Teaching English Online with Skype: The a hundred and one Guide

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You’ve decided to begin teaching on-line and you’re prepared to start out discovering some college students, nice!

But what’s the most effective software to attach with your students?

You’ve heard of Skype and need to get set up. Or… Likely you have been utilizing Skype for a while however want to be able to do more with it.

In this article, you'll learn every thing you need to find out about instructing English online through Skype and getting probably the most out of it.

After studying, it is possible for you to to provide skilled classes and know precisely what to do if you encounter any technical issues.

Why Teaching English Online with Skype?

So why should you even use Skype? After all, there are many selections in relation to video call software program.

Well, to begin with, it’s free. You don’t must pay to put in it and also you don’t need to pay any subscription expenses to maintain utilizing it.

Secondly, it’s obtainable across nearly all of platforms: PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. So, it’s likely going to run on your chosen system, no matter that could be.

It also has plenty of customers so it’s probably your college students will already have an account, meaning less work for them to do to take your class.

Skype is also the usual for a lot of on-line teaching platforms so it would be best to make sure it's installed for these classes (when you haven’t already put in it for the interview stage or personal use).

Finally, it has loads of helpful features similar to display screen sharing, session recording and sending files, and so forth. which give you more tools to work with in your lesson.

Hardware Requirements

So what do we'd like in order to run Skype?

The very first thing you want is a computer. Skype isn’t a major useful resource hog so that you don’t want to fret too much about RAM (512MB+) or CPU power (1GHz+). 

However, if you're utilizing different teaching resources and have multiple tabs and functions open then you definitely certainly don’t want issues freezing in the course of a class as a result of a gradual laptop so try to get a minimum of a model from the final 5 years.

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A bigger screen is one other factor to contemplate in order to help you balance using Skype together with your different teaching assets. This is very the case with a laptop computer where screens can get fairly small; I couldn’t think about utilizing something less than my 15” display screen on my laptop computer.

There is a lot extra we might go into with computer systems, though there isn’t room for it in this article, here is a good look at the.

Which Headset and Camera to Choose

Another essential thing you’ll need is an efficient high quality headset to ensure your communication is evident. Theis one of the requirements and in addition to being a high quality USB headset, it’s additionally fairly low-cost! 

If you can spend somewhat extra, theis one other great alternative. It comes with a few more bells and whistles corresponding to the flexibility to end and start Skype calls proper from the headset’s controls.

Finally, you need to be sure to have a webcam arrange so your students can see you. Most laptops could have this function in-built but if not (or if you are on a desktop) then theis a superb, low-value alternative for quality 720p video.

Installing and establishing an account

With the hardware sorted, now we're able to set up Skype and this course of couldn’t be easier:

1. Download

from the website. You can’t miss the massive “Get Skype…” button on the homepage. If the page hasn’t detected your operating system then go to the “Downloads” page at the high to select the proper model.

2. Create Account

for Skype. Go to the top proper of the screen and within the “sign in” part you possibly can click “join”.

three. Sign In

using your particulars. Once your download has completed you can open up the app and click on “check in” with the details from earlier than. 

Remember! These particulars are going to be proven to every student and employer you contact so watch out with the knowledge you utilize. Keep it professional and friendly.

When you create your username simply decide your first and final title. “sk8rBoi69” doesn’t scream professional teacher. 

On the same topic with profile pictures, make certain the lighting is sweet, don’t hinder your face and remember to smile.

Workplace

Once your system and account is set up we need to have a look at your office.

You need to see your environment through your pupil’s eyes. Would you favor a instructor who had a messy room with cheesy posters? Or would you favor to see a clear, professional surroundings? Exactly!

Background

First of all, you want a tidy background. It doesn’t have to appear to be a Cambridge library however at the very minimum must be impartial with none distractions.

You need sufficient lighting. You want your students to see you clearly but too much mild is usually a little unflattering. Experiment with having the curtains open at totally different amounts or having extra lamps to get a light level that works for you.

Noise Level

You additionally want to concentrate to noise levels. 

If you've a alternative of rooms in your house then discover the one that's the quietest. 

If you don’t have a selection then attempt to keep the home windows closed. Also, inform anybody else dwelling there that you'll be doing a lesson (if they're noisy) and ask (politely) to be quieter for the next hour or so.

Another thing, don’t do your classes within the native starbucks! 

Sure the coffee’s arguably great but your students won’t love the background noise and I don’t suppose the opposite customers will respect your overly-passionate lesson about prepositions! 

Equipment

If you want issues such as realia or a whiteboard in your lessons then make sure they're close by and easy to reach. You gained’t want to be rummaging round in the next room trying to find your flashcards midway through your class of 15 preschoolers.

