

Course Details

Every course on this site is included in one membership. You watch the video clips free — the exercises, the progress tracking and your notes are the part you join for.

What you get

  • Every course, including new ones as they are added
  • The interactive exercises for each clip — gap-fills, drag-and-drops and quizzes
  • Your own notes on every clip, saved to your account
  • Progress tracking, so you always know where you stopped

How to join

Not accepting new registrations at the moment.

If you are interested, please fill in the form below and I will put you on the waitlist and organise an online interview to see if we are a good match.

Contact Form Demo

Already a member? Log in

A small online group talking on a video call

Online cohorts

Four to six people, one evening a week, for six weeks. Everyone speaks; nobody reads aloud unless they want to.

How a cohort works

Each week we take a short video clip from the courses and talk about it together. Alex steers the conversation, asks the questions and keeps it slow enough that everyone can follow. You listen, you answer, you tell the story back in your own words. No grammar tables, no homework you have to write.

Who it is for

Professionals who understand more English than they can say, and want to speak with confidence at work. Beginners and intermediates are welcome; groups are matched by level.

Practical details

Placeholder — dates and start times (CET), the platform used, group size, how to prepare for the first evening.

Photos and screenshots of a cohort session

Gallery · to add


Join a cohort

Online cohorts are part of the Alexi membership, together with every video course and its exercises.

Already a member? Log in

The cottage in the countryside near Olomouc

Weekend at the cottage

Two days of English in the countryside near Olomouc. Small group, home cooking, no grammar tables.

How the weekend works

From Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon you live in English: short sessions around the table, walks, cooking and conversation in between. Alex keeps every session slow, spoken and story-based, so you understand first and speak when you are ready. Nothing is read aloud unless you want to.

Who it is for

Czech professionals who want a real step up in confidence in one weekend, away from the office. Small groups, matched by level. Alex explains in Czech whenever that helps.

Practical details

Placeholder — dates, arrival and departure times, how to get to Mladeč, what is included (meals, accommodation), what to bring, group size.

Photos of the cottage, the garden and a past weekend

Gallery · to add


Join a weekend

Weekends at the cottage are part of the Alexi + membership, together with every video course and its exercises.

Contact Form Demo

Register

Not accepting new registrations at the moment.

If you are interested, please fill in the form below and I will put you on the waitlist and organise an online interview to see if we are a good match.

Contact Form Demo

Last updated: 30 October 2026

These are the terms for using alexsmyrk.com (and, after the move, alexi.cz) and for buying my courses, memberships, cohorts and workshops. They are written in plain English. By creating an account or buying something, you agree to them. If anything is unclear, ask me before you buy.

1. Who I am

Alex Smyrk, English language coach and course creator (self-employed)
Mladeč 24e, 783 21 Mladeč, Czech Republic
IČO: 74382063 · DIČ: CZ6107037530 (registered for VAT)
Email: alex@alexi.cz

I am the seller and your contract is with me.

2. What I offer

The videos are always free to watch. What you pay for is the exercises, the structure, the feedback and my time.

3. Your account

You need an account to use the exercises. You must be at least 16, give a real name and a working email address, and keep your password private. The account is personal: one person, one login. Sharing a login, or copying exercises for others, ends the membership without refund. If you forget your password, the site can send you a code to set a new one.

4. Memberships

4.1 Billing

Memberships are paid monthly or yearly, in advance, by card through SureCart (payments processed by Stripe). Prices are shown before you pay, with VAT added at checkout according to your country (see section 8).

4.2 Automatic renewal

Memberships renew automatically at the end of each period, at the price shown in your account, until you cancel. For a yearly membership I will email you about 30 days before it renews, with the date, the amount and how to cancel.

4.3 Cancelling

You can cancel at any time in your account (My details → Billing) or by emailing me. Cancelling stops the next payment:

4.4 14-day money-back promise

If you buy a membership for the first time and it is not for you, tell me within 14 days of your first payment and I will refund it in full — even if you have already used the courses. This is more than the law requires (see section 9) and it applies once per person. After 14 days there are no refunds, but you can cancel at any time as above.

