Tips for Teachers

What are the requirements to become a teacher?

What language level do I need to be able to teach?

What are the teacher video requirements?

My video is done. How can I add it to my profile?

How do I change my lesson price?

How do I get paid?

Regarding PayPal - where do I add information for withdrawals? Is payment automatic?

Do you provide materials for lessons?

What advice do you have for teachers?

How do I create a video that attracts students?

How do I write a profile that attracts students?

Do I need to offer a trial lesson?

What is the process for accepting lessons?

What is your cancellation policy for lessons?

When I receive a request it is in my local time or the student time?

Will my schedule shift to match daylight savings time?

How do I change availability on a specific date?

How do I activate instant lessons?

How do students book an instant lesson from me?

What are the requirements to become a teacher?

To become a teacher, submit an application. The key components are your language level (you need to be a native speaker, or at a very high level, in the language you want to teach). You'll also be required to submit a video which will be part of your profile and demonstrates your ability to speak all languages you want to teach.

What language level do I need to be able to teach?

Normally we only accept native speakers, although occasionally we accept advanced non-natives provided their video and writing shows they are truly advanced. 

What are the teacher video requirements?

-Record the video in a horizontal format

-Record your video in an environment with good lighting and limited background noise

-Your video should be between 1 and 4 minutes long

-Include a brief statement about your experience and qualifications, and why you enjoy teaching languages

-Please show yourself actually speaking all languages you will teach

-Please don’t include any personal contact information – interested students will contact you through the platform

My video is done. How can I add it to my profile?

Simply upload the video to YouTube, Vimeo or Youku and then add the link in your teacher application. 

How do I change my lesson price?

Click your avatar in the upr rh corner. Select 'edit profile' from the dropdown. Select 'classes' from the tabs along the top of the screen. You should see a list of any classes you created there. If you look carefully, on the rh side of each class listed you will see a little edit symbol (a pen) and a little delete symbol (trashcan). Select edit, scroll a down a bit and you'll see the price per lesson. Key in your new price and hit confirm. 

How do I get paid?

From the dashboard click Teacher Wallet> withdraw funds> enter Paypal email and amount> hit Withdraw (you must have at least $10 in your account to withdraw). You will then be sent an email, and you have to open it and hit "confirm". Your Paypal account will be credited within 3 days. 

Do you provide materials for lessons?

The actual teaching, lesson plans, etc are entirely up to the teacher and student. Our job is to bring the two together and manage the time and fees.

Do I need to offer a trial lesson?

Offering trials lessons is optional but encouraged. It’s 30 min, and it’s meant to be an inexpensive way for the teacher and student to see if they are right for each other. The trial class price is independent of normal class price. The content of the trial class is up to the teacher. 

What is the process for accepting lessons?

Once a lesson is requested by a student, you may accept it. Accepting a lesson is a confirmation that you'll teach the lesson at the designated time. You'll receive an email notification as well as a system notification on the dashboard, and you'll need to click "accept." Please respond as soon as you are able. A lack of response on the part of the teacher can lead to lesson being cancelled by the system. See "What is your cancellation policy for lessons?" for details. 

What is your cancellation policy for lessons?

Lessons can be cancelled by the student or the teacher up to 24 hours before the start of the lesson. 

Lessons will be cancelled automatically by the system if: 

a) the teacher hasn't accepted the lesson within 48 hours from when the request was made 

OR 

b) in cases where the lesson was requested less than 48 hours prior to start time, the lesson will be cancelled at the start time if the teacher hasn't accepted the lesson

What advice do you have for teachers?

Here are a few best practices for teachers to attract and retain students: 

• Being an active and engaged member of the LT community is one of the best ways to attract students: write and respond to forum posts, join chat rooms and correct essays. Not only will this help you become a more visible community members, but your activity is also summarized on your teacher profile 
• Follow the guidelines for creating an effective profile and video
• Try to be as responsive as possible to messages and lesson requests
• Before you start working with a student, try to get a good understanding of their background and goals – they will appreciate it and the lesson will go more smoothly
• At the end of the session, summarize the lesson and discuss areas of focus and possible next steps. If you offer a package of lesson for a discounted rate, tell them!
• Follow up with your student after the lesson to ask for their feedback, and encourage them to take another lesson – do everything you can to improve your star rating
• Offer a trial lesson – students like the option to shop around. This is great way to start a relationship and see if you are a good fit. 

How do I create a video that attracts students?

• First off, make sure you include all the requirement elements, listed here.
• Be natural, as if you are speaking directly to the student; avoid reading a script
• Touch on your experience, your approach and your teaching philosophy. Enthusiasm for teaching will make your students feel more welcome.
• Be creative – show your personality! Students will be looking for someone who stands out.
• Adding extras like subtitles, music or simple editing can help your video stand out even more
• Keep it short and direct; we recommend 1-4 minutes but we find that 2 is usually plenty

How do I write a profile that attracts students?

• Make sure all the information on your profile is up-to-date and accurate so students searching for your experience and qualifications will find you
• Be sure you add all your qualifications like years teaching, language certificates, and awards 
• Add some personal tags that showcase not only your teaching style but also share some of your interests or personality
• Present a unique class offering–perhaps you can offer a class that has a focus that other teachers in your language don’t offer

When I receive a request it is in my local time or the student time?

Generally speaking it's in your local time. But if you don't change your computer time when you travel, meaning if you keep it locked in your home country's time, then it won't be in your local time.

Will my schedule shift to match daylight savings time?

For example, if I have 8am – 9am shaded in my schedule before daylight savings, will it stay 8am- 9am during daylight savings, or will it shift to 9am-10am?

The system stores time and date relative to UTC, so it will shift to 9am-10am.  

How do I change availability on a specific date?

Click your avatar in the upr rh corner. Select 'edit profile' from the dropdown. Select 'schedule' from the tabs along the top of the screen. You will now see 2 tabs - weekly schedule and calendar. Select calendar, and go to the date you want to modify by hitting 'next' if needed. Make your changes and hit 'save'. 

How do I activate instant lessons?

Click your avatar in the upr rh corner. Select 'edit profile' from the dropdown. Select 'classes' from the tabs along the top of the screen. Scroll down to instant lessons. Key in a price. Select 'Instant lesson requests enabled' button, then hit 'update'. 

How do students book an instant lesson from me?

When you are logged in students will see you offering instant lessons on the dashboard (homepage) and at the top of the find a teacher list. They will select the Instant Lesson button to book the lesson. To verify that this is working, when you are logged in look for yourself on the dashboard.