Comfort

Lastly, we additionally want to have a look at comfort. English classes at home will (hopefully) be spending lots of time at your workstation so that you wish to reduce the stress in your body as much as possible.

Make certain you could have water close by, that is important when you use your voice all day. Have an excellent quality chair and set it accurately; it will scale back any strain on your again and so forth.

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In order to avoid eye pressure, screen brightness shouldn’t be set too high. 

Volume shouldn’t be too excessive on your headset both to keep away from ear fatigue. I typically discover a setting the place I can hear a student nicely however with out it being extreme. 

If I really want to give attention to their pronunciation for a selected part then I can flip the amount up briefly to hear higher after which turn it back down afterward.

Clothes

Wear appropriate clothes. 

For a category of enterprise college students, it may be appropriate to wear more formal clothing. 

For a class of preschoolers though it would be best to make sure you are wearing something snug, for example, a polo, so that you may be expressive.

Tips for Conducting Great Online Lessons

With everything arrange let’s have a look at some ways to provide the best classes on skype.

Before the Lesson

“By failing to organize, you are preparing to fail.”

The first thing you need to do is to plan the lesson. How lengthy is it? What topic will you cowl? What exercises will you do?

Here is an example of a lesson plan I use:

Activities are added with the period of time taken for each one. The more information you've in the lesson plan, the extra likely a class will go in accordance with plan.

Always have a backup activity or two in case you finish every thing further early. There’s nothing worse than ending everything you had planned and realising you have twenty minutes left till the tip. 

The Start of the Lesson

For adults, you can heat up by asking them about their week. For children, you can warm up with a sport or maybe even a track. 

Reviewing earlier lessons is often a good idea near the beginning. You can’t expect a pupil to always revise in their own time and if they don’t, then they may simply neglect what they've previously realized.

The End of the Lesson

Be conscious of the time throughout class, you don’t have to stick completely to your lesson plan however attempt to keep close to be sure to obtain your targets. 

Have the homework prepared and ready to give at the finish of the category. 

Check the date and time for the subsequent class on the end, this could be a good reminder if a student often forgets to e-book.

Now you’re all set up with the fundamentals but there’s nonetheless extra we can do to get probably the most from Skype.

Familiarise your self with the following tools and so they can add heaps of worth to your classes.

Screen Sharing

Using display screen sharing is a very useful (typically time-saving) tool whenever you want to present your scholar’s a selected useful resource. 

I use it to share train books, spotlight sections on a website for reading workout routines or simply to troubleshoot. 

To activate display sharing throughout a name, press the “overlapped squares” icon in the bottom right of the screen throughout a name. 

When you are utilizing two screens, you'll be able to choose which screen to share with the student.

Send Documents

Sending audio, video, and PDF recordsdata could be very simple to do in Skype.

Just drag and drop a useful resource into the chat, hit enter and off it goes. Or click on the “share information” icon and choose a file from your hard drive.

That’s how the scholar receives the files in his chat window:

If your recordsdata are big then it may be an idea to ship it ahead of the lesson so that you don’t spend too long waiting on your pupil to download it.

I usually ship audio the most. I record myself reading an inventory of phrases for pronunciation and then ship this to the student so that they have a reference to practise with.

Record Session

It’s attainable to document a Skype session. This is a great tool on your college students to have the ability to review the category. You also can use it to reflect on the class and see if there’s anything you possibly can enhance in the best way you train. 

Bear in thoughts, this isn’t carried out routinely. You will need to set the recording firstly if you wish to make certain the session is captured. 

Start the recording from the “other choices” menu within the video window:

After canceling the decision, the report file is saved to your computer systems onerous drive. This may take some time, relying on the length of the recorded session.

If that is the first time you are doing it with a scholar then it’s additionally well mannered (and more importantly legal) to tell them you are planning to report the session.

Online Whiteboards

You can even use a digital whiteboard with Skype, likeor one of these.

This could be another means to improve interaction and can be great for participating younger college students.

There are premium plans which cost but principally you're also able to try it out or use primary options at no cost.

Shared Workspace by way of Google Drive

This guide wouldn’t be complete with out mentioning the shared workspace in. In case you haven’t heard of this already, it is an internet storage space with a few nifty tools for word processing and spreadsheet editing, etc.

Here’s a homework folder from certainly one of my student’s on Google Drive:

The benefit with that is you could share a link to a doc you're working on and the scholar can see what you're modifying and vice-versa. 

This can all be carried out in real-time which may!

