Grandomastery
Contents
Overview
Grandomastery.com is an online edutainment platform designed to enhance the English language skills of advanced learners. Founded by Alexander Popov, it offers a variety of activities tailored to improve speaking proficiency, vocabulary retention, and preparation for international exams such as TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, it serves as a resource for English teachers seeking randomly generated speaking and writing exercises for their students, particularly within discussion clubs.
History
Grandomastery originated as an Android application called "ESL Random Questions" before expanding into a comprehensive platform offering various authoring activities. In 2024, it received the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Award. [1].
Features
The platform is utilized not only by language learners and educators but also by HR specialists for assessing creativity skills during job interviews, and by improvisation artists and actors seeking to hone their abilities. According to Popov, the tasks provided by Grandomastery aim to develop higher-order thinking skills among both learners and instructors.
Concept and Pedagogical Approach
The term "grandomastery" is derived from "great random mastery," [2] reflecting the platform's focus on cognitive flexibility and metacognitive awareness essential for navigating ambiguity and uncertainty, ultimately leading to enhanced adaptability and goal attainment. Many tasks on Grandomastery are built on the principle of bisociation, as coined by Arthur Koestler [3], wherein different ideas from various domains are creatively connected. Popov emphasizes the importance of interconnectedness, suggesting that even seemingly unrelated concepts can be creatively intertwined [4].
Accessibility
Grandomastery.com primarily operates in desktop mode, although a mobile web app is available for users' convenience. Currently, the platform offers 45 activities [5], each featuring a different number of variables, with the core activities introducing two randomized varieties. Popov asserts that each activity comprises hundreds of thousands of variations, continually updated to offer users a diverse learning experience.
Additional Features
Grandomastery offers a blog [6] for article submissions and provides credentials [7] to educators and trainees [8] who have integrated the platform into their work. The platform also features an ESL Treasures section [9], offering showcases and certification opportunities for English educators.
Social Media
