EDUCATION
and teach as their main source of income, balancing classroom time around raising children or caring for relatives. One of the key benefits, in my opinion, is that it is also very engaging for both parties as it allows each one to become more familiar with the cultural differences, important dates and historical elements in their country and culture. In these turbulent times, the ability to see things from an- other’s perspective is a genuine asset.
Experiences of the pupil
“My daughter was a little nervous for her first class because online education was new for her, also for me. I explained that the teachers are foreigners who cannot speak Chinese, but I would help her if she has any problems. I also told her: “you can choose to continue with the program or not.” After the trial class, she found the American teacher was different from the Chinese one and the class was fun, so we booked for three grades”(Fiona, the parent of a child taking classes with VIPKID).
Experiences of the teacher
Tere are many traditional classroom teachers across the world that have begun teaching on an online platform, either to earn a little extra money or for a change of pace. Some have found it so convenient that they have left their classrooms and have moved to
teaching online full time. Te additional bonus with many of these platforms is that you do not have to be a certified teacher to teach a language. If you have experience working with children or like working with children, you could receive a second in- come through teaching a language online.
When working on an online platform,
teachers are able to achieve the work-life balance that they might not be able to achieve when working at a conventional, bricks-and-mortar school. Tey are also in charge of their own schedule, working as much as or as little as they want to and get paid for the hours that they put in. Because the job is online, you are able to work from wherever you want. Tis, in turn, allows
people great flexibility, ideal for those who aspire to the life of the “digital nomad”.
“Overall, I prefer the online platform versus classroom teaching.
I enjoy being able to work one to one to meet the needs of my students and tailor lessons more to their needs and abilities. Despite the distance, I’m able to form meaningful student-teacher relationships with the children I teach because when I am their teacher for that half hour, they are my only concern. One of my students booked a short notice class with me so he wouldn’t have to wait until the end of the week to tell me about his saxophone recital.” (Danielle, an online English teacher).
Various websites that teach languages VIPKID
www.t.vipkid.com.cn FluentU
www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english Lingoda
www.lingoda.com/en/english Englishunt
www.englishuntusa.com Verbalplanet
www.verbalplanet.com
iTutorGroup
www.recruit.tutorabc.com SayABC
www.tsayabc.com Italki
www.italki.com/teacher/application Cambly
www.cambly.com/en
Jessie Farley is an American expat based in south London. She is a KS2 leader at a Church of England primary school and also teaches online for VIPKID. For more information on becoming involved as a teacher with VIPKID please visit her referral link
www.vipkid.com and type in the code JESSI0025 on the website. Contact Jessie on Twitter @msjfarley or via email at
missjfarley@gmail.com
www.focus-info.org
FOCUS The Magazine 29
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