We just love this quote! Made popular by John Lennon, we think it sums up well the need to focus on the "light at the end of the tunnel." As with all great difficulties, we know that they always have a beginning, and an end. Let's keep encouraging and supporting each other to the best of our abilities through these challenging times. Especially as teachers who give of ourselves so much for others, it is important to remember to look after ourselves as well, and do what we need to do to feel balanced and clear-headed.
How are you feeling these days? For those of you in winter climates, at the moment we have long, dark evenings and cold, damp weather. But just close your eyes for a moment, and picture yourself on a beautiful sunny day. You are at the beach looking out at turquoise waters and admiring the swaying palm trees nearby. There is some Caribbean music playing softly in the distance. You take a sip of a nice, cold drink. There is a gentle ocean breeze and you can feel the warmth of the sun on your cheeks and you start to scrunch up your toes in white, powdery sand. How does it feel? AMAZING right? Well - that shows us the power of the mind! We can actually mentally transport ourselves to a completely different place and time that helps us to recall wonderful, joyful memories and feelings!
As Language Instructors, let's never forget just how powerful the gift of our IMAGINATION is!
There are countless ways to increase engagement and verbal participation for your students when you teach them online, even in a 1:1 learning session. Here is a fun way to get your students practicing their fluency, conversation skills, and engaging their imagination without having to make up pages and pages of scripts and dialogues...let's call this method the...
"COMMENT A COMMENT" METHOD
So, this is how it works: Find out what your student is interested in. For example, do they play the piano? Do they love classical music? Share your screen, and show them a few seconds of a really interesting video clip on YouTube or some other similar website where users can comment. Pause the video, and show them the comments and conversation threads that others have made on that video. (You will have to look at it ahead of time to make sure that the comments are not offensive or negative.)
First, you as the teacher can demonstrate how to say one of the comments in a realistic, but dramatic and enthusiastic way. To make it easy for your student to see the comment, just highlight the words with your mouse. For example, if you are on YouTube, you can open the video of Maksim Mrvica playing the piece called, "Exodus." You will see a comment that says, "My mom had this album and would play it ceaselessly! I fell in love with this particular melody as a very young child - the colours are fantastic and so inspired me to master classical music and theory, ultimately playing 3 instruments..." You show the student the comment, and say it out loud in an enthusiastic and dramatic way. Ask your student if there are any words they are not familiar with and help them to fully understand the comment. Then, get your student to say the comment out loud in a similar way. This really helps them learn how to speak naturally. Go through the comment section and choose the ones that you like, and repeat the same steps. Make it like a conversation. Get them to use gestures. Then ask your student what they would like to say to comment on the video. Help them to draft it correctly in English and say it out loud a couple of times, and then add their comment to the comment section.
This is a fun little way to help your student expand their vocabulary and get practice at using social media in English. Depending on their level, you can also "pre-teach" your student some vocabulary that is commonly used to make comments on social media in English. They will really get a kick out of seeing you write their comment in the comments section during the class. You can use just about any social media platform - Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube, etc.
Have fun with it!
Many of you have already signed up for James Liu's 21 day Teacher/Entrepreneur Challenge that will start on January 1, 2022.
Jordan and I both took this training program in early 2021, and can vouch for it being the springboard needed to understand how to position yourself as a self-employed Language Instructor, in what can sometimes feel like a very crowded market.
One of the very valuable things that teachers learn when taking this training, is the need to specialize in a specific field of English. (or any other language that you are teaching) Isn't it true that people who specialize in something usually charge more for their time and services? The same is true with language classes.
The going rate in Canada for private, general English classes is 50 cents a minute = $30.00 an hour. That is for GENERAL English. But, let's say that you become highly skilled at helping students really do well on their IELTS exam. Or, you are skilled at helping those whom struggle with English to get that job promotion they have been dreaming of. How about helping an athlete, who has just been traded to play for a team in another country, explain what happened during the game in the local language? Maybe you have an ear for accents and can help others - either reduce their accent or pick up a certain accent or dialect? Imagine helping actors/actresses prepare for auditions for certain roles. How much would you charge now??? Accent or Dialect Coaches charge over 100.00$ an hour! So, take the Entrepreneur Challenge now and learn how to SPECIALIZE!
When getting started, many self-employed Language Instructors wonder how much they should charge. Below is just a rough guide. But, it shows how a teacher who gains confidence and experience, and learns to specialize in a certain field of English can earn much more!
During the Teacher/Entrepreneur challenge, every day you get a short video to watch and a small, but immensely practical task to perform that takes about 20 minutes to an hour. These tasks have to do with things like setting up your LinkedIn account to attract and connect with language students whom are motivated and will be interested in the language programs that you have to offer - those whom will see the value of the specific classes you are teaching.
Because Lexica members have been loving James' course so much - he has offered our contacts an "end of the year" special price of only $27.00. (CAN $35.00) This price is for those who enrol in the January 1st group. (His training usually starts on the 1st and 15th of every month.) The normal price is $197.00.
How to get the $27.00 price?
Go to our website www.lexica.world
Click on the "login" button top right of the corner
Become a member (it is totally free) It can take up to 24 hours to gain access to our "members only" area, so please be patient.
Then navigate to our "members only" area and sign up for the course
This is a time-limited offer - so if you are thinking of taking this training - January 1st is a great day to start!!
Feel free to contact us with any questions about this training.
Use the Coupon Code "GOTEACH" at the registration checkout to receive a 10% discount.
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