4.5 Price changes

If I change a membership price, the new price applies from your next renewal and I will email you at least 30 days before. If you don't want to pay the new price, cancel before the renewal date.

5. Live online cohorts

6. Weekend workshops

7. Company programmes

When your employer pays for your access, the terms of the programme (what is included, attendance rules, reporting) are agreed with the employer. These terms still apply to your use of the site. What I report to the employer is set out in the Privacy Policy.

8. Prices, VAT and payment

9. Your legal right to cancel (right of withdrawal)

As a consumer you can withdraw from a contract made online within 14 days without giving a reason (Czech Civil Code, § 1829). To do so, email me at alex@alexi.cz within the 14 days saying that you withdraw — a short message is enough, or you can use the model form at the end of these terms. I will refund you within 14 days of your message, by the same payment method.

Memberships and video courses are digital content. The law lets me ask you to agree, when you buy, that I start providing the content straight away and that you therefore lose the right of withdrawal (§ 1837(l)). The checkout asks you to tick this. You still have my 14-day money-back promise in section 4.4, which gives you the same result without conditions.

Cohorts and weekend workshops are services with a date. The 14-day right applies from the day you book, in addition to the cancellation rules in sections 5 and 6. If the cohort or workshop starts within those 14 days, it starts because you have asked me to begin early; if you then withdraw, I keep a proportionate amount for what has already been delivered (§ 1834).

10. Using the content

11. Fair use

Please don't: share your login; use scripts or tools to copy the site; try to get around access controls; post anything unlawful or abusive in forms or comments; or use the site in a way that disrupts it for others. If you do, I may suspend or end your account. If I end it for one of these reasons, there is no refund.

12. Availability and changes

I run a small platform and I keep it up as well as I can, but I don't promise it will never be down. Short interruptions for updates or hosting problems are not grounds for a refund. Courses may be added, updated or, rarely, withdrawn — for example if a video is taken off YouTube. If a course you paid for specifically is withdrawn, I will offer a replacement or a proportionate refund.

13. What I can't promise

I will teach you as well as I can, but I can't guarantee a particular result — a level, an exam pass or a job. My liability for any loss connected with the site or my services is limited to what you paid me in the 12 months before the problem arose. This does not limit anything the law doesn't allow me to limit, such as liability for harm to health or for intentional wrongdoing, and it does not take away your rights as a consumer.

14. Complaints

If something is wrong with a course, a cohort, a workshop or a payment, email me at alex@alexi.cz. I will confirm your complaint and settle it within 30 days (Czech Consumer Protection Act). If we can't agree, you can turn to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (Česká obchodní inspekce, Štěpánská 567/15, 120 00 Praha 2, www.coi.cz), which handles out-of-court consumer disputes.

15. Your data

How I handle your personal data is in the Privacy Policy, and the cookies in the Cookie Policy. They are part of these terms.

16. Changes to these terms

I may update these terms. The date at the top shows the current version. For changes that matter to you — prices, renewals, cancellation — I will email members at least 30 days ahead. If you don't agree, you can cancel before the change takes effect; continuing to use the site after that date means you accept the new terms.

17. Law and language

These terms are governed by Czech law. If you live in another EU country, you keep the protection of your own country's mandatory consumer law. The English text is the one we rely on; a Czech translation is provided for convenience. Disputes are decided by the Czech courts, without affecting your right as a consumer to sue where you live.


Model withdrawal form

(Only if you want to use the legal right in section 9. Copy into an email.)

To: Alex Smyrk, Mladeč 24e, 783 21 Mladeč, alex@alexi.cz

I hereby withdraw from my contract for: [membership / cohort / workshop]
Ordered on: [date] · Paid on: [date]
Name: · Email used for the account:
Date:

Last updated: 2 November 2026

This is the privacy policy for alexsmyrk.com (and, after the move, alexi.cz). It explains what personal data I collect, why, and what your rights are. I have written it in plain English. If anything is unclear, write to me.

1. Who is responsible

The controller of your personal data is:

Alex Smyrk, English language teacher and course creator (self-employed)
Mladeč 24e, 783 21 Mladeč, Czech Republic
IČO: 74382063 · DIČ: CZ6107037530
Email: alex@alexi.cz

There is no data protection officer; I run this site myself.