I use this with most students to mark homework, essays, etc. It has a fantastic “suggesting mode” which retains a document of what you mark in order that the student can see the before and after. 

I even use Google Drive so much that I ended up doing all of my lesson plans in there too, it’s just so easy!

Common Technical Issues

Sooner or later you'll encounter technical issues. You need to plan accordingly with the mindset of “when this stuff happen” and not “if they occur”.

Let’s have a look at a few of the commonest issues and their potential solutions:

You Can’t Hear Your Student 

Use the chatbox to communicate if you aren’t sure they will hear you.

Get the student to check the audio settings on their operating system after which verify the audio settings inside skype.

If these don’t repair it then ask if they have a spare headset they can try.

Your Student Can’t Hear You

Go through the same routine as above. Make positive to inform your student what you're doing via the chat and ask them to be affected person whilst you repair the problem.

Your Student Can’t See You

Check if the light is in your webcam. If so then it is on and working.

Check the video settings in Skype and make sure your camera is chosen.

Seeing the student isn’t as essential unless you might be doing a little pronunciation work that requires you to see their mouth. As such, I tend not to spend too lengthy making an attempt to repair a state of affairs if I can’t see them.

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Audio or Video Quality is Bad

This is often a connection problem. Check that you don’t have any other packages open that are using lots of bandwidth. Make positive you're as close to an web router as attainable (preferably wired). Check these things together with your student.

Battery Dying on Laptop

This is something that happens with my students sometimes. You typically won’t know what happens as the decision will drop immediately.

If the call abruptly cuts then wait a while. The pupil will often name again from their mobile or as soon as they've a charger to let you understand what occurred. 

When Everything Else Fails

These are all particular fixes to frequent problems. If English teacher jobs don’t fix the situation then you'll be able to at all times try the basic – hang up and call once more!

For peace of mind, at all times have a backup web connection (I use my cell), have a backup gadget (once more a cellular can be utilized in a difficult state of affairs) and it could even be an thought to have a backup headset in case that fails.

Skype Alternatives

This information is aimed at Skype and while the majority of customers use this software program, it’s price figuring out some of the others in case your student has a choice for something else.

Zoom 

has a few more tools for viewing documents as well as more functions throughout group calls such as “digital hand-raising”. Bear in mind that group calls exceeding forty minutes require a paid subscription. 

Google Hangouts 

The good thing aboutis that it can be used directly from an online browser without needing any installation. However, it's slightly extra limited in that you could’t send recordsdata apart from pictures.

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This option isn't that professional. Not to say, some individuals really feel less snug about providing you with their cellphone number than their Skype username. 

That being stated, I have used this option more than as soon as as a backup when I have had problems with my computer. 

Teaching Platform Software

Some educating platforms corresponding to Verbling have built-in video software which could be really helpful because the tools are extra targeted in direction of educating functionality. 

The draw back is that stability and pace are normally never as high as something like Skype.

Getting Your First Students

Okay so now you’re set up and able to get educating. The solely thing we want nows some students! Let’s have a look at a number of the most common methods of finding them.

Work for a Teaching Company

Working as a subcontractor for anis a fantastic option for guaranteed work. You sign a contract with a company and agree to work x hours a week. 

Quite usually you'll even get the materials and syllabus which implies much less prep work. 

However, it could possibly take away some of the freedom of setting your personal hours and having the ability to train in a means that you just favor.

Find Students on a Teaching Platform

In this example, you are primarily self-employed. The teaching platform will put you in contact with college students for a charge. You then set your hours, worth and design your personal lessons. 

This one provides you more freedom than working for a company however the price is less stability as you aren’t guaranteed a minimal number of hours per week. 

For this cause, It could also be an idea to sign up to a couple of teaching platform in order to “not put all your eggs in one basket”.

Find Students Yourself

If you would prefer to not pay a third get together for every lesson you give then strive discovering your own college students. 

You could make your individual website, use social media and even publish classifieds in newspapers or online on websites like Gumtree. 

Once you are involved with a possible student, offer the first lesson free or closely discounted. Students like to “attempt earlier than they purchase” and this gives you a chance to persuade them in a trial class.

These are just some concepts to get your first students. There is a lot more materials here on
.

Conclusion

There you could have it, you must now have your Skype account arrange good in an setting conducive to learning. If done accurately this could hold your lessons stress free and efficient for many years to come back.

Make certain to play about with the instruments in Skype and keep on high of updates for any juicy new additions that may make your lessons even higher.

Bear in mind, Skype is just the supply system that connects you along with your students. Once you have this area mastered you can give attention to the content material itself, high-quality instructing!

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