2. The short version

3. What I collect and why

3.1 Visiting the site

When you open a page, my web host records your IP address, browser type, the page you asked for and the time. This is a technical log kept for security and to keep the site running. Legal basis: legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). Kept: 30 days.

The site also detects which country you are in, so it can show prices in the right currency and the right wording. The first time, your IP address is sent to a geolocation service (ipapi.co) and the answer is cached on my server for 12 hours. If you allow "Preferences" cookies, the country is remembered in a cookie for 30 days; if not, it is checked again on each visit. Legal basis: legitimate interest for the detection; consent for the cookie.

Security plugins (Wordfence) record IP addresses of failed logins and blocked requests to protect the site from attacks. Legal basis: legitimate interest. Kept: 30 days.

3.2 Cookies

The site uses only a few cookies. The details, and your choices, are in the Cookie Policy. You can change your choice at any time with the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of the Cookie Policy.

3.3 Your account

When you register or I create an account for you, I store your name, email address and a password (stored encrypted). While you are logged in, cookies keep you signed in. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — I cannot give you a course without an account. Kept: for as long as you have an account, then deleted within 12 months of your last login or on request.

3.4 Your profile ("My details")

You can add to your profile: phone number, company, position, website, LinkedIn profile, your English level and notes about how you like to learn. All of these are optional.

The profile also has a section on neurodiversity (for example dyslexia or ADHD). This is health information, which the law treats as a special category. I ask for it only because my teaching is designed for neurodivergent adults, and knowing helps me adapt lessons and exercises for you. You decide whether to tell me. If you do, I process it on the basis of your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)). You can remove it from your profile at any time, and that withdraws your consent. I never share it with anyone, including your employer.

3.5 Learning data

While logged in the site stores:

Legal basis: performance of a contract — this is the service you are paying for. Kept: for as long as you have an account.

3.6 Lesson recordings and transcripts

To write your lesson summary, I record the audio of live in-person lessons and Teams lessons and have them transcribed. The transcript is processed with an AI writing assistant (Anthropic's Claude) to draft the summary, which I then check and edit. Recordings are deleted once the summary is written; the summary is kept with your learning data. I will always tell you before a lesson is recorded, and you can say no. Legal basis: consent (Article 6(1)(a)).

3.7 Corporate clients

If your employer pays for your lessons, I report to them what they need to invoice and manage the programme: dates attended, attendance, and a short lesson summary. I do not pass on your profile notes, your neurodiversity information or your private course notes. Your employer is responsible for its own handling of this report. Legal basis: performance of the contract with your employer and my legitimate interest in administering it.

3.8 Payments and membership

Payments are handled by SureCart, my e-commerce provider, with the card or payment method processed by Stripe. I never see your full card number. I receive your name, email, billing address, country, VAT number (if you give one), what you bought and the amount. SureCart sends the order and payment emails. Invoices and tax records are kept for 10 years, as Czech tax law requires. Legal basis: performance of a contract and legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)).

3.9 Contact forms and email

If you write to me through a form or by email, I keep your message and your contact details to answer you and to keep a record of what we agreed. Legal basis: legitimate interest, or steps before a contract. Kept: 3 years after the last contact.

3.10 Newsletters and reminders

I use a self-hosted mailing system (FluentCRM) to send course emails, reminders and, if you agree, a newsletter. Service emails about your account or course are part of the contract. Marketing emails go only to people who have opted in, and every one has an unsubscribe link. I do not track whether emails are opened.

3.11 Comments and blog

If you comment on a blog post, your name, email, comment and IP address are stored with the comment, as WordPress does by default.

4. Who else sees your data

I use the following service providers. Each acts on my instructions as a processor, or is a separate controller for its own service.

ServiceWhat forWhereNotes
HostingerWeb hosting and content deliveryEUProcessor
Titan (Flock)Email mailbox for alex@alexsmyrk.comIndiaProcessor
SureCartCheckout, payments, order emailsUSAProcessor; EU–US Data Privacy Framework
StripeTaking the paymentEU/USASeparate controller for payment data
YouTube (Google)Playing lesson videos (privacy-enhanced mode)USASets cookies only once you start a video (play button, "Play clip", or a design item); see Google's privacy policy
ipapi.coCountry detection from your IP addressUSAOnly the IP address is sent
Wordfence (Defiant Inc.)Security scanning and firewallUSAIP addresses of suspicious requests
Microsoft TeamsOnline lessonsEU/USAYour employer may provide the account
Anthropic (Claude)Drafting lesson summaries from transcriptsUSAData is not used to train models under my subscription
Cookie banner (my own)Asking for and remembering your cookie choiceruns on my serverYour choice is stored only in your browser (the asc_consent cookie); nothing is sent to a third party

FluentCRM, Fluent Forms, H5P, the course platform and the Notes panel all run on my own server; nothing from them is sent to a third party.

Where a provider is outside the EU, transfers rest on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or on the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

5. How long I keep data

DataKept for
Server and security logs30 days
Account, profile, learning data, notesWhile you have an account; deleted within 12 months of your last login or on request
Lesson recordingsUntil the summary is written, then deleted
Invoices and payment records10 years (Czech tax law)
Messages and contact forms3 years
Cookie consent choice365 days, in your browser

6. Your rights

Under the GDPR you can:

To use any of these, email alex@alexi.cz. I will answer within one month. I may ask you to confirm your identity first.

If you are not happy with how I handle your data, you can complain to the Czech supervisory authority:
Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů, Pplk. Sochora 27, 170 00 Praha 7, www.uoou.gov.cz, posta@uoou.gov.cz.

7. Children

My courses are for working adults. I do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you think a child has given me data, write to me and I will delete it.

8. Security

The site runs over HTTPS. Passwords are stored encrypted. Access to the admin area is protected by a firewall and limited to me. Daily backups are kept with Hostinger for 7 days. No system is perfectly secure, so if I ever learn of a breach that affects you, I will tell you and the authority as the law requires.

9. Changes to this policy

I will update this page when something changes and put the new date at the top. For big changes I will also email account holders.

Last updated: 31 October 2026

This page explains the cookies on alexsmyrk.com (and, after the move, alexi.cz). There are very few. You can change your choice at any time: Cookie settings.

What a cookie is

A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in your browser so it can recognise you on the next page or the next visit. Some are needed for a site to work at all; others are optional. Czech and EU law say I may set optional ones only if you agree first.

Needed — always on

These make the site work. They cannot be switched off, and the law does not require consent for them.

CookieSet byWhat forHow long
wordpress_logged_in_*, wordpress_sec_*, wordpress_test_cookie, wp-settings-*WordPress (this site)Keeps you logged in and remembers your account settings.Until you log out, or 14 days if you ticked "Remember me"
asc_consentThis siteRemembers the choice you made in the cookie banner, so you are not asked on every page.1 year
sc_* (SureCart)This site's checkoutKeeps your basket and checkout together while you buy something.Session
wfwaf-authcookie-*Wordfence (security)Tells the firewall you are a logged-in user so it does not block you.12 hours

The site also keeps a few small items in your browser's local storage (not cookies, and never sent anywhere): H5PUserUUID, so your exercise results are matched to you, and settings such as whether the Notes panel was open. These stay on your device.

Preferences — your choice

CookieSet byWhat forHow long
asc_countryThis siteRemembers which country you are in (a two-letter code), so prices and wording fit where you are. Without it the site checks each visit instead of remembering. No personal data.30 days

Videos — YouTube

The lesson videos are played by YouTube in its privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). Opening a lesson page sets nothing. Once you start a video — with the play button, "Play clip", or by clicking a design item — YouTube may set its own cookies, such as YSC and VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, under Google's privacy policy. I have no access to them.

What is not here

No analytics, no advertising cookies, no social-media buttons, no tracking pixels. If that ever changes, this page and the banner will change first, and you will be asked again.

Changing your mind

Open Cookie settings to see the banner again and switch Preferences on or off. You can also delete cookies in your browser at any time; the banner will then ask you again on your next visit.

How I handle your personal data more generally is in the Privacy Policy. Questions: alex@alexi.